Conclusion
The SilverStone Nightjar NJ700 is the second fanless SilverStone power supply we have seen here at TheFPSReview. However, SilverStone has been a major player in this segment for a very long time and has produced some high-quality fanless units over the years. On top of that, this unit is a revision to their earlier NJ600 that we reviewed. This means that not only do we will expect a lot from SilverStone today, and their 700W entry but that we have a very firm basis for comparison. So, does this unit stack up to the high marks of the previous NJ600, or does it fly off in fright? Let’s see.
Build Quality
Today’s SilverStone NJ700 starts things off with a build quality that does not differ much from what we would expect from a premium brand like SilverStone using a premium platform such as this.
Indeed, since this unit is based on the Seasonic PRIME Titanium Fanless, the topology that we saw with the NJ600 everything is generally the same as with that unit. Externally, the finish is once more, arguably, nicer than what Seasonic uses. However, we do see that the PRIME logo was removed from the unit and no SilverStone branding was placed instead which is a bit odd.
When we move to the interior of the unit, we see the familiar PRIME Fanless topology and build quality. As such, the topology is very modern and the component selection is very high quality once more. Among these components, we find FPCAP solid capacitors along with Nippon Chemi-con and Rubicon standard capacitors.
The actual integration is excellent once more and very fitting for a high-end product like this. Moving on to the support side of things, we know that this unit is covered by a 5-year warranty (the longest SilverStone offers) in every market except North America and very good documentation as always.
Load Testing
Today’s SilverStone NJ700 provides us with some excellent results. Indeed, we saw voltage regulation of 0.04v on the 12v rail, 0.01v on the 5v rail, and 0.01v on the 3.3v rail. This voltage regulation is certainly excellent in absolute terms and is better than what we saw with the previous NJ600. Indeed, when it comes to 700W units, or really any unit, we have not seen this outstanding performance to date!
Moving on to the unit’s efficiency, we see that it ranged from 91.08% to 92.12% efficient at 120v AC input and 90.19% to 91.61% efficient at 100v AC input. When we look at the 80 Plus tests, we see that the NJ700 posted efficiency values of 90.34%-92.05%-90.51% using 80 Plus’ load testing parameters. This puts this unit under the 80 Plus Titanium standards by up to 1.95%. Lastly, this unit passed our Torture Test in fine shape which is good to see from a fanless unit in particular.
When we look at the Transient Load Tests results for the SilverStone NJ700, we see that the results are very good. When directly loaded, the 12v rail showed a peak change of ~340mV, and the 5v rail had a peak change of ~100mV. During the 12v load, the unloaded 5v rail saw a peak change of ~500mV. In absolute terms, these results are very good, but in relative terms, these numbers were mixed with the Antec NEO ECO GOLD ZEN 700W and Cougar BXM 700.
DC Output Quality
The DC Output Quality results for the SilverStone NJ700 were excellent. Which is about par for the course today with this unit so far. We saw peak ripple/noise values of just ~25mV of ripple/noise on the 12v rail, ~10mV on the 5v rail, and ~10mV on the 3.3v rail. These values are well within specification limits and that means, at a minimum, good in absolute terms. In relative terms, these results were better than the Antec NEO ECO GOLD ZEN 700W and the Cougar BXM 700. All in all, excellent once more!
Noise
Today’s SilverStone N700 is a fanless power supply and, as such, it is essentially silent. SilverStone has further noted that they went to extra care to eliminate not only the fan noise (by removing the fan), but also random electrical noise. During our testing today, we did not detect any random electrical noise.
Final Points
The SilverStone Nightjar NJ700 is an excellent unit that is squeezing a lot of power out of a fanless package. The NJ700 gave us excellent build quality, excellent voltage regulation, excellent DC Output Quality, and very good Transient Load results while also being silent. We could nitpick a few things and say this unit could do better, however it would be nit-picking very small nits. Overall, the NJ700 is simply an outstanding unit. So, what is a silent excellent ATX12v/EPS unit going to cost us?
The MSRP on the SilverStone NJ700 is $239.99 and we find that it can be had for $319.43 at Amazon right now. Obviously, both of those prices are on the hefty end of the scale, especially for a 700W product. However, when it comes to the price that this unit is actually available at that is still distorted like everything else in the market. So, that is what it is.
When it comes to the MSRP on the unit, on the other hand, that is hefty and there are no two ways about that. However, due to this unit’s absolutely excellent performance and absolute silence, it does all the heavy lifting leaving you with one hell of a power supply.
Discussion
