X-bit labs

FSP VGA Power: Power Supply Unit for Your Graphics Card (page 3)

Category: Other

by Oleg Artamonov

[ 05/16/2006 | 12:31 PM ]

FSP VGA Power: Closer Look

As its name suggests, the FSP VGA Power is a power supply for graphics cards. It is to be inserted into a 5.25” bay of your system case. It lacks any controls, not even an On/Off switch. There are only a few vent holes in its front and a decorative transparent panel with the device’s name.

A 220V power connector, a 12-pin input connector and a 4-pin Molex connector are at the device’s back. The latter is an input connector. One of the Molex plugs of the main PSU is connected to it and the VGA Power turns on as soon as it senses voltage in this input. This solution makes the operation of the additional PSU fully automatic (it is turned on and off automatically without the user’s doing anything about it) and is better than connecting, via an adapter, to the mainboard’s connector to get the PS_ON signal which is sent to turn on the main PSU when the computer is started – extra adapters can’t do anything good, but only lead to extra power loss (Thermaltake’s solution uses the signal from the mainboard, by the way).

And this is how you connect the PSU to the electricity mains: the VGA Power comes with a back-panel bracket the power cord is plugged into. You can do without the bracket, though. The connectors are all identical, so you can plug the cord right into the PSU, without the additional adapter. You can only meet some problems if you’ve got a UPS: you’ll either have to make an adapter with your own hands or to replace the plug on the included adapter to connect your UPS to the VGA Power.

A cable with two 6-pin graphics card connectors is included with the VGA Power to connect the load to it.

A load capacity of 300W is declared for the VGA Power. Its single output voltage is +12V (the maximum current is 25A then). The PSU features active PFC and supports a full range of input AC voltages without any switches.