December 9th, 2009
by Rafael Hernandez
Energy efficiency, especially at a large scale, has been a hot topic for a while now and the move to lower PC and server energy consumption has begun in earnest. The 80 PLUS program was designed to showcase power supply products that are highly energy efficient and their newest rating brings even greater energy savings.
The 80 PLUS Platinum designation is reserved for power supplies that hit 90% efficiency at 20% load, 94% efficiency at 50% load, and 91% efficiency at 100% load. So far only server based 230v power supplies are being certified but you can expect to see PC versions sooner rather than later.
So far you’ll only find two PSUs on their list sporting the badge, HP and Super Micro receive the early honors.
Source: DailyTech
November 6th, 2009
by Rafael Hernandez
While those 1kW power supplies sure are snazzy to look at the truth is most computer systems can work just fine with a PSU with a much lower wattage rating.
The Zalman ZM500-RS sports a, by comparison, meager 500Watt rating but you do get 80 PLUS Bronze certification for energy efficiency and the whisper quiet operation the company is known for. Testseek Labs has a review:
The new series of power supplies recently released by Zalman ha a “RS” suffix in its name which stands for “Resonant Switching”. Compared to Two-Forward Switching, the more advanced Resonant Switching minimizes “switching loss” reduces heat generation, and operates more efficiently by eliminating the need for an output inductor leading to outstanding stability and reliability.
Fancy technology for a power supply but you’ll be sure to appreciate it when the lower power bills roll in.
July 31st, 2009
by Rafael Hernandez
The freedom a notebook brings allows you to take your work, and or play, with you wherever you travel. Invariably the very act of lugging it around means you’ll likely lose the notebook’s faithful companion the power adapter.
OCIA has a look at the Cooler Master SNA replacement notebook power adapter which should get your system back up and running regardless of make and model. Here’s a peek:
True to its name, the SNA 95 is very slim. The front of the unit is black with the Cooler Master name / logo embossed into the plastic. We also see the LED activity light here, which lights up white when in use and blue when the USB port is being utilized.
Moving around the unit, we see the back half is gray in color. The USB port can be found on the left side of the unit. The attached power cable is wrapped around the removable H-shaped cable reel base for easy portability and cable management. On the bottom we find the socket for the second part of the power cable.
The included USB port is a handy addition for all of those gadgets you’re likely to carry around, then again if you’re powering your notebook you probably have a few extra USB ports to use for recharging your gear.
July 20th, 2009
by Rafael Hernandez
Power Supplies fit into that computing niche of the necessary evil peripheral. The sort of thing which most users don’t give a second thought to and regret it down the line. It can also bite you in the wallet as inefficient power supplies tend to waste more electricity when converting power from the plug to power usable by your computer.
In comes the Enermax Eco 80+ 350W power supply for those with reasonably specced computers, which is the majority of computer users, which boasts over an 80% power efficiency. Driver Heaven has a look:
The base design of the Eco 80+ is very similar to that of the Pro 82+ and Modu 82+ series with slightly lesser components responsible for the lower price and performance. There is only one transformer providing power to all of the power lines, except for the 5VSB line which is powered by its own tiny dedicated transformer. At the primary side of the unit a Hitachi HP3 220μF/400V capacitor can be seen aside a fairly large filtering choke. All of the secondary side capacitors are industrial grade capacitors from CE-TUR (Jen pan). The heatsinks are much larger than what we’d expect to find in a unit with this kind of output.
Capacitors and chokes oh my! A nice unit to keep in mind if you want your next build to draw less power.
May 14th, 2009
by Rafael Hernandez
Sometimes you need a little bit of power, sometimes you need a lot, in either case Nexus has a range of power supplies suited to whatever power level your next computer build just so happens to fall into.
RBMODS has a look at the Nexus Value 430 and RX-8500 power supplies which, you might’ve guessed from the names, sport 430Watt and 850Watt (respectively) capabilities. A sneak peek into their findings:
RX-8500 itself has a nice looking piano black coating. As mentioned
before RX-8500 has 13.5cm fan which we can see in the picture. The
power supply is semi modular, meaning that only PCI-E, Molex and
SATA-connectors are modular, yet ATX and +12V power connectors are not.
Power supply has 6 connectors for Molex and SATA and it is compatible
with Quad-SLI setups providing four PCI-E connectors.
Great options for both high-end and budget conscious low-end.
May 13th, 2009
by Rafael Hernandez
You know that type of machine build, the kind that has more memory, storage, and graphics power than should be allowed on a desktop PC? We don’t either as you can never have enough performance when it comes to computing.
The Enermax Revolution 85+ 950 Watt power supply enables you to power that monstrous machine of yours and offers up some nice efficiency numbers so you don’t feel all that bad when you do decide to actually use it. bit-tech has a look at this impressive PSU:
Despite using a clear bladed 13.5cm fan, it’s thankfully not back-lit,
although the large central motor means there’s quite a significant dead
spot underneath. The fan grill with matching black and red Enermax logo
is recessed so sliding the PSU into the back of some cases with limited
access can be done and because, like most PSU’s these days, it’s
reasonably heavy and quite long, we’d strongly recommend a support
bracket and not just the four rear case screws.
Solid performance, efficient, and no annoying LED lighting up your room? I’m sold!
February 21st, 2009
by Rafael Hernandez
One might question the need to test a group of power supplies so thoroughly, that is until some cheap value model you picked up decided to go out in remarkable fashion taking a good chunk of your hardware with it. AnandTech has a look at 12 power supplies in the 500 to 550Watt range and they pick out the models worthy of your purchase:
Honestly, this roundup is more of a two-way shootout, with a few extras thrown in for spice. We have four units manufactured by Enhance, four more from Seasonic, two by Sirtec, one Enermax, and one Topower. Last year we saw a lot of power supplies manufactured by Channel Well Technologies (CWT), but they don’t tend to compete in the lower wattage market segments. These days, one manufacturer brings out a new top-notch design, and brands from all over the world jump on the bandwagon. Unfortunately, that makes it hard to find real innovations from the various PSU brands. Before, everyone at least tried to be different, but now the primary differences are in the fans, case color, and/or cable lengths. They try to make a “unique” design, but the goal is to do this with as little effort as possible.
All of the similarities do have some positives. Comparing units from different manufacturers can be a lot easier, as a basic component quality will be similar. If two units have similar voltage regulation and efficiency but one unit is quieter, cheaper, or has better thermals then you can safely choose that option. More likely is that you have to balance all five areas, but we will see which models rise to the top in this roundup.
A few notable models in this roundup which are more than capable of handling your somewhat beastly PC.
February 16th, 2009
by Rafael Hernandez
The trend from power supply manufacturers has been to pump out insanely high power rated models with equally nutty price tags for the consumers to drool over and buy. Aside from the high-end quad GPU equipped machines most systems can easily run off a more sensible power supply. HardOCP has a look at four PSUs and how they fair under varying loads:
Previously we have done 450w-500w and $50 Roundups in which we examined power supplies that usually don’t get covered by enthusiast sites for various reasons; the most notable reason being these products are not “enthusiast quality” units. While the results of both of those reviews were entertaining in that they provided some fireworks, they were also disappointing in that there were very few passable results available at those times. Fast forward to today, and we have seen Corsair make a big name for themselves in the enthusiast power supply market through its quality units that for the longest time peaked in capacity in the realm that normally has held the entry level units of other brands. Following this successful strategy we have begun to notice a few more brands trickle into this range with some real quality offerings such as Seasonic, BFG, and others. Today, we have collected up a few more of these units to see what else has crept into this market segment over the last year or so.
At least two of the models they tested look to be winners, find out which ones!
January 5th, 2009
by Rafael Hernandez
Hindsight is always 20/20, be it that poor stock pick or choosing that exotic dish at the restaurant there’s no going back on regretful decisions. Thankfully bit-tech has compiled a list of the best hardware of 2008 so you can relive those painful purchasing decisions over and over again as you work your way through the pages. Here’s a look:
If 2007 was the year of the Eee PC, 2008 was definitely the year of the
netbook. Not only did Asus continue releasing Eee PC after Eee PC, but
Intel launched a processor designed specifically for this class of
device and the buzz around the Atom processor provoked a rush of
devices from manufacturers across the world.
The pick of what we’ve seen this year was, without a doubt, the Samsung
NC-10, but it wasn’t the only great netbook we saw in 2008.
The thing that made the NC-10 so great was the fact that there wasn’t
anything revolutionary about the device; instead, it was a netbook that
brought together all of the best elements from other netbooks into one
device.
Some interesting choices and all of them, oddly enough, the correct ones.
December 21st, 2008
by Rafael Hernandez
Here’s a sampling of articles and reviews making news this past week:
Cases, Cooling, and Power Supplies
CPUs, Motherboards, Memory
Gadgets
Gaming
Graphics Cards and Displays
Laptops and Netbooks
Networking, Peripherals and Storage
Categories: Computer Cases, Gadgets, Games, Graphics Cards, Heatsinks & Coolers, Laptops, Memory, Motherboards, Netbooks, Networking, Power Supplies, Processors, Storage
