PC Power and Cooling
Encyclopedia
PC Power and Cooling is a California
-based company that manufactures computer power supplies. PC Power and Cooling was founded in 1985 and based in Carlsbad, California
. On May 25, 2007, the company was acquired by OCZ Technology
.
PC Power & Cooling has been in the power management business for over 23 years and was founded by Doug Dodson who later served as the CTO of Power Management for OCZ Technology's entire power management division post acquisition. The company was responsible for many innovations including the first CPU cooler, the first PC heat alarm, the first independently-regulated PC power supply, the first redundant power system, the first NVIDIA SLI Certified supply, the first 1000W computer power supply and the first - and still only company - to offer an individual certified test report with each power supply sold.
PC Power & Cooling currently sells premium power management solutions in both the consumer and enterprise/oem channels. The company has the ability to customize PSU's locally for U.S. based OEM customers in their Carlsbad facility.
compatible models. PC Power and Cooling also offers a maximum performance line of power supplies, the Turbo-Cool units, which are available in 850 watt, 1000 watt, and 1200 watt versions.
A notable feature of PC Power and Cooling units is that their units use a lone, high-current +12 V rail for DC output to the rest of the system, as opposed to multiple lower current rails that run in parallel.
This single-rail configuration is reminiscent of high-end power supplies in the early to mid 2000's, before an industry shift towards using split +12V rails for reliability, stability, and economical reasons.
The shift towards multi-rail power supplies can be seen as when new tech such as the Pentium4 or Athlon64 platforms, along with the introduction of GPU's which required more power than the AGP/PCIe slot could provide, more and more power was needed for that progression. When given a dedicated +12V rail for exclusive use by the GPU, and another dedicated rail for the rest of the system, the increased power demand was met while maintaining a simple design, ideal for (continued) mass production and cost control for a more complex unit.
The later introduction of high power-demanding multi-core and multi-gpu systems, saw a split from two to three or four rails, accommodating power hungry CPU's and GPU's that have scaled far beyond what the original designers and engineers could dream about.
PC Power and Cooling's single rail design today, is especially advantageous for systems which drive a single (or few) component(s) where power demand represents a significant disparity between other components, and where power via a split +12V rail would not provide enough amperes for the component(s) to run successfully at desired specifications.
PC Power and Cooling have several power supplies that are 80-plus certified, most notably the Silencer 910W series that achieved the Silver Certification at over 88% efficiency
The new product lineup branded under PC Power and Cooling is shown below:
California
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
-based company that manufactures computer power supplies. PC Power and Cooling was founded in 1985 and based in Carlsbad, California
Carlsbad, California
-2010:The 2010 United States Census reported that Carlsbad had a population of 105,328. The population density was 2,693.1 people per square mile . The racial makeup of Carlsbad was 87,205 White, 1,379 African American, 514 Native American, 7,460 Asian, 198 Pacific Islander, 4,189 from other...
. On May 25, 2007, the company was acquired by OCZ Technology
OCZ Technology
OCZ Technology is a manufacturer of computer hardware based in San Jose, California, USA. Since entering the memory market in 2002, OCZ has targeted its products primarily at the computer hardware enthusiast market, first producing performance DDR RAM, Video Cards, USB drives, and various Cooling...
.
PC Power & Cooling has been in the power management business for over 23 years and was founded by Doug Dodson who later served as the CTO of Power Management for OCZ Technology's entire power management division post acquisition. The company was responsible for many innovations including the first CPU cooler, the first PC heat alarm, the first independently-regulated PC power supply, the first redundant power system, the first NVIDIA SLI Certified supply, the first 1000W computer power supply and the first - and still only company - to offer an individual certified test report with each power supply sold.
PC Power & Cooling currently sells premium power management solutions in both the consumer and enterprise/oem channels. The company has the ability to customize PSU's locally for U.S. based OEM customers in their Carlsbad facility.
Power Supply Models
PC Power and Cooling has several power supply models, many of which have scored highly in reviews. The ultra quiet, high performance Silencer brand of power supply units is available in 360 watt, 470 watt, 610 watt and 750 watt varieties. The 360 watt and 470 watt versions are also offered in DellDell
Dell, Inc. is an American multinational information technology corporation based in 1 Dell Way, Round Rock, Texas, United States, that develops, sells and supports computers and related products and services. Bearing the name of its founder, Michael Dell, the company is one of the largest...
compatible models. PC Power and Cooling also offers a maximum performance line of power supplies, the Turbo-Cool units, which are available in 850 watt, 1000 watt, and 1200 watt versions.
A notable feature of PC Power and Cooling units is that their units use a lone, high-current +12 V rail for DC output to the rest of the system, as opposed to multiple lower current rails that run in parallel.
This single-rail configuration is reminiscent of high-end power supplies in the early to mid 2000's, before an industry shift towards using split +12V rails for reliability, stability, and economical reasons.
The shift towards multi-rail power supplies can be seen as when new tech such as the Pentium4 or Athlon64 platforms, along with the introduction of GPU's which required more power than the AGP/PCIe slot could provide, more and more power was needed for that progression. When given a dedicated +12V rail for exclusive use by the GPU, and another dedicated rail for the rest of the system, the increased power demand was met while maintaining a simple design, ideal for (continued) mass production and cost control for a more complex unit.
The later introduction of high power-demanding multi-core and multi-gpu systems, saw a split from two to three or four rails, accommodating power hungry CPU's and GPU's that have scaled far beyond what the original designers and engineers could dream about.
PC Power and Cooling's single rail design today, is especially advantageous for systems which drive a single (or few) component(s) where power demand represents a significant disparity between other components, and where power via a split +12V rail would not provide enough amperes for the component(s) to run successfully at desired specifications.
PC Power and Cooling have several power supplies that are 80-plus certified, most notably the Silencer 910W series that achieved the Silver Certification at over 88% efficiency
Product Positioning
PC Power & Cooling solutions have shifted more towards the Enthusiast and Enterprise class solutions while OCZ Technology branded power supplies cater more towards the gaming and entry level enthusiast segments.Low Legacy Supply
With the recent introduction of the re-designed Silencer line, legacy PC Power & Cooling power supplies are still available Direct, and select dealers or retail outletsShifting Product Lineup
After a brief shortage in supply of Silencer and Turbo-Cool units in 2009-2010, OCZ released the Silencer Mk II line. The Mk II line is an entirely new design built by long-term OCZ OEM Sirtec, based on a modification of OCZ's "Z-Series Gold" power supplies. In early 2011, the Silencer 910W became available again, along with a new model, the Silencer 760W. These models are re engineered from a SeaSonic S12D platform, the successor to the older S12 platform used in the original Silencer series. The Turbo-Cool series, made by industrial electronics company Win-Tact continue to be made, although efficiency and performance lag compared to modern enthusiast power supplies. Some new/old and refurbished stock of the Silencer 750W Quad also appeared in 2011.The new product lineup branded under PC Power and Cooling is shown below:
| Previous Product Line by PC Power and Cooling |
|---|
| PC Power and Cooling Silencer 500-750W |
| PC Power and Cooling Silencer 910W |
| PC Power and Cooling TurboCool 850-1200W |
| New Product Line by OCZ |
|---|
| PC Power and Cooling Silencer 760W, 910W |
| PC Power and Cooling Silencer MK II 500W-950W |