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- Date:
- Monday , November 24, 2008
- Author:
- Paul Johnson
- Editor:
- Kyle Bennett
- Google +1
SilverStone DA1000 vs. OP1000-E: Dueling PSU's
Silverstone is certainly no slouch when it comes to high end power supplies. HardOCP has been using its PSUs for quite a while with great success. Let's see what two of its best 1000 watt units has to offer.
Overview
The first thing we are going to look at with the SilverStone Decathlon DA1000 and Olympia OP1000-E are the packaging, accessories, and documentation. While normally none of these items is a make or break item for a power supply the packaging quite often contains a lot of information about the product we are purchasing. The inclusion of an owner’s manual that provides actual information about our product is also of great help. Accessories are almost unnecessary with a power supply as the unit is self contained, unless it is modular, but there cases where a manufacturer can include useful accessories to make installation, routing and use more efficient.
SilverStone Decathlon DA1000
SilverStone Olympia OP1000-E
Both boxes provide us with the same basic information about these units with just the arrangement and coloration varying here. Both packages include the power table (shown below), connector count, and even almost the same exact marketing points including the fact that both units are capable of supporting 3 way graphics card solutions. However, a quick check of the SLIZone website finds the DA1000 and OP1000-E not currently listed as certified for any SLI solutions. This is possibly due to NVIDIA having not updated its site recently. Both PSUs however are certified for CrossFireX up to HD4870X2. Lastly, while not listed on either unit a search of the SilverStone website turns up this PDF that indicates these units have a 3 year warranty. While not horrible, 3 years is certainly on the shorter side of the spectrum than what we would ideally like to see from a high end power supply such as these.
* These PCI-Express connectors are modified 8 pin PCI-Express connectors.
As we see from the power label and connector count the DA1000 and OP1000-E are identical in those regards. Both units have 80A or ~96% of their capacity available to the 12v rail which is paired with a total of six PCI-Express connectors (four 6-pin PCI-Express connectors and two modified 8-pin PCI-Express connectors). Additionally, we get six Molex and six SATA connectors for peripheral and storage power that should be good for the majority of non-storage junky users out there. The last item of note here is that the +5vsb is provided with 4A for USB and other duties while not taking away from or making up a significant portion of the units total DC output capacities which is good as it is unlikely most users will need large amounts of +5vsb power and using this rail to boost total DC output capacity is a little less than useful.
SilverStone DA1000
SilverStone OP1000-E
Once we open both units packaging we find that both boxes include the unit, power cord, mounting screws, and user manual. The only difference between the two packages is the pouch that comes with the DA1000 to hold the cables that you disconnect as the unit ships with all the modular cables installed. SilverStone's user manual continues to be the best and most complete when it comes to the electrical, operating, and design specifications of any brand we have seen. However, there is one glaring omission in the manual and that is the warranty information. The manual does have a final page where the unit’s information must be filled in and, according to the manual, signed by the sales person to be valid. With such excellent documentation on all other fronts it is a bit odd to not have the warranty information excluded. However, for users needing this information we did dig this up on SilverStone's website and it is available in this PDF.