If you want to build a completely quiet PC, picking components that don’t have fans is the way to go. To fill this market niche, SilverStone offers the Nightjar power supply series, with 300 W, 400 W, and 500 W models, the last two with the 80 Plus Bronze certification. The 500 W model is the latest addition to the family, and in this review we will see if it is worthwhile buying it.

We’ve already reviewed the 400 W model, which was manufactured by FSP. The 500 W model, however, is manufactured by Seventeam. Therefore, they are completely different internally.

The power supply has two LEDs on its rear side, one indicating that the power supply is on and another revealing if the over temperature protection (OTP) circuit has kicked in.

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Figure 1: SilverStone Nightjar 500 W power supply

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Figure 2: SilverStone Nightjar 500 W power supply

The SilverStone Nightjar 500 W is 6.3” (160 mm) deep. As already explained, this power supply doesn’t have fans.

This unit doesn’t have a modular cabling system. All cables are protected with nylon sleeves, but they don’t come from inside the unit. This power supply comes with the following cables:

• Main motherboard cable with a 20/24-pin connector, 21.6” (55 cm) long
• One cable with two ATX12V connectors that together form an EPS12V connector, 21.6” (55 cm) long
• One cable with two six/eight-pin connectors for video cards, 19.7” (50 cm) to the first connector, 5.9” (15 cm) between connectors
• Two cables, each with three SATA power connectors, 21.3” (54 cm) to the first connector, 5.9” (15 cm) between connectors
• Two cables, each with three standard peripheral power connectors and one floppy disk drive power connector, 19.7” (50 cm) to the first connector, 9.8” (25 cm) between connectors

All wires are 18 AWG, which is the minimum recommended gauge.

The cable configuration is fair for a 500 W power supply, with two video card power connectors and six SATA power connectors.

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Figure 3: Cables

Let’s now take an in-depth look inside this power supply.