2003 Power Supply Roundup Part II: Better Faster Cheaper
by Kristopher Kubicki on July 31, 2003 1:58 PM EST- Posted in
- Cases/Cooling/PSUs
Except for the specifications, the EG651P was very similar to the EG465. It came with the same glossy finish, copper sheathed ATX cable, and rear variable fan controller.
Undoubtedly, Enermax has the best power supply cable management capabilities available. To combat interference, the ATX and +12V cables are copper meshed with rubber sheathing. This copper shielding extends all the way into the power supply housing, where the rails are also shielded in copper. It is no wonder why this power supply is also one of the heaviest.
This is the only other power supply in our review to display the ATX12V 1.2 compliance. For those of you not familiar, this is the published standard that assures stability with Intel and AMD systems. This particular standard makes sure the +3.3V rail is not neglected when increasing the wattage on the +12V rail, but also assures tight specifications on the lesser used -5VSB rail. We can see that the specifications on this unit are not skewed only to the +12V rail, so this unit does make sense for an AMD system builder as well.
Wattages
|
|
3.3V |
5V |
12V |
-12 |
-5 |
+5vsb |
combined theoretical |
actual combined |
advertised total |
|
Enermax EG651P-VE FMA 550W |
118.80 |
180.00 |
432.00 |
12.00 |
5.00 |
11.00 |
298.80 |
200.00 |
550.00 |
Specifications alone speak volumes for this power supply. The +12V rail has an advertised rating of 36A, or 432 watts. This puts the EG651 way above any other non-Enermax component. However, since mathematically the power supply can only sustain about 330watts on that rail, the advertised 432 is probably the peak output. Even at 330W, the EG651 still towers over most power supplies.
The EG651P-VE is one of the pricier units in our round up. Most online retailers are carrying this unit for around $135, but with rebates and deals you might get it as low as $120.
We thank MaxPoint for rushing us the two Enermax power supplies to us before the deadline for this article.
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Anonymous User - Monday, August 18, 2003 - link
I cast another vote for us to be able to get a copy of the modified version of memtest86. I'd love to check to find out how much bit-flipping is happening over time on my various PCs. In addition, it seems to me that it would be a good way to see if ECC memory is actually doing what it should be. (If a bit gets flipped on a board with ECC memory that's supposed to support ECC memory then there's obviously something wrong).Also, you should give a copy of your modified source to the memtest people so that they might include the long delay time as an option in a new version.
Anonymous User - Sunday, August 17, 2003 - link
Any chance of a review of the silentmaxx fanless 350W. This thing has no fans so in theory it should be 0Dba! Not sure where the poewsupply is up to the job though on the poewer front - a review owuld be great. Cost as you probably guess is on the high side...http://www.silentmaxx.net/silent_products/power_su...
Anonymous User - Wednesday, August 13, 2003 - link
To me the most interesting data from this roundup was the instability a PS can cause to a system. I think this subject is worth a dedicated article. Also how can we reproduce this data at home? Where can we get the modified memtest86?Anonymous User - Wednesday, August 13, 2003 - link
Hello!!??? Seasonic power supplies?? These have to be the quiestest power suplies I have ever (NOT) heard. Appears to be pretty well constructed. These should realy be included in any decent, comprehensive power supply round-up.Anonymous User - Monday, August 11, 2003 - link
They didn't look at the seasonic brand. recommended herehttp://www.silentpcreview.com/modules.php?op=modlo...
Anonymous User - Monday, August 11, 2003 - link
I got a PC P&C Silencer 300 a while back, and I was very unimpressed with its noise level. It was hardly quieter than the cheapo PSU it replaced. My Enermax 365 and Antec Truepower 350 are much better.How about reviewing Seasonic? I hear they're super quiet. A little hard to find, though...
Anonymous User - Monday, August 11, 2003 - link
Untill all power supply manufacturers get it together and sheath their cables, we are pretty much stuck with what they offer. I solved this in my window case with some electrical conduit from the auto parts store. there are a few color choices including your basic black, but any of them make a world of difference hiding those unsightly P.S. cables. That and a little electrical tape over the white connector and they almost disappear.Anonymous User - Monday, August 11, 2003 - link
Another extremely happy user with a PCP&C Silencer power supply. I do have to question just a bit why the reviewer didn't find out about their existence on his own, noise being the primary complaint in his review (though I imagine the sheer number of power supplies being reviewed and perhaps deadline pressure could have been factors).Anonymous User - Sunday, August 10, 2003 - link
This is actually the third power supply review on Anandtech. Not the second as you wrote.Anonymous User - Thursday, August 7, 2003 - link
#16, please check out http://www.wikipedia.org/wiki/CPU_power_consumptio... for information on power consumption of several common CPUs (especially AMD).