X-bit labs

ATX Power Supply Units Roundup. Part IV (page 2)

Category: Other

by Oleg Artamonov

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

A.C. Ryan Ryanpower2 CableFree ACR-PS2100 (550W)

A power supply from A.C.Ryan’s Ryanpower2 CableFree series once took part in our tests already (for details see our article called ATX Power Supply Units Roundup: Part II). That was a 450W ACR-PS2094 model, and now I am about to discuss the 500W ACR-PS2100.

The two units are identical on the outside: a dark-lacquered and scratches-susceptible case, two cooling fans, and an input voltage of 220V sharp. This unit cannot work in 110V power networks notwithstanding its active PFC.

Here are the PSU’s cable connectors. And it’s all the same as with the ACR-PS2094 model: the cables are all detachable (many such PSUs come with a dead-soldered mainboard cable – have you ever seen a computer without a mainboard?); there are still no separate SATA power cables with +3.3V voltage (SATA power cables are connected to the PATA power connectors); there is still a 4-pin connector for the CPU. The latter is a drawback even if you’ve got a mainboard with a 4-pin connector. Contemporary processors consume high enough currents and any extra connector in the circuit only results in useless heating, unreasonable wattage loss and lower stability of the supply voltage. I think if the manufacturer decides to make a detachable CPU cable, they should make it an 8-pin one. Doubling the number of pins reduces the connector resistance in two times and thus reduces its effect on the whole CPU power circuit in two times, too.

Most of the user manual is dedicated to a harangue on how this power supply suits the modding community and how its detachable cables free you from the necessity to follow the ever-changing industry standards. I don’t quite grasp the author’s idea here because this power supply doesn’t meet even today’s requirements even at the time of its release (it lacks such presently common things as +3.3V power for SATA drives, an 8-pin connector for the CPU, and a power cable for the graphics card).

Inside the PSU case the connectors are fastened on a small card which is then connected to the main PCB. I had some complaints about the soldering quality of the ACR-PS2094. It is much neater here – at least the ends of the wires are tightened with a shrinkable pipe.

The internal design of this PSU is analogous to the junior model and also resembles power supplies from Channel Well (CWT). I do not claim, however, that CWT is the actual manufacturer of A.C.Ryan’s power supplies as there is no evidence of that (the manufacturer’s marking on the PCB, an UL certificate number, etc.) apart of my subjective impressions. I even can’t really name a CWT model that is absolutely identical to the Ryanpower2. There is some similarity, and that’s all.