The Tuniq Miniplant 950W power supply winds up being interesting for not being particularly different. The Miniplant name may be misleading since it isn't smaller than normal, but just standard size. With so many high powered power supplies being sold with oversized housings, getting one of these units into your case may be hit or miss. With the Tuniq Miniplant you know that if a standard ATX power supply will fit, that this 950W unit will fit, too.
The styling of the Miniplant is rather simple, but it looks sharp. Everything is black, including the housing, fan, fan grill, cable sleeving, and connectors. Nothing gawdy or flashy, so it will not be the center of attention in a system. Along those same lines, the fan is extremely quiet, so it won't make its presence known by noise, either.
Testing confirmed that the Miniplant was capable of powering a heavily loaded system without issue. The rails were stable with minimal ripple, and the data recorded on the AC power side of things showed that it could run about as effificiently as other top units we have tested.
While I have nothing concrete to say on the negative side for this power supply, the readings from the various voltage rails do need some adjustment. Right out of the box the 5V rail was low, and the 12V and 3.3V rails were a bit high (although all were within +/- 5% of specification). While it is great that Tuniq has installed potentiometers inside to make these adjustments possible, you do wind up voiding your warranty to get at them. Plus, people without an understanding of tweaking system performance and basic electrical knowledge really shouldn't get involved in something like this. During load testing the 5V rail approached the lower limit of acceptability, and that shouldn't be the case on a brand new unit that is being run well short of its full potential
A search of PriceGrabber turns up one result for the Tuniq Miniplant, but looking around a bit more reveals that stores like Newegg.com and Xoxide.com both have this unit in stock for $249.99. The price seems a bit high compared to other units in the same general class, and it really doesn't offer anything special other than the fact that it has a standard size. In my opinion, adding modular cabling would be the best way to increase the value of this power supply, and it would let me check off the only thing I had on my wish list after reviewing this unit.
The Miniplant 950W power supply runs cool and quiet while putting out stable power, but the readings on the various voltages were all farther from specification than I have seen on similar units I have tested. With the rails properly adjusted this power supply might earn the award of "Highly Recommended", but being able to have a high power unit in a standard size housing helps it earn the award of "Great Idea" anyway.
Pros:
» Extremely quiet
» High power unit in a standard ATX form factor housing
» Well finished cables with ample lengths
» Plenty of connectors for most high end systems
» Potentiometers to adjust the four 12V rails, 3.3V rail, and 5V rail
Cons:
» $250 (US) price tag
» Cables are not modular
» Good thing it has potentiometers... rails needed adjustment right out of the box
Special thanks to Tuniq for providing the Tuniq Miniplant 950W Power Supply to Bigbruin.com for review!
Please drop by the Bigbruin.com Forum and feel free to post any comments or questions.
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