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
The EG465 power supply did extremely well in our last power supply roundup. We have not really seen many other new products from Enermax in the last few months, so we obtained a slightly newer version of the supply we reviewed in our first review instead.
From our previous review, you may recall the EG465 PFC’s tight tolerances and excellent features. The new version sports all of these features, but since the slightly different circuitry warrants a separate benchmark for this PSU. The variable fan control, motherboard monitoring and copper/rubber ATX sheath are all included on this power supply. Furthermore, the line we looked at also came in a glossy finish similar to the TTGI units. The unit includes Active PFC as one of its features as well.
The EG465 also comes with Enermax’s trademark variable fan control on the rear of the unit. We have not had problems with Enermax’s variable fan controls. The dial-style fan control assures that the switch can never fall into a halfway position like with Vantec or TTGI. We will touch more on this issue later.
One annoyance the EG651 and the EG465AX both had was a loud “pop” when the power supply was turned off. This occurred whether or not the motherboard was on or not.
Wattages
|
3.3V |
5V |
12V |
-12 |
-5 |
+5vsb |
combined theoretical |
actual combined |
advertised total |
|
|
Enermax EG465AX-VE FCA 460W |
115.50 |
175.00 |
396.00 |
12.00 |
5.00 |
11.00 |
290.50 |
200.00 |
460.00 |
This power supply is really a system builder’s treat. All rails seem to be pretty evenly balanced, with plenty of room on the +3.3V and +12V. The +12V rating appears to be the peak, however. A higher combined rail rating would go a long way for this power supply, but we are just nitpicking rather than criticizing these specifications. When talking to Enermax, one of the features they were very proud of was their strict adhesion with the Intel ATX12V 1.2 standard. Of all the power supplies we looked at, the two Enermax units were the only power supplies which displayed this ATX12V 1.2 compliance. We will see this certainly pays off in the performance benchmarks later on.
Unfortunately, with any quality component, the EG465AX-VE is expensive. Most vendors carry the unit for about $85, which prices it aggressively for system builders. We were very pleased with the performance of this unit, as well.
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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).