Physical Features (continued):
The box contains all of the components pictured below tightly packed inside. There is the power supply, a 20-pin to 24-pin adapter, and AC power cable, a small bag of mounting screws, a user's manual, and the registration card. Send that card in... if a lifetime warranty doesn't make it worthwhile, their contests might!
The unit itself is protected from scratches inside a clear plastic bag, and once removed, a "titanium" mirror finish is revealed. Just like the Ultra Products Xconnect unit we reviewed previously, you may want to keep a soft cloth on hand for polishing smudges and finger prints away! The two sides are pictured below, both of which have an acrylic window for viewing the unit's internals. Nothing too exciting... some wires, capacitors, etc, but the LED fans may make the whole effect a bit more interesting when all lit up.
 
The design is not quite typical... It does offer two cooling fans, but they are located on either end of the unit, instead of one out back and one on the bottom. The below left image shows the back of the PSU, with the 80mm LED fan, power plug, power switch, and 110/220V switch. The below right image shows the front of the PSU, with the DC leads coming out on the right, and an 80mm LED fan on the left.
 
The specifications and other features are shown in a few stickers on what will be the top side of the power supply. Being that the intake fan is not on the bottom you can orient this unit so that the sticker is hidden against the top of the case, if your case features a mounting bracket that allows it. The other side is clear, and just features one large mirrored surface to keep smudge free!
The below left image shows a few of the connections… We have an auxiliary power connection, two SATA power connections on one lead, a 4-pin power connection, and a 20-pin ATX power connection. The below right image shows that there are only two leads provided for powering drives, but they are long and feature many plugs. There is a total of eight 4-pin connections for hard drives, optical drives, fans, etc., and two floppy drive style power connections.
 
I would have preferred having a few different leads to power my drives, as having just two means that wire management will be a serious endeavor to make sure all items are reached, and that unnecessary connections are tucked away. I have become spoiled with the modular design of power supplies like the Xconnect, and such a long strand of wires seem more cumbersome than it used to.
The power supply didn't have a sticker about voiding its warranty by opening, which surprised me. I was going to open it anyway, but it’s less exciting without that idle threat stuck to it. As we can see below, the bulk of the heat generating components are located directly between the two fans. There shouldn't be any dead air pockets where heat can build up, as there are only a few wires and circuit boards outside the path of the air flow.
 
While I had the unit opened I powered it up just to have a look at the lighting, as seen in the above right image.
The images below show the unit reassembled and powered up once again. The acrylic window has a bit of a UV reactive glow to it, and looking in the window is a bit more intriguing now. The fans are fairly quiet, but they are not moving a high volume of air, either. The unit was allowed to idle like this for about a half hour, and it never got warm, but the true test will come when under the load of a system.
 
Please read on to the next page for more... Next
Page 1 | Page 2 | Page 3 | Page 4 | Home | Forum | Review Index
|
|
