Silverstone ST45NF Nightjar

by Christoph Katzer on 8/25/2008 1:00 AM EST
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  • JonnyDough - Tuesday, August 26, 2008 - link

    See subject.

    Why do I want them to sell well?

    Because more sales of high quality components = lower cost on great components due to economies of scale = better PSUs for everyone.
  • MLTodd - Monday, August 25, 2008 - link

    The power supply looks great, but nightjar is another name for chamber pot, something that you urinate in at night in order to avoid the long cold walk to the outhouse. What was the marketing department thinking???
  • aos007 - Saturday, September 6, 2008 - link

    That was the first thing I thought about as well (chamber pot), and English even isn't my first language. On the other hand I have certainly never heard of a bird named Nightjar nor would I think a bird name is appropriate for a PSU anyway. Not sure why would anyone think only "history buffs" would know this. Does anyone read or go to museums any more? I thought schools are supposed to have mandatory reading materials to make you read classics and have school trips to learn about history. Do they teach anything in school these days?
  • AmberClad - Monday, August 25, 2008 - link

    Looking at Wikipedia, it's apparently a type of bird too. Which I didn't know until now -- I've always understood it to mean "chamberpot" as well. Surprisingly, Wiki doesn't have that definition...

    Being a Taiwanese company, one would assume that they're not familiar with the unsavory alternate meaning of the word.
  • strikeback03 - Monday, August 25, 2008 - link

    When was the last time anyone who might be considering one of these used an outhouse, a chamberpot, or a nightjar? Other than history buffs, don't think many would know it isn't a bird or just a made up name.
  • JarredWalton - Monday, August 25, 2008 - link

    I actually thought it was a term for a chamber pot as well, but it seems very few places on the web still list that meaning. I was happy to know that there's a bird called a Nightjar, as that sort of makes the name sensible (inasmuch as naming a PSU after a bird can make sense).
  • AmberClad - Monday, August 25, 2008 - link

    Aha, so I'm far from the only person who immediately thought of a chamber pot when I saw that name. I actually went and Googled the term "night jar" too, and I was also surprised at the relatively few references to it being a piss pot (there were some though, so at least I knew I wasn't going crazy).

    Btw, have you guys mentioned this to the Silverstone people? I'm not sticking a nightjar into my case. Everytime I see that product name, I get unpleasant mental images that I can't get out of my head.
  • nubie - Monday, August 25, 2008 - link

    I don't think it matters. Look at Nintendo and their "Wii Play" ads, if creepy men bringing their "Wii" over to play with your family doesn't hurt sales how will the merest hint of urine hurt a product practically no-one will notice?
  • JonnyDough - Tuesday, August 26, 2008 - link

    All the above comments make me wish AnandTech had a rating system on the comments. However, I've found that on sites like Tom's Hardware, the "authors" who never seem to preread their "work" (copying) before posting seem to rate each other up. Then they downrate anyone who opposes them. So I guess it's better if I just sit here and smile and agree in silence. Oops, I've said too much.
  • emboss - Monday, August 25, 2008 - link

    You're running the scope way too fast. The switching speeds of most modern PSUs is around 100 KHz, which means you want a timebase of ~10 us, give or take. At 40 ns, you're not going to see anything below a MHz or so, which is almost certainly going to be noise coming from outside the PSU (as opposed to PSU ripple). Also, if you're using AC coupling, make sure the cutoff frequency is well below the 100 KHz mark. One of the scopes I work with has a 250 KHz cutoff (-3 dB) when in AC coupling mode, which would hide any 100 KHz ripple.

    The main periodic signal in the traces you have is in the order of 100 MHz, and there's no way that's coming from inside the PSU.

    Apart from that, good article :)
  • TravisChen - Saturday, August 30, 2008 - link

    Can you show us how to get test the output ripple & noise the right way (with the caps mentioned in spec)? I think it's an important part in PSU reviews.
  • Christoph Katzer - Monday, August 25, 2008 - link

    Actually that was just to take the screenshots... I still have pretty high spikes now and then even with the caps according to specs.
  • tayhimself - Monday, August 25, 2008 - link

    How does this address the point raised? And why are you taking pointless screenshots then?
  • LTG - Monday, August 25, 2008 - link

    Yes Tayhimself is right, Christoph you kind of avoided or skimped on a proper response to the questions raised.

    Authors replying in the comments is a major strength of AT - Please respect that.

    So what was wrong, just your screen shots, or some of the testing reported originally as well?

    Thank you.
  • Christoph Katzer - Tuesday, August 26, 2008 - link

    I am still working on it to get the spikes sorted. With replying to that post I already meant to say that he was right and that his reply was much more helpful than most others that don't take the time to complete a full sentence... Once I sorted the spike-problem it will be all better.
  • aarvark - Monday, August 25, 2008 - link

    Really "of limited use"? A core duo with mid-range graphic card barely tops 150W these days. A basic setup, maybe with integrated graphics would be around 120W. 400W is more than plenty for 99%+ of the market. Remember, us geeks are the exception, not the rule.

    I'd say the one thing it wasn't suitable for were HTPCs whereby you'd be better off with a picopsu or the like as they are more efficient at very low loads and only $50. Better still by having an external brick most of the heat is outside the case.

    Saying that I'm not a fan (no pun intended) of these because they are many, cheaper supplies that have a lazy 12 or 14cm thermally controlled fan which are for all real purposes silent anyway with the huge advantage of giving just a little case airflow through the case.
  • JarredWalton - Monday, August 25, 2008 - link

    I think that last point is why we say "limited use". Basically, you need to want 200-300W of power (gotta leave some wiggle room, right?), and you need to want absolute silence, and you also need to be willing to pay $170+ for it. I'd take a 600W PSU with a large fan over this for under $100 as well. Pico PSUs are an option for small systems that don't require a lot of power, but there are many definitions of HTPC. Personally, I prefer larger systems with more storage options.
  • Freddo - Monday, August 25, 2008 - link

    Looks like something I would buy for my next computer :-)
  • Clauzii - Monday, August 25, 2008 - link

    The same here :)

    With specs and quality like that, it's almost impossible to go wrong with this. Also, the cablelengths COULD make it possible to let it rest outside the PC case itself (for DIYs anyway).

    And thank You Anandtech, for testing a sub-500 Watt supply :)
  • pattycake0147 - Tuesday, August 26, 2008 - link

    I agree not everybody wants kilowatt a psu a low wattage one like is an excellent change of pace and exactly what I am looking for.

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