Hardware News

600W-850W Power Supply Review Roundup

Patrick "MACMAC" MacMillan

2010-09-29 09:00:00.0


Hardware Secrets, JonnyGURU, KitGuru, and ThinkComputers have reviewed several 600W to 850W power supplies from Cooler Master, Cougar, Thermaltake, XFX, and XigmaTek.

Let's see what they had to say:

  • Hardware Secrets: Thermaltake Toughpower Grand 750W Power Supply Review:

    "The new Thermaltake Toughpower Grand 750 W is a good power supply. During our tests it achieved very high efficiency, peaking above 90%, extremely low noise and ripple levels, and an adequate number of connectors for a 750 W product. Due to its highly overspec’ed components, we could easily pull 880 W from it.

    However, compared to other 80 Plus Gold power supplies, it is not the best game in town. On the technical side, the +3.3 V and +5 V outputs, though inside the allowed range, dropped too much when we pulled 600 W and above, touching the lower limit. Competing products have a better voltage regulation."


    Click here to read the full review.


  • JonnyGURU: Thermaltake Toughpower Grand 750W Power Supply Review:

    "As Thermaltake units go, the Toughpower Grand 750W is one of the better units I've had my hands on. It's very clean on the outputs, quite stable, and looks downright fabulous. It does have a few things holding it back from being the best it can be, but it's all minor stuff. There is quite a bit of potential here. I'm hoping that Thermaltake is able to take advantage of it in future units. "


    Click here to read the full review.


  • KitGuru: Cooler Master Silent Pro M 600W Power Supply Review:

    "Generally 80 Plus certified power supplies are meant to deliver between 80 and 82% efficiency levels, but we were pleasantly surprised to record efficiency between 84.62 and 86.78%. Obviously at full load it dropped down giving a final result of 82.02 percent, but this is still a great figure for a unit placed in this very modest category.

    The use of high quality 135mm fan means that this PSU also remains reasonably cool at all times, and even under full load it is basically silent, living up to its ‘Silent Pro’ naming moniker. People who are building a high quality media centre will love this design as it will add no noise to the system build. The fan never spins anywhere near the maximum rating of 37dBA."


    Click here to read the full review.


  • KitGuru: XigmaTek NRP-PC702 700W Power Supply Review:

    "The Xigmatek NRP PC702 is an impressive power supply which delivers great all round performance, it excels at this specific price point. The build quality is good, and while the unit looks a little boring it will fit into a variety of systems without standing out like a sore thumb. We would have liked to see Xigmatek be a little more creative with the finish, especially considering the eco friendly ‘heal the world’ angle they have approached this from.

    Technically there is not a lot to fault, the power supply features all the major protection circuits and delivers efficiency ratings above the 80 Plus Bronze certification rating, something we always like to see. Internally, the build quality is excellent and the industrial components chosen are of a high standard throughout. The voltage regulation circuit is also worth a mention as it held up to our severe stress testing."


    Click here to read the full review.


  • ThinkComputers: Cougar SX850 850W Power Supply Review:

    "Well what can we say about the Cougar SX850? Before we get into performance let’s talk about its design and styling. The SX850 has to be ones of the most stylish power supplies I have looked at in quite a while. The black and red colors really make it stand out and the colors on the cables are really cool. They will definitely be noticed if you have a window on your case. Another thing to mention is that the included Velcro ties that are included have the Cougar logo on them, which is pretty cool.

    We all know looks are not everything so how did the SX850 perform? It was pretty stable with some fluctuations in the rails, but within the 5% we like to see. The 5V rail did undervolt, but not by much. Out of all the rails the 12V rail was the most impressive staying completely stable through most of the test."


    Click here to read the full review.

Enjoy!
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