Physical Features (continued):
In the image below you are able to see the various connectors on the power supply. There is one SATA power connector, 6 standard Molex, 2 floppy plugs, an ATX 12v, standard MB power cable, and a AUX connector. For many people one SATA power connector might be enough, but if you have multiple SATA drives, this does not provide enough connectors. If they had provided adapters to go from Molex to SATA then it would have been a perfect set of connectors. As you can see, only the main MB power connector is wrapped in black mesh. The mesh is kept in place by white cable ties. None of the other cables are wrapped. For a power supply that was designed to be shown off, it would have been nice for all the cables to be wrapped. The nice thing about the cables is they were long enough that for a molex connector at the bottom of my Antec full tower case they reached it with enough loose cable that I was able to route the cables, and tuck them away to help keep the appearance of the case clean.
Test Machine Specifications:
Motherboard MSI K8T Neo
Processor AMD 64 3400
Memory 2 Gigs 3200 DDR (generic)
Video Card PNY GeForce FX5600 Ultra
Hard Drives 1 Western Digital 200 Gig SE
Case Fans 2 Rear 80mm, 1 Side Panel 80mm, 2 Front 80mm
Optical Drive Memorex DVD-R/RW
Other Accessories Multi-Media card reader (8-n-1)
Power Supply Performance:
Using a Craftsman Auto-Ranging Multimeter (Model 82139), I recorded the idle and load voltages of three power supplies, the previously reviewed Enermax EG325AX (320W) and Raidmax 420W. The load values were recorded while running the following programs: Agent, Bulletproof FTP, Dreamweaver, Photoshop, MS Access with 1.5 gig DB, DVD Profiler, and World of Warcraft (Beta). 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 Glacier 500W at both Idle and Load conditions...
The voltages of the Glacier were very stable, perhaps because I didn't have enough components to push it to the max. The rails were putting out a little more power than their official ratings.
Conclusion (update January 30, 2005):
In conclusion (updated), this power supply has some serious faults, with the biggest fault being the control knob and that after a month of use it totally failed. It's possible the power supply failed due to the fan controller not functioning.
Overall its a very nice looking power supply. The blue LEDs on the fans are bright, the cables are more than sufficient for the largest case, and the power is stable under a load.
Wrapping the cables would have been an extremely nice touch, but does not distract from the rest of the power supply. Not many power supplies are wrapping their cables, but it is becoming more popular.
If you are willing to take a shot that you get one with a functional speed dial and a long lifespan, the price is reasonable, but there are better power supplies available, such as the Logisys Pitbull. Starting under $50 (US), these units can be found at places like Xoxide, Newegg, and Frozen CPU.
Due to the Control Knob, and very short lifespan, I have to revise the Logisys Glacier 500W power supply's score from 3 out of 5 down to 1 out of 5 stars. It could have been an isolated occuraence and we got a bad sample, but what we received did not impress in the end.
Final Rating (1 out of 5 stars):
Pros:
Price Under $50... Very reasonable for a 500W power supply
Noise The control knob allows you to control the noise from the fans, even with the fans turned up on high, the PS isn't any louder than the other 80mm fans in my case.
Looks Great looking finish if you have an acrylic case.
Cable Wraps For a low cost PS, any pre-wrapped cables are helpful.
Fans Large, efficient, and quiet fans.
Connectors Plenty of connectors for all your needs, although a second SATA would be helpful
Cons:
Wrapping Only the main power cable was wrapped.
Control Knob Did not function for long
Short Life Span - Power Supply died after a month of use
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