Installation of this PSU was as easy as possible with a PSU.  There are no bulky bits sticking out the back to interfere with the case.  The simple back without even a fan grille was a nice change for installation(I’ve almost resorted to a hammer with some other PSU’s).

Modular PSU’s are the way to go.  It makes life so much easier, and when you have routed a cable one way, it is extremely easy to change your mind, disconnect at both ends and remove it.   Gone are the days where cable management was a battle that required strategy and tactics, you just put new stuff in, and the cables are there just as easily.  

OK, before we go to testing, let’s see what we are going to stress this PSU with:

The AMD Skt939 Opterons are basically just 1MB Cache San-Diego core Athlon 64 CPU’s.  They clock very well, and for this test the CPU will be running at it’s most power consuming – 2.7GHz and 1.55V.  On top of that, one of the most demanding GPUs as well, a 7800GT running at GTX speeds.  While this is not an SLI system, it is as powerful possible without being one.

Testing of the PSU was done by loading up the CPU with Prime 95 and then loading the GPU with 3dMark 05.  Then measurements of the PSU fan speed and voltages on both +12V and +5V lines were made at various stages over a 3 hour period. Voltages were measure with a multi-meter and fan speed using Motherboard Monitor.

I tried to listen to the PSU fan kicking in, but the only way I could tell it was running was by looking at the motherboard monitor status and putting my hand over it.  It does run silent, and quite often would shut off, even under load, as the PSU was running cool enough.  It is a testament to the efficiency of the PSU, as really any heat generated by a PSU is the power that is being wasted during conversion from AC to DC.  This is a really good design for a silent PSU that doesn’t go over the top with heatsinks sticking out everywhere.

On the voltage levels, who can argue with those results?  There was very little variation the whole time, and I generally sat and watched the voltages for a couple of minutes to check they were stable. 

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