X-bit labs

Ten Kilowatts of Power: 1000W+ PSU Roundup (page 9)

Category: Other

by Oleg Artamonov

[ 01/18/2008 | 09:40 AM ]

SilverPower GuardianX SP-1000E (1000W)

Here is a 1000W power supply with one 80mm fan. Who said this cooling design is obsolete?

The SP-1000E doesn't stand out from the outside: a massive matte black case without any decorations except for a Power LED. This exterior is quite typical of 1000W PSUs. Not long ago, the very number 1000W was enough to allure the customer.

Like the FSP Epsilon, the SP-1000E doesn’t have detachable cables. The actual manufacturer of this PSU is Enhance Electronics as is indicated by the UL certificate number on the label: E166947.

The internal design is interesting. The first thing to catch the observer’s eye is that the heatsinks are different. Each group of components has an individual heatsink. The heatsinks are rather simple with longitudinal ribs: the fan in this PSU drives the air lengthwise rather than across as in the PSUs with 120mm and 135mm fans.

Then, the small upright cards are a curious thing, too. They carry fully independent additional PWM controllers. This seems to be all right since many PSUs have dedicated voltage regulation but it is usually implemented by means of a saturated-core regulator that is not quite an independent device but can only work together with the PSU’s main regulator, receiving a pulsating, not constant, voltage from it. Here, we have two full-featured PWM-controllers working from a constant +12V voltage and providing +5V and +3.3V voltages at the output.

I can’t tell you why this solution was chosen – the simpler saturated-core regulator does its job well enough in other PSUs. Perhaps the developer had his reasons I don’t know about.

Otherwise, the PSU is just like any other model. It uses a single-transformer design (and the exterior of the transformer such as the complex shape of the core and the multiple-strand winding indicate that it is meant for high operating frequencies to fit into the required dimensions) and has active PFC.

The PSU has as many as six “virtual” +12V lines but it doesn’t mean that their combined load capacity is higher than that of the above-discussed models. Although each of the lines has a max current of 18A, and two of them even have a max current of 28A, they are all limited to 80A in total.

The PSU is equipped with the following cables and connectors:

• Mainboard cable with a 20+4-pin connector (54cm)
• CPU cable with a 4+4-pin connector (51cm)
• CPU cable with a 4-pin connector (52cm)
• Two graphics card cables with 6+2-pin connectors (52cm)
• Two graphics card cables with 6-pin connectors (52cm)
• One cable with one Molex and two floppy drive plugs (54+15+15cm)
• Three cables with three Molex connectors on each (53+15+15cm)
• Four cables with two SATA power connectors on each (54+15cm)

All of the cables are sleeved.