Introduction

I was installing a power supply recently that had four +12v rails. It was set up for a pair of video cards with two PCI-E power connectors, one pair was labeled +12v1 and the other +12v2. I thought about it for a minute, and realized that there was obviously one rail designated specifically for each video card. So, if I only used one video card, I would have one completely unused +12v rail. That was 18A of output totally unavailable for use in my system. I thought about it a little further, and it hit me that there could very well be a significant amount of unavailable output between the four rails, making for a very inefficient power supply.

That is one of the reasons a small handful of power supply manufacturers continue to build power supplies with one large +12v rail rather than 3 or 4 smaller ones, even on PSUs 800 watts and larger. They feel that one +12v rail will assure 100% power distribution from the power supply to the components of the PC. SilverStone Technologies builds their Decathlon Series with this in mind.

SilverStone Technologies, founded in 2003, has in less than five years become one of the industry leaders in PC power supplies. Though probably not as well known as some of the popular companies who have recently branched out into the power supply field, SilverStone's robust PSUs are well respected by those who are serious about power supplies. SilverStone was one of the first two companies to receive SLI certification from nVidia.

SilverStone markets their Decathlon Series towards the serious enthusiast, the "Power User". From their website:

"SilverStone Decathlon series DA800 provides enthusiasts with a flexible platform of single +12V rail power output to handle nearly any system setup. It has a full array of amenities such as dual PCI-E 8pin and quad PCI-E 6 pin connectors, large and quiet 120mm cooling fan, greater than 80% efficiency, Active PFC, and 100% modular cabling system. The inclusion of its multiple PCI-E connector support can take advantage of DA800's power reserve (66A from +12V rail) to drive future high-end graphics cards with ease."

The DA800, being a new model, has not received its SLI certification by nVidia, but both the DA750 750 watt, and the DA850 850 watt models of the Decathlon line have been certified for a pair of 8800GTXs, so I can assume that it will receive the same rating. Just to note, there are only eight 750 watt power supplies that have received that rating at the time of this writing, and SilverStone builds three of them. Most of the PSUs with that certification are 850 watts and above.

Specifications

Model Number: SST-DA800
Max DC Output: 800 watts
PFC: Active PFC (PF>0.99 at full load)
Efficiency: >80%
MTBF: 100,000 hours at 25C , full load
Operating temperature: 0 ~ 50C
Protection: Over current protection, Over power protection, Over voltage protection, Short circuit protection
Connectors:
- 1 x 24-pin motherboard connector (550mm)
- 1 x 8-pin EPS12V connector (750mm)
- 1 x 4-pin ATX12V connector (550mm)
- 2 x 8-pin PCI-E connector (550mm)
- 2 x Dual 6-pin PCI-E connector (550mm)
- 2 x triple SATA connector (500mm +250mm + 250mm)
- 2 x triple 4-pin IDE & single floppy power connectors (500mm + 250mm + 250mm + 150mm)
Color: black (lead-free paint)
Cooling System: Single 120mm ball bearing fan
Noise Level: 22 dBA minimum
Dimensions: 150 mm (W) x 86 mm (H) x 180 mm (D)
Weight: 2.6 kg

The DA800 comes in this attractive box. The specs, features, and ratings are prominently displayed on the exterior. The PSU inside is protected by foam, and also uses its own cables for protection.