Xigmatek NRP-HC1001 and NRP-HC1201 Power Supplies
by Christoph Katzer on April 13, 2008 12:00 PM EST- Posted in
- Cases/Cooling/PSUs
Internals
Opening this unit reveals an inside layout we haven’t seen before. There are actually two power supplies in this one unit so to speak. To make it a little clearer we marked the different parts of the power supply.
On the top we have the well built filtering stage. It’s easy to recognize CWT power supplies by their filtering stage, which is well equipped as always. This unit then splits into two different primary sides as shown above. Both primaries are fully equipped as is standard in modern switching power supplies. Both sides have their own transformers which are easily recognizable through their green covering.
Following that we come to the secondary parts for both sides. There are solid capacitors installed on a smaller sister PCB because the space on the PCB was just not enough, though there are still some normal electrolyte capacitors close to the cable management PCB. What happens here in fact is that one half of the PSU provides the 12V1 and 12V4 and the 3.3V rail and the other half distributes 12V2 and 12V3 together with the 5V rail. That’s why the diagram shows such unusual characteristics.
The filtering stage was separated in two due to the lack of space. There are caps on the small PCB upside down and caps and coils on the main PCB. Each side has a main capacitor made by Hitachi and rated at 390µF and 400V. The secondary side features all solid caps on a small sister PCB vertically positioned relative to the main PCB. There are also smaller electrolyte capacitors behind the heatsinks as well. The backside shows the PCB for the cable management. There are clear markings with the different rails on the top of the PCB.
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HOOfan 1 - Monday, April 14, 2008 - link
well read the article then. They state it is made by CWT...just like the Thermaltake Toughpower, the Xclio Greatpower, The Corsair HX1000, The Gigabyte Odins and several others.C'DaleRider - Monday, April 14, 2008 - link
[quote]We have heard from other companies that the basic CWT design is practically unusable as there are too many flaws inherent in the design.[/quote]So, you've take some rumor, FUD, innuendo, whatever from one competitor about another without naming the source, investigating anything, pointing out the specific design flaws....yet print that "claim" as gospel?
Your credibility has just taken another nosedive. Or you've become nothing more than a paid mouthpiece for other companies....maybe like PCP&C, because that comment above sure does sound just like the FUD advertisements PCP&C ran back in 2003 against "unspecified" power supply sellers.
The ads were aimed at Antec even though the example PSU (PCP&C named the PSU as a "550W" but left the brand as a blank, but we all know who had a popular 550W back in 2003 when those ads were popping up in certain magazines) was clearly not a CWT build because they had an example unit shown with the case opened.
In fact, the PSU from that old ad looked like a Thermaltake 550W but with a unpainted casing rather than the black casing that Thermaltake used at that time. If you've got any Maximum PC mags from 2003 you can find easily the ads.
It always suspected that PC P&C was trying to point fingers at Antec and this review pretty much verifies that suspicions were correct in this guess. The sad thing is that if you take one of those CWT built Antecs and load and scope it, one will find that it was a competent unit with all the power it promised at better than 3% regulation and decent ripple. Had CWT not been hobbled with using the caps that Antec specifically asked for (Fuhjyyus), that particular build would be remembered very differently.
whatthehey - Monday, April 14, 2008 - link
Seriously, shut the hell up and RTFA! They comment about some CWT builds having issues, but then they also point out that the overall performance of the latest CWT designs seems very good... as this review shows. I love how people get their pants in a bind over one little sentence/paragraph in an article."OMG, you talked about how people in the past said CWT sucks, but you're still reviewing them favorably! You're bought out by the competition AND by the company whose power supply you're reviewing! In fact, Intel and NVIDIA own you and pay for everything you write! I'm going to go read HardOCP instead, since they're only bought out by AMD!"
Give it a rest already. The only credibility taking a nosedive (again) is related to average reading comprehension and apparently already biased opinion. Hell, go back to reading Maximum PC and let the people that actually know hardware do their thing here.
C'DaleRider - Monday, April 14, 2008 - link
I love people who comment about things they know nothing about.In reality, CWT has made no changes to their designs....not a single thing. Of course, you might know this if you managed to ever read previous reviews of CWT-built power supplies from a few years ago...but who are you to bother to read and get any facts, but instead attack and rant about something you know nothing about.
The fact of the matter is Anandtech, and this particular reviewer, chose to publish a condemnation of CWT designs of their power supplies, then supposes there has been an update to their designs. But nowhere does the reviewer ever point out the fatal flaws, the redesigns, or any other fact.....just innuendo and FUD from a competitor....and using that FUD as fact.
That'd be akin to someone printing that whatthehey was a pedophile years ago but is much better now, or that whatthehey was previously unable to hold down a productive job because of rumors of drug use, but is now a drug-free recovering addict.
Just because someone says something, doesn't mean it's true, does it? In the case of this power supply review, AT has really opened themselves up to some critical looking at, maybe by a company that has its reputation called into question. It's called libel.....
JarredWalton - Monday, April 14, 2008 - link
Keep the flames elsewhere, people.I have edited the text slightly in this paragraph to better reflect the intended meaning. Acknowledging that competitors are bad-mouthing a design isn't the same thing as saying the competitors are telling the truth. While I'm sure you'd all love a conspiracy theory, Christoph didn't include that statement to make CWT look bad. (Libel? Please.)
If you look around, you can find information on the Internet that implies CWT is a terrible source for PSUs. Like many larger companies, they have certainly had some bad designs, but the current high-end offerings are very good. (Not so sure I'd say the same thing for many of the 300-450W CWT offerings, though....)
As an ODM, CWT makes PSUs according to the specifications they receive; if a company wants to use less expensive components in order to keep price down, they will comply. In fact, it's safe to say that if you take any basic PSU design and replace all the components with inexpensive, lower rated parts, efficiency and quality will quickly take a nosedive.
Has anything changed with the basic build of CWT PSUs? I couldn't say; I've never dismantled an older CWT unit or a new design. Christoph has, though, so if he wants to imply that some changes were made to improve quality, I'm willing to trust him. (I'd tell him to respond, but he's apparently traveling for the next couple of weeks.)
Kanchenjunga - Monday, April 14, 2008 - link
The reviewer makes a claim about design flaws (without stating what those are) and then assumes that the flaws must have been fixed. It's clear from that alone that he has no idea what these design flaws are supposed to be or he would have told us just what it is that's been fixed.He's trying to market himself as having some kind of insight or inside info regarding CWT's "basic design" and fails at it.
HOOfan 1 - Monday, April 14, 2008 - link
I was also a bit suprised at the opening line of the new OCZ ElitXstream"One look inside tells us what ODM is at the heart of the design, which dimmed our expectations a bit"
Why was that? Impervio has certainly have better quality in the recent past than OCZ's other OEM, FSP.
Carnildo - Monday, April 14, 2008 - link
You say they make a 1500-watt power supply? Does it have a three-phase plug, is it better than 90% efficient at full load, or are they simply assuming that nobody will ever use it at full load? US domestic circuits are usually rated at 15 amps, which means that at 110 volts, the line can only deliver 1650 watts.Heidfirst - Monday, April 14, 2008 - link
UK domestic circuits can handle over 3000 watts ...HOOfan 1 - Monday, April 14, 2008 - link
Who pray tell said that.Come come now, if those companies want to fling mud then at least their identities should be exposed
"Seems like someone is spreading FUD, possibly while high, PC Power and Cooling I'm looking at you"