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Rexus SPX500 500W ATX PSU - Page 3 of 4
Posted: April 27, 2005
Author: Hellfire
Manufacturer: Rexus
Source: CensusPC
Purchase: CensusPC
Comment or Question: Post Here

Installation:

Now that we're done looking at the power supply, it's time to install and evaluate it. While the unit looks nice, it's not really designed for show, as there are no LEDs. You can see the effect of not wrapping the cables... the case looks like a rats nest! I can see I will be doing some modifications to the cables! One thing to notice is the cables come out of the power supply close to the opening of the case. While this isn't a big deal, I do prefer them to the back of the case as it helps to keep it a little tidier. However, none of this should take away from its performance.

Click Image For Larger View

Taking a look at the back of the case, you can see the exhaust vents are at the top, and the location of the US power sockets just below them.

Click Image For Larger View


Testing:

Looks aside, the most imporant thing is the performance.

The following system components were installed for the tests:

• AMD Athlon 64 3500+ processor
• 1gb Ultra 3200 DDR (previously reviewed here)
• Gigabyte K8N-SLI motherboard (default settings)
• 2 - Seagate 80gb SATA in RAID 0
CoolerMaster CoolDrive 4 (used to take temperatures and fan speed)
• BFG Technologies GeForce 6600GT OC PCI-Express
• Memorex DVD/CDRW
• Logitech MX1000 Cordless Mouse
• Logitech "Natural" Cordless Keyboard
• Sony DVD-R DRU500A (Connected only for evaluation)
• 2 - Thermaltake LED 120mm Fans (Connected only for evaluation)
• 4 - 18" CCFL (Connected only for evaluation)
• 4 - Generic LED 120mm Fans (Connected only for evaluation)
• 6 - Generic LED 80mm Fans (Connected only for evaluation)
• 2 - Western Digital 200Gb IDE HD (Connected only for evaluation)
• Perception Digital 1.5GB MP3 Player (Connected only for evaluation)
• Archos AV320 Multi-media player (Connected only for evaluation)
• 2 - Belkin USB 2.0 4 port Hub - No additional power (Connected only for evaluation)
• Lexar 512mb USB JumpDrive (Connected only for evaluation)
• Lexar 1gb USB JumpDrive (Connected only for evaluation)

Using JS Customer PC's Power Supply Wattage Estimator, this system should need over 450 watts of power. Getting a better estimate is difficult due to the types of equipment such as the CoolerMaster fan controller, MP3 Players, USB JumpDrives, and USB Hubs.

Power Supply Performance:

Using a Craftsman Auto-Ranging Multimeter (Model 82139), I recorded the idle and load voltages of four other power supplies, the Logisys Pitbull 500W, Logisys Glacier 500W, Enermax EG325AX (320W) and Antec 365W. All load values were recorded while running the following programs: Agent, Bulletproof FTP, Dreamweaver, Photoshop, DVD Profiler, Folding@Home, and Everquest 2. Below you will see the load voltages for the three major rails, 12V, 5V and 3.3V.

The following chart shows the performance of the Rexus 500W at both Idle and Load conditions. The Rexus put out a little less than the official ratings, from approximately 1.2% to .3% across all three rails. While it's slightly lower than the official ratings, they were very stable even with the load on them.


The following chart shows the load performance of the Rexus 500w, comparing it to the other power supplies.


Since the Rexus 500W includes a three-plug power strip, I wanted to check the voltages both with and without the plugs being uses. To see how well the power strip worked, I used a variety of items. A 70w lamp, MP3 player, Cell Phone, Heating Pad, Lava Lamp, GameBoy Advance, External CDRW, Laptop, and a dehumidifier. I mixed and matched these items leaving each one plugged in for several hours. I expected to see a drop in available power to the system. I'm happy to report I did not see any voltage change during load testing while any combination of these items were plugged in and in use.

The large 15cm fan helps to remove much of the heat generated by the power supply. I noticed when using the Logisys Pitbull the air that would come out of the unit was fairly cool, but the Rexus 500w the air was warm. Does the unit generate more heat than others? I don't believe it does, rather the 15cm fan removes more heat than other power supply fans. The coolerMaster CoolDrive IV was used to register temperatures in the case. With the Logisys Pitbull 500w, the ambient temperature of my case was 32.5C (approx 90.5F), after installing the Rexus 500w the ambient temperature went down to 29.3C (84.74F).

Please read on to the next page for more... Next

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