300W to 450W: 20 Power Supplies on the Test Bench
by Christoph Katzer on December 31, 2008 6:00 AM EST- Posted in
- Cases/Cooling/PSUs
Cooler Master eXtreme Power Plus 390W
Cooler Master would've never thought about sending us a unit like the eXtreme Power Plus 390W, which is why we got this sample from other sources. It is unfortunately a 230VAC unit only. It comes with passive PFC (no universal AC input), a decent looking grey exterior, and an 80mm fan. We thought it might be a good idea to include it as well since we have several other similar products lined up today. The casing is very simple and the fan grille is cut directly into the metal.
When a power supply has passive PFC, there is always one problem for the designer: where to put the huge passive PFC coil. In this unit they put it on the side, which was possible because the unit slides open to the back. However, it isn't the best location since now most connecting cables need to go through half of the inside above the heatsinks for example. Teapo makes the caps, which is maybe a good choice for this kind of power supply. The eXtreme Power Plus is the only power supply in this roundup that didn't survive the testing since it gave up at 80% load. Good that out Chroma has safety functions that are preventing damages to the equipment but a PC system would have probably not survived at this point.
Buyers of this power supply can expect a short main ATX cable harness and a 55cm long 4-pin 12V harness. That's almost the same as what we saw with both Real Power Pro units. The eXtreme Power Plus comes with two SATA connectors and five Molex connectors, and the cables aren't sleeved. Obviously, this is not a high-end power supply, so the lack of a PEG connector is not surprising.
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7Enigma - Wednesday, December 31, 2008 - link
That is a heck of a lot of work for this article and we appreciate it immensely! Between this article and the upcoming mid-range builders guide (I'm begging...please get it out asap) you have reaffirmed for me this is the #1 site.Thanks again.
TheDoc9 - Wednesday, December 31, 2008 - link
The breakdown of the cable connectors and the build quality descriptions were helpful. The power noise charts look useful as well.mino - Monday, January 12, 2009 - link
Copy that, one of the best PSU roundups around.magreen - Wednesday, December 31, 2008 - link
We definitely appreciate the roundup. It addresses our needs as consumers. I wish you'd add more info about the Antec Earthwatts 430 though... it's one of the most popular PSUs on the forums here and always shows up for cheap in the hot deals section, often bundled with an Antec case. Wish you'd give us more details on its efficiency, ripple, and your overall take. I don't think you actually said anything about its performance at all. Thanks!OddJensen - Monday, January 5, 2009 - link
Isn't there a Delta made version of the 430 as well?Christoph Katzer - Monday, January 5, 2009 - link
Yes which we didn't have.Christoph Katzer - Wednesday, December 31, 2008 - link
http://www.anandtech.com/casecoolingpsus/showdoc.a...">http://www.anandtech.com/casecoolingpsus/showdoc.a...Here's the original review from a year ago. Even though I didn't mention it in the conclusion I think you have a great comparison with the respective graphics towards the end. :)
donjuancarlos - Wednesday, December 31, 2008 - link
Thanks for this article. I am one of those who does modest OCing and no SLI, and this article was pertinent for me.eetnoyer - Wednesday, December 31, 2008 - link
No temperatures at load? I would think that temps at 100% load for each unit shouldn't be too much. Just as a worst-case thing.