X-bit labs

ATX Power Supply Units Roundup. Part IV (page 13)

Category: Other

by Oleg Artamonov

[ 04/10/2006 | 09:02 AM ]

Zippy Emacs HP2-6500PE (500W)

I guess many of our readers have heard the name of Zippy Technology, yet the company is mostly known as the manufacturer of server-oriented Emacs power supplies. Some time ago they decided to enlarge their product range to cover home users, too. To address the gaming community they released a series of power supplies under the name of “Gaming Power”.

The 500W HP2-6500PE model is a midrange Gaming Power product. The series includes models a hundred watts more and less powerful than this.

The PSU has a black steel case of a non-typical design with an L-shaped rather than U-shaped cover. When removed, the cover exposes the PSU’s contents from the top and back.

The HP2-6500PE betrays its server origin right away: it uses an 80mm fan under a pressed-out (rather than wire) grid; the mains connector has lugs for a spring that would hold the cable down and there is a modest green power indicator above it. Zippy seems to have just re-released an ordinary server power supply, having painted it black and put it into a beautiful box. I’m afraid that’s not exactly what home users need whose requirements differ from server integrators’.

The PSU is based on a Fairchild ML4800CP chip, which is a PWM controller and an active PFC controller in a single case. The components are packed densely; the heatsinks are large and occupy almost all of the free space (not surprising, considering the 80mm fan). The odd plastic square on the heatsinks is used for the top cover which is fastened to it with two screws.

The power supply is universal in its specs. On one hand, it can yield up to 432W through the +12V rail. On the other hand, the +5V rail has a very high load capacity by today’s standards, but modern computers do not actually need that.

The PSU is equipped with the following cables and connectors:

• Mainboard cable with a 24-pin non-splittable connector; 58cm long
• Cable with a 4-pin ATX12V connector; 58cm
• Cable with an 8-pin EPS12V connector; 58cm
• Two cables with 6-pin graphics card connectors; 58cm each
• Two cables with two SATA power connectors; 59cm+16cm
• One cable with two Molex connectors and one floppy mini-plug on each; 56cm to the first plug and 15cm more to each next plug
• One cable with three Molex connectors; 56cm to the first plug and 15cm more to each next plug

The only problem you may have with the connectors available here is that there is a 24-pin EPS12V-compliant mainboard connector while most other PSUs offer splittable connectors with a detachable 4-pin part.