Super flower power supply member review.



First off I paid $39 (+S&H) for this on www.directon.com , I ordered it Friday and got it today, about an hour ago, not too bad I must say. I decided upon blue 550W quad adjustable fan unit.



Upon opening the box I found a manual on top in practically every spoken language on the planet. A plus for some, but useless for me. Directions were plain, simple, and straightforward. Under the package was some sheet that had AMD printed on it and I tossed it immediately. Revealing the actual unit covered in protective bubble wrap. Next to the unit was yet another power cable which I promptly added to my collection. :p



Now IÂ’m in somewhat of a hurry as I literally rip the bubble wrap off of the unit revealing not a blue power supply but an aqua color. But I didnÂ’t even notice that at first I found myself gazing at a beautiful man in the perfect mirror finish. While I was admiring myself the power cables fell down nearly to my feet. They were LONG. Surprisingly long in fact, and they had LOTS of connectors, a total of 12. It was at about this time there was just this odor that filled my lungs. Taking a good whiff of the actual unit crosses my eyes. So if you are huffing glue and trying to get clean, I donÂ’t recommend this unit. But this unit is still pretty to look at and with 4 clear fans revealing a packed inside it feels as good as it looks. I also like the shinny gold heat sinks that I could see through the fan blades.



Lucky for me I get my new power supply when I did. My generic 500W POS was on the verge of failure. The top of the power supply case was physically hot, and opening it reveals that the board inside had actually started burning. NOT cool. (Literally)



Installation is as simple as can be. Although having very long cables was slightly a hassle, it would be a big advantage to owners of large cases such as the high-end Lian-Li owners. However for my case the wires proved to be too long. But with some wire management that was a relatively minor issue. I also cleaned the dust off my Tt polo 375. Apparently it was clogging rather badly and my proc was getting warmer the last few days so it was something I had to do.



Only problem was the 20-pin ATX power connector. It fit very tightly, this can also be viewed as a plus, but after a few grunts it did connect fine. The power connectors for my drives and accessories were also snug fitting, but again this can also be vied as a good thing.



At first power up, blue light literally blasts out of the unit. A little red button on the rear of the unit changes modes of the power supply fans, from silent to auto and then to full. I immediately set it to full, as noise is not a factor and max performance is. I must say I was pleasantly surprised when it started blasting air out of the back of this unit. I would guesstamate about 45-50 cfm will little noise compared to my Intake tornado fans.



Out of the box the 12V rail was slightly low. (11.975V according to AsusProbe) But I fail to see that as an issue. At 100% load it drops slightly to 11.795V but again I donÂ’t see that as a major fluxuation. It drops another .05V when I turn on all my ccfls so I would imagine that I am getting somewhat close to the 22A max output. I doubt it will improve when I get my 120MM tornado and my xp-120. But this PSU has allowed me a much greater overclock than my old Antec 400W unit (which also died)



In conclusion and over all I would give this unit 9 out of a possible 10 stars.



Pros/Cons



Pros:



1. LOW cost

2. Nice finish

3. Good fan setup

4. Tight fitting connectors

5. Long wires for the large cases

6. Lots of power connectors, I have extra Y-cables now.



Cons:



1.12V rail is slightly underrated for extreme overclocking. (I have yet to determine if I can overclock farther than with my Antec 400 due to heat issues (Tt polo suxors!)

2.Color wasnÂ’t what I exactly wanted but acceptable

3.Noxious odor. But it goes away in 15 or so minutes. (I wonder what its like to work in the factory? )

4.Power cables can be too long if you are using a smaller case, but can probably be easily modded to fit, or hidden.



A great unit overall, probably wont hold a candle to a PC Power and cooling but for $40 what do you expect? ItÂ’s a great deal for the money.

errrmmm very " " -ish? Good review but get some piccis in there next time.