With the untimely demise of the Thermaltake PurePower 520W Power Station Power
supply that I reviewed just a few weeks ago, it was back to the drawing board
of ensuring that my system could keep cranking out those WUs for the Folding team
here at PimpRig. Learning from past mistakes, namely the Power Station, I opted
for the Aerocool Turbine Power 550W PSU. Being one of the new kids on the block,
Aerocool has generally been passed up for more well known brands in the past.
So, I am happy to undertake the task of letting all you pimps and pimpettes know
if, how, and why the Aerocool Turbine PSU is rated “X for Xtremely Cool
People.”

Packaging

While IÂ’ve had more than my fair share of crushed, smashed, and demolished
packages from Oops (err... I mean UPS) in the past, this package actually arrived
fairly unscathed. This turned out to be more of a blessing that I realized.

Newegg, known for their quality shipping, apparently ran out of peanuts while
packing my latest order or so it seemed upon opening the standard brown shipping
box. The primary product box seems plain upon first glance, but is actually
loaded with information complete with an output and wattage chart for the included
product. Other information included a list of various features including some
that I did not realize that I would be receiving in the first place (more on
this later).



The internal packaging of the product was one of the most unique IÂ’ve
seen in a while. The power supply itself came in a standard clear plastic bag
which appears to be heat sealed and includes a silica gel packet (obviously
for freshness). Pieces of thick, semi-rigid, foam rest below and atop the main
unit. The modular cables are separated from the main unit by a single piece
of thin cardboard. Also included in the box, besides the obvious standard screws
and power cord, is an 8” x 8” piece of what appears to be velvet
cloth. My only assumption at this time is that this is to buff those distracting
fingerprints off the power supply after installation is complete.

Documentation

Out of the past 5 power supplies that I have purchased, this is the only one
that did not come with a userÂ’s manual. In its place was merely a warning
card with 4 warning statements and a single upkeep statement.

PSU



The main unit itself is quite exquisite. With a lacquered black gloss, it will
set off just about any system with style. The center hub of the turbine is a
light blue plastic with two bright blue LED lights within it that could cause
inconsistent lighting schemes in some systems. The power supply is surprisingly
quiet, however. During my testing, I had to stick a small piece of paper into
the fan blades just to make sure that the fan was actually turning. The turbine
fan setup consists of two high power fans that are mounted with a half inch
space between them. Knowing a fair bit about aerodynamics, I would think that
this would cause for a disruption in airflow. However, the fans are set up to
spin in sync causing twice the amount of air to be pulled into the system.


*Above pictures courtesy of Modding-FAQ since I am not willing to void my warranty
by opening the unit


*Lit hub picture courtesy of 3DXtreme since my camera stinks at dark shots

There are several modular wires that come with the Aerocool Turbine that allow
for multiple system configurations. Included are a 20+4 ATX cable, P8-to-P4+P4
chipset cable, 3 3-pin fan cables, 2 double 4-pin molex cables, 2 double 4-pin
molex cables with FDD connectors, 2 double SATA cables, and a double head PCI-Ex
Cable. On each of these wires there is a built-in EMI cord for added EMI protection.
This addition is located at the end that plugs into the power supply. Being
one that typically added my own EMI shields to the wires on my PSU, this is
a pleasant change. All of the cables are covered with UV active plastic sleeving
that is highly flexible. Additionally, the cables with multiple connectors have
the molex heads setup inline at a 90 degree angle from the cable itself to allow
for straight-line cabling.





Weighing in a 5.5Lbs, this is not a lightweight power supply.

Testing

Next on my agenda is the multimeter. Taking the ATX 12V 2.2 standards into
account, most know that the 5% variance offers little room for error. Unlike
the Thermaltake that I reviewed earlier, this unit is rock solid.


--Please ignore the wiring mess for now.. I will be going back in shortly--

* The following system was used for testing of the PSU

AMD Athlon 64 3400+
DFI Lanparty UT nForce3 250Gb
2GB OCZ 3200 RAM
3x Lite-On Dual Layer DVD +/- RWs
Radeon X-850XTPE
3x SATA HDD
1x IDE HDD

Idle

12V: 12.21V to 12.24V
5V: 5.14V to 5.16V

Now the fun beginsÂ… Load

12V: 12.18V to 12.22V
5V: 5.13V to 5.16V

Conclusion

This power supply simply rocks. As with all products, it does have a few draw
backs. The oversized EMI protection creates a slight tight fit for the wires
between the PSU and optical drives. Overall, the power supply is a great buy.
The reliability and features make this power supply well worth the $116 price
tag (including 3-day shipping) from NewEgg.

Pimp

-outstanding look
-powerful fan
-led center fan hub
-EMI protection
-highly flexible wrapped wires
-SLI/CrossFire ready
-impressively quiet

Gimp

-tight fit on wires with optical drives due to EMI protection
-no documentation
-not compatible with cases that require the psu to be inserted from the rear

Rating

I am happy to give this power supply a hefty 8 pimphats out of 10

Attached Thumbnails

     

     

     

 

All these views and no opinions?

You did a nice job, but I believe it was a bit too brief.

I found it brief and lacking on the Overclocking side to a true PSU, not that i'm nocking it but a little performance from a high OC would have been nice to see how it handles that. Also does that raised hub in the fan create clearance issues? Can it be removed without damaging the fan.

needs dB measurements
how it compares to the noise other components generate

I have since moved the PSU to my wife's computer. In regards to the clearance issue... the hub protrudes approximately 3/4 cm from the PSU and does not affect clearance. I see no reason why it would have to be removed, but wouldn't be difficult if need be.

On to the question of sound. I don't have the proper equipment to test the db levels, but the psu runs nearly silent. Hooking it up by itself, the only reason I know it was on and working was the fans were moving and the LED was lit. It is quieter than optical drives and hard drives. Never really pushed my system to an extreme due to contraints on RAM and CPU, but the voltages were rock solid at a 600MHz OC.