X-bit labs

ATX Power Supply Units Roundup. Part IX

Category: Other

by Oleg Artamonov

[ 03/28/2008 | 02:47 PM ]

This part of our roundup will be devoted to power supply units with capacity ranging from 450W to 850W. We will check out 7 models from AcBel, Gigabyte, Zalman and Corsair. All the details on their performance and functionality in our extensive article!

Table of contents:

• Testing Methodology
  
• AcBel Intelligent Power 560 (510W) and 660 (610W)
  
• Corsair CMPSU-750TX (750W)
  
• Gigabyte Superb 550 GE-P450N-C2 (450W)
  
• Gigabyte Odin Pro GE-M550A-D1 (550W)
  
• Gigabyte Odin GT GE-S550A-D1 (550W)
  
• Zalman ZM850-HP (850W)
  
• Conclusion
  

Today I will be discussing seven power supply units which wattage is now considered medium, from 450W to 850W to be exact. Well, this positioning is not exactly accurate. Although most of the manufacturers have already released their 1000W PSUs and some of them have reached 1500W, even very advanced PC configurations with a top-end CPU and a couple of graphics cards consume much less than 1000W. A typical home system with a dual-core CPU and one graphics card will find even a 600W PSU somewhat redundant.

The PSU models to be discussed are more or less ordinary in their electric specs but one stands out with its functionality: the Gigabyte Odin GT features a USB interface, quite an uncommon thing for a power supply.

Testing Methodology

Click the following link for a description of our testing methodology, the equipment we use, and a brief explanation of what the specified and tested parameters of power supplies mean. The article is called X-bit Labs Presents: Power Supply Unit Testing Methodology In-Depth. If you feel overwhelmed with the numbers and terms this article abounds in, check out an appropriate section of the mentioned article for an explanation.

You can also check Other section on our site for a complete list of PSU models we have tested in our labs.

AcBel Intelligent Power 560 (510W) and 660 (610W)

Products from AcBel Polytech have already been reviewed by us before. And today I have two new models from the company’s Intelligent Power series. I’ll talk about them both together as they are very similar between each other.

The PSUs have standard-size cases painted a matte black.

AcBel IP 560

The internal design is typical for a medium-level modern PSU: joint voltage regulation and active PFC.

AcBel IP 660

The 560 and 660 models resemble each other. They are both based on the same PCB, and the ratings of most components coincide. These two PSUs differ significantly from the Intelligent Power series models we reviewed earlier, though. The new PSUs are obviously roomier, some components having become smaller. It doesn’t mean the design has become cheaper and simpler – this effect can be achieved by modernizing the components, for example by increasing the operating frequency of the PWM-regulator. Particularly, the PFC choke based on an E-type core installed in the previous models is now replaced with a more compact toroidal one. Some of the passive components accompanying it have moved from a small individual PFC controller card to the main PCB.

The PFC and main-regulator controllers are based on a Fairchild FAN4800 chip, a version of the popular ML4800.

The model names of the PSUs seem to reflect the so-called peak output power, i.e. the load the PSU can work with for one minute only. The continuous load (the PSU can work with it for an infinitely long time) marked on the label is 50W lower (for the 560 model, it is 491.5W + 18.5W = 510W). On the other hand, the PSUs can yield almost all the power across the +12V rail, which is the most loaded rail in a modern PC.

The 560 model uses a Protechnic Electric MGA12012MS-A25 fan (120x120x25mm). Unfortunately, products from this firm are not held in high repute among people who prefer silence.

The senior model has a more powerful fan, the MGA12012HS-A25 model. Some of it is covered with a piece of plastic to drive the airflow into the back part of the PSU for uniform cooling of the components.

Both PSUs come with the same selection of cables and connectors:

• Mainboard cable with a 20+4-pin connector (49cm long)
• CPU cable with a 4+4-pin connector (50cm)
• Two graphics card cables with one 6-pin plug on each (52cm)
• One cable with three Molex connectors and one floppy-drive plug on each (50+15+15+15cm)
• Two cables with two SATA power connectors and two Molex connectors on each (50+13+13+13cm)

That’s a good selection. The PSUs can power up two graphics cards and offers enough of SATA connectors. Moreover, the SATA plugs are located on two different cables for powering both a DVD drive and a HDD that are usually located rather far from each other.