Antec Phantom 500 Silent PSU

More than ever, people seem to be paying attention to noise levels in their PCs. Apparently, people realized they didn't have to put up with loud fans any longer than they wanted to. Silent and nearly-silent parts, like fans, have really gained a lot of ground in the last couple years.

Obviously, the best way to quiet down a system is to minimize the number of fans in it. Fanless video cards and power supplies have become increasingly popular for that very reason. Adam reviewed the original Phantom 350 back in November last year and was pretty impressed by it. Today, it's time to look at its 500W big brother - the Phantom 500.

Providing silence most of the time is the Phantom 500's big attraction point, but the high efficiency levels should also be emphasized. The efficiency of this unit is over 80% at full load. Many PSU's don't even come close to that.

• ATX12V version 2.01 compliant with 24-and-20-pin adapter connector with detachable 4-pin section for 20-pin for backward compatibility with older motherboards
• Dual +12V outputs, with dedicated circuits to isolate the CPU power line from peripherals.
• Hybrid fan design
• Exceptional power efficiency up to 86% (US version) at full load
• 4 Serial ATA power connectors
• PCI-E graphic card power connector
• Fanless operation for absolutely silent computing. Three user selectable fan kick-in points for quiet computing under higher loads: 40, 47.5, or 55 degrees C.
• Specially designed internal heatsinks and chassis heatsink for maximum heat dissipation
• ATX12V v2.0 compliance and ultra-high-efficiency design (up to 85%) allows Phantom to generate up to 70% less heat and consume 25% less power than standard PSU's saving you money on your electric bill
• Power Factor value greater than 90% (EU only)
• Gold plated connector for superior conductivity