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Hiper Type-R Modular Blue Line 580W PSU Review

MrIcee2 writes "XtremeResources today has on the test bench the Hiper Type-R Modular Blue Line 580W Power Supply Unit . Our European Senior Reviewer Grace evaluates the high end modular Power Supply Unit solution powering her Intel P4 3.73 EE, Asus P5AD2-E premium based test bench. Read along as she determines the flexibilty this unit offers in it's modular construction, and takes a look inside to see what make this unit the powerhouse that it is. "Most users underestimate the necessity of a good, reliable and high quality power supply unit. They usually do not understand that it is the driving force for the whole system and it can affect reliability and stability substantially. An inadequate power supply unit will cause instability of the system at best, it may overload and burn out attached components in the worst case scenario. Hiper (High Performance Group) recently released the Type-R modular blue line HPU-4B580 power supply unit, which is competitively priced and claims to be able to offer everyone what they want and require. Hiper was nice enough to have us take a look at the unit, so we will shortly know if it can stand up to its claims."

208 of 295 comments (clear)

  1. wow! by croddy · · Score: 1, Redundant

    I can see why they call it the "Blue" line!

    1. Re:wow! by Rei · · Score: 5, Insightful

      Well, this is Slashdot: Ads for Nerds. :P

      I always thought the ads were supposed to go in the panel on the top of the window, not in the "articles" section.

      --
      Aeris Died For Your Sins.
    2. Re:wow! by uradu · · Score: 1

      I was always wondering what a PSU would look like if Monster made it. Now I know!

    3. Re:wow! by mesach · · Score: 1

      Well with alot of us running firefox with adblock they need to get that ad revenue somewhere.

      --
      moo.
    4. Re:wow! by anethema · · Score: 1

      Beat me to it :D

      --


      It's easier to fight for one's principles than to live up to them.
    5. Re:wow! by Anti_zeitgeist · · Score: 1

      Anyone else notice this guys email address?

      --
      If it wasn't for C, we would be stuck using BASI, PASAL and OBOL.
  2. Wow, individual hardware reviews on Slashdot? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Funny

    Sometimes we see... you know... exciting hardware, or groups of hardware... but a single power supply? WOW!

  3. This PSU rocks! by sub7 · · Score: 1

    This PSU is amazing!!!!11 I use it to power my refrigerator, microwave, AND have enough juice left to run a small space heater in the winter... shweeet jesus!

    - j

    --
    rm -rf /bin/laden
    1. Re:This PSU rocks! by sr180 · · Score: 1
      You got ripped off! My psu IS the space heater.

      --
      In Soviet Russia the insensitive clod is YOU!
  4. Type-R? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 3, Funny

    Must be a power supply for all the ricers!

    1. Re:Type-R? by tomhudson · · Score: 1
      Must be a power supply for all the ricers!
      Of course it is - they're made in China:
      Er Heng Road,
      Shi Jie Town,
      Dong Guan City,
      Guang Dong Province,
      China

      Tel: +86-769-637-6622
      Fax: +86-769-637-6655
      The "British Connection" is just a sales outlet.
    2. Re:Type-R? by Farmer+Tim · · Score: 3, Funny

      I remember this from the old Sega Master System. The best part is if you hold down the fire button, the energy builds up and...oh, wait, that's R-Type...

      --
      Blank until /. makes another boneheaded UI decision.
    3. Re:Type-R? by valkyriekl · · Score: 1

      VTEC JUST KICKED IN, YO!

    4. Re:Type-R? by Doomstalk · · Score: 2, Funny

      I can't wait to put a bigass aluminum wing on my case. Oh, and stickers! It'll overclock three times as much that way!

    5. Re:Type-R? by mageofchrisz · · Score: 1

      I couldn't help but think this article was about a new car.. I wish I had a car with a 580w PSU... :(

    6. Re:Type-R? by uhlume · · Score: 1

      Don't forget to paint it yellow, for speed. (In a pinch you can use lime green, which is almost as fast.)

      --
      SIERRA TANGO FOXTROT UNIFORM
  5. Power supply important? by Dancin_Santa · · Score: 1

    Only to the extent that it, you know, powers the board. *rolling eyes*

    It's all just electrons, and any power supply large enough will power your computing needs. I suppose painting it metallic blue is cool because, of course, it's inside the case where looks really matter.

    Frankly, it doesn't come with the Type-R sticker, so it is only Type-R in name only. Lacking in that extra 5hp, I think we are looking at a dud.

    Might as well call it the Hiper Civic.

    1. Re:Power supply important? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Insightful

      Well, there are quality supplies and there are crap supplies. I'm not saying this one is any good but you owe it to yourself to buy a quality power supply as it is literally the most dangerous component of your system.

      I have had several el-cheapo supplies go up in smoke on me. Foretunately I was in the same room each time and could yank the power. Once at a place I worked they had the same thing happen (another cheapo supply) and the machine was in a server room. Foretunately the fire alarm alerted the sysadmins. The case of that machine had a 2 inch hole burned through the side.

      I have never again bought a cheap power supply. If I really like a case and I can't get it without the power supply I usually just toss it and put something good in.

    2. Re:Power supply important? by Roofus · · Score: 4, Interesting

      It's all just electrons, and any power supply large enough will power your computing needs. I suppose painting it metallic blue is cool because, of course, it's inside the case where looks really matter.

      In the submitter's defense, he does have a point. If that cheap (but bigass) PSU doesn't put out a clean DC voltage, you're going to see some weird (and possibly intermittent) blips happen to your hardware. Do you think AC turns into DC magically? You need a quality full wave rectifier.

      Plus there is the MTBF issue as well. I just had to trash my current Antec PSU because it started arcing and spewing smoke. If I hadn't been at home when this happened, my whole place could have burned down. Luckily, it didn't damage any of my other hardware.

    3. Re:Power supply important? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Insightful

      If that cheap (but bigass) PSU doesn't put out a clean DC voltage, you're going to see some weird (and possibly intermittent) blips happen to your hardware.

      Yes, exactly.

      For instance, a lot of hard drive failures are actually PSU-driven. Either the simple case where the PSU isn't giving enough juice to start the drive up, in which case switching to another rail or PSU will fix it, or worse, the PSU sent a transient down the line that fried your onboard electronics. And of course there are cases when the PSU problem just messes with your very-sensitive non-ECC onboard cache RAM and the other, more robust components happily write garbage to the platter.

      The mechanical components in a modern drive are usually pretty reliable -- they're in a sealed (well, except for that little vent hole with the good filter) case assembled in a clean room to tight tolerances. Nothing's getting in there to mess them up as long as you keep the temperature and humidity in spec.

      But the circuitry is connected to your cheap-ass PSU, which is connected to your mains, which are connected to your air conditioner, your vacuum cleaner, your neighbor's blowdrier, and so forth.

      That's OK, though -- just repeat to yourself "it'll probably never happen to me."

    4. Re:Power supply important? by Farmer+Tim · · Score: 4, Informative

      A "quality full wave rectifier" can be made with four power diodes at less than a dollar each; the PX6007 springs to mind, or the BR106 bridge package if you need really heavy currents. But any full-wave rectifier puts out pulsed DC, it is up to the filters and regulator section to provide a clean output.

      In my experience repairing PSUs, problems are usually caused by poor quality or inadequate filtering components (which can leave noise on the supply rails), capacitors failing or an under-rated or overheating switching transistor (FET/SCR/IGBT etc). The full wave rectifier is rarely a source of problems, and often remains intact even when the rest of the PSU is a charred mess.

      --
      Blank until /. makes another boneheaded UI decision.
    5. Re:Power supply important? by 33degrees · · Score: 1

      I had a system once that started mysteriously rebooting, and then had a hard drive fail; and it turned out to be the system overheating because the PSU's fan had died. I've been much more carefull as to the quality of my power supplies since.

    6. Re:Power supply important? by ajlitt · · Score: 1

      Hey, smartacus... Switching power supplies don't use full wave rectifiers. And even if they did, a FWR will not turn AC into DC by itself.

    7. Re:Power supply important? by Lisandro · · Score: 1

      True. In fact, diodes are perhaps the most rugged type of semiconductors; transistors seem to go *poof* if you go a volt above the limits, but diodes can take a lot of abuse (overcurrent peaks, for example) very well.

    8. Re:Power supply important? by birge · · Score: 2, Interesting
      In the submitter's defense, he does have a point. If that cheap (but bigass) PSU doesn't put out a clean DC voltage, you're going to see some weird (and possibly intermittent) blips happen to your hardware. Do you think AC turns into DC magically? You need a quality full wave rectifier.

      Rectifier? I hardly knew her.

      But seriously, folks. Getting DC sufficient for digital is really not that difficult. Any noise in the power supply will just translate into noise in the outputs of the transistors. And as long as that noise is within the margins of the logic, it disappears at the next transistor, so that the noise never "cascades" like it would with analog processing. That's the magic of digital. Hard to believe it would be hard to convince people of that on /. of all places, but I guess people loves them their pretty blue power supplies.

    9. Re:Power supply important? by syousef · · Score: 1

      Um I thought the Antecs were suppose to be good???

      --
      These posts express my own personal views, not those of my employer
    10. Re:Power supply important? by Anonymous+Luddite · · Score: 1

      >> That's OK, though -- just repeat to yourself "it'll probably never happen to me."

      Until it does. Then buying a decent power supply seems like a great idea.

      It never ceases to amaze me that people will put $1000+ worth of MB, RAM, Drives, Vid card in a case they paid 30 bucks for including power supply. That makes the PS worth what? 15 bucks? really bad place to save money.

    11. Re:Power supply important? by Creepy+Crawler · · Score: 1

      When they're NOT spitzin' and spewin' !

      --
    12. Re:Power supply important? by Ford+Prefect · · Score: 4, Interesting

      A "quality full wave rectifier" can be made with four power diodes at less than a dollar each; the PX6007 springs to mind, or the BR106 bridge package if you need really heavy currents.

      To be honest, I'd much rather be using a mercury arc rectifier - semiconductors are for wimps! ;-)

      --
      Tedious Bloggy Stuff - hooray?
    13. Re:Power supply important? by petermgreen · · Score: 1

      diodes have a junction with large peices of material on either side (either metal and semiconductor or semiconductor and semiconductor)

      so with a big diode unless you physically melt the thing you aren't going to do it that much damage

      transistors on the other hand tend to involve thin layers (of semiconductors in a BJT or insulator in a MOSFET) which are easilly damaged or destroyed

      --
      note: i'm known as plugwash most places but i screwd up registering that here somehow in the past and now can't register
    14. Re:Power supply important? by petermgreen · · Score: 1

      mods on crack again?

      the parent post is a JOKE it should be modded as FUNNY!

      its like saying you'd rather be using tubes than transistors to build your psu ;)

      --
      note: i'm known as plugwash most places but i screwd up registering that here somehow in the past and now can't register
    15. Re:Power supply important? by petermgreen · · Score: 1

      it would greatly surprise me if they didn't. The first job a switching PSU has to do is turn the incoming AC into DC. Doing this half wave whilst possible would mean larger smoothing components would be needed elsewhere.

      and a full wave rectifier WILL turn AC into DC its just that it would be pulsating DC which really isn't desirable for electronics.

      --
      note: i'm known as plugwash most places but i screwd up registering that here somehow in the past and now can't register
    16. Re:Power supply important? by Farmer+Tim · · Score: 1

      I'm not a fan of any component that contains liquid mercury, I'd prefer a nice thermionic rectifier like the GZ34. Of course, the audio loonies would argue they'd make the sound card "sweeter"...

      --
      Blank until /. makes another boneheaded UI decision.
    17. Re:Power supply important? by Farmer+Tim · · Score: 2, Informative

      Switching power supplies don't use full wave rectifiers.

      Indeed they do. The switch is essentially a PWM delivering a chopped DC signal with a mark-space ratio modified by feedback from the output rail. The DC is provided by a bridge rectifier feeding a high voltage capacitor of modest value; by using a half-wave rectifier you need double the capacitance to achieve the same ripple trough, and high voltage capacitors are much more expensive than diodes.

      Here's an example of an ATX PSU: http://www.pavouk.comp.cz/hw/atxps.png The bridge rectifier is at the top left, components D21-24.

      What switchmode PSUs don't use is large stepdown transformers. You can find out more at http://www.smps.us/smpsdesign.html. Google is your friend.

      --
      Blank until /. makes another boneheaded UI decision.
    18. Re:Power supply important? by masklinn · · Score: 1
      But seriously, folks. Getting DC sufficient for digital is really not that difficult.
      merely sufficient is not enough for computer hardware, you need power, you need to be within the voltage specs for at least 5 different voltages (+12, +5, +3.3, -3.3 and -5) and you need a fucking stability of these tensions whatever the load is, because tension instability is what kills your electronics and fails your hardware.

      It's not about "pretty blue power supplies", it's about stable and precise tensions (with 2 decimals precision) be it idle or in load, it's about high efficiency (because drawing 1kW from the grid to get 200W in your computer is not fun and quite expensive, best PSUs reach 80% efficiency), it's about low heat and on top of that it's about protecting the innards of the computer from the grid's variations of tension
      --
      "The way we can tell it's C# instead of Haskell is because it's nine lines instead of two." -- wadler
    19. Re:Power supply important? by Farmer+Tim · · Score: 1

      "And as long as that noise is within the margins of the logic, it disappears at the next transistor, so that the noise never "cascades" like it would with analog processing."

      While that's true, you're forgetting that logic circuits don't use pre-determined voltages, they use thresholds relative to the supply rail (2/3 Vcc=logic 1, for example). If the supply voltage in one portion of a circuit fluctuates while another remains steady because of better filtering or rail decoupling, that can (and does) translate into spurious signals. It is a real effect, and must be taken into account when designing logic board layouts by ensuring the supply rail is extremely low impedence.

      That said, fundamentally you are right: an average PSU will generally be good enough, as long as it isn't being asked to provide 105% of it's rated output. That's the mistake a lot of people make; that, and the fact that some cheaper supplies seem to use the same value for the Watt used when measuring PMPO in portable radios...

      --
      Blank until /. makes another boneheaded UI decision.
    20. Re:Power supply important? by rs79 · · Score: 1

      No kidding. Try adding disk drives and raid controllers till you're happy. Typically this might be around 3 controllers and 9 drives.

      See how your cheap grey PSU works then. Hint: if the PSU is not quite heavy, your disk drives will not work properly.

      You can test your PSU to see if it's any good. Simply turn the power off, connect the floppy power cable backwards, then turn it back on.

      Cound the number of seconds until the power supply wires going to the floppy vapourize. A good one would be subsecond.

      --
      Need Mercedes parts ?
    21. Re:Power supply important? by Ford+Prefect · · Score: 1

      I'm not a fan of any component that contains liquid mercury, I'd prefer a nice thermionic rectifier like the GZ34.

      I'm not sure you're quite understanding what I'm getting at. Okay, so it contains large quantities of mercury, but which would you prefer - this puny effort or this manly, throbbing, glowing artefact?

      --
      Tedious Bloggy Stuff - hooray?
    22. Re:Power supply important? by Farmer+Tim · · Score: 1

      I know precisely what you're talking about, I've seen mercury rectifiers in the flesh, so to speak. That's why I prefer thermionic rectifiers...

      --
      Blank until /. makes another boneheaded UI decision.
    23. Re:Power supply important? by Anonymous+Luddite · · Score: 1

      >> Hint: if the PSU is not quite heavy, your disk drives will not work properly.

      You're right. I think there is a direct correlation between how much stuff is actually in the power supply and whether it's worth a sh*t or not. If it weighs like a bag of marshmallows, pitch it.

      >> You can test your PSU to see if it's any good. Simply turn the power off, connect the floppy power cable backwards, then turn it back on.

      And here I was using a meter. Silly me.

    24. Re:Power supply important? by birge · · Score: 1

      You said you need this and you need that, but you never said why. So, I'll ask: Exactly why does it hurt digital electronics to have small amounts of noise in the rails. For example, if there's a small (say 2%) 60 Hz fluctuation left in the power rails, such that the logic isn't affected, tell me why that will damage the electronics or affect anything badly, for that matter. You have a lot of bluster, but not much fact in your post. As far as I can tell, there's no reason you need "2 decimals precision" in your power rails, and you've given nothing to support that besides the assertion.

      "Tension instability is what kills your electronics and fails your hardware." If that were true, then turning on your machine would be the worst thing in the world to do.

    25. Re:Power supply important? by flawedgeek · · Score: 1

      You can test your PSU to see if it's any good. Simply turn the power off, connect the floppy power cable backwards, then turn it back on.
      Cound the number of seconds until the power supply wires going to the floppy vapourize. A good one would be subsecond.


      Actually, if you knew anything about the voltages delivered to the connectors, you'd know that the yellow is 12v, red is 5, and the two blacks are both grounds. Turning the connector around wouldn't fry the wiring, just whatever was plugged into it.

      --
      My other Sig is .40 caliber.
    26. Re:Power supply important? by masklinn · · Score: 1
      "Tension instability is what kills your electronics and fails your hardware." If that were true, then turning on your machine would be the worst thing in the world to do.
      And it is, switching electronics on puts a lot of strain on them, ask any capable electronician. Keeping a box booted is actually much less stressful for it than turning it on/off, especially if you do so often (2 or 3 times a day)
      --
      "The way we can tell it's C# instead of Haskell is because it's nine lines instead of two." -- wadler
  6. Yeah, but... by RockWolf · · Score: 3, Funny

    Does it come with a free fusion plant to offset the power bills?

    --
    February 9th, 2009 8:55pm: Slashdot becomes self-aware.
    1. Re:Yeah, but... by Max+Romantschuk · · Score: 1

      Funny, but a higher wattage PSU will usually use less energy for a given rig, due to the fact that they are ofter more efficient than lesser rated PSUs. A 500W PSU doesn't mean your computer will consume more power than when equipped with a 400W PSU.

      --
      .: Max Romantschuk :: http://max.romantschuk.fi/
    2. Re:Yeah, but... by phoenix321 · · Score: 3, Informative

      My computer uses exactly 40 Watts under full load, which means playing HL2 at a decent resolution. The PSU is fanless, noiseless and can deliver 60W sustained power, although that's never needed if my power meter reads correctly. The computer has a heat pipe system, transporting CPU and GPU heat to a single 8x8cm heatsink with a small temperature controlled fan, exhausting directly to outside air. This fan switches off, so the system is, except for a barely noticeable HDD noise, extremely silent, whenever convection cooling is sufficient, e.g. system is less than half-loaded and ambient temperatures are below 25 degrees Celsius, for example while writing /.-comments and surfing the web ATM. The CPU core frequency adapts in 4-step granularity to current computing power needs, so it saves more power and exhausts less heat while the CPU is waiting for me typing comments in a browser window. Typical low-power intake is about 25W, so the PSU is barely above room temperature.

      The system had cost me 15 percent more as an equally powerful (in terms of computing power) but 7 times as energy consuming system. And the best (hehe): it has an integrated UPS with a backup capacity of 2 to 4 hours, depending on load. Did I mention the flatscreen built in for improved portability to LAN-parties?

      Welcome to the world of current notebooks. I will never go back to a desktop rig, as long as those are weighing more than 4kgs, consume more than 200W while writing mails and surfing the web and produce more noise than a vacuum cleaner.

      I don't know why PC manufactures haven't caught up to the current standards in power saving and noise reduction. Traditional desktop systems are IMHO not that much cheaper to offset their disadvantages, compared to notebooks. When I browse sites like Newegg, I conclude the price premium for notebooks is less than 15 percent, taking the integrated 15-17 inch TFT screen into account. The only thing notebooks lack is HDD space and speed. Most have 4800 upm ones and their capacity is 100GB at max. Capacity is offset by cheap USB-HDs if needed and speed is currently catching up with the first 7200 upm HDs appearing for the 2,5" form factor. Noise will then be an issue again, though, I fear.

    3. Re:Yeah, but... by phoenix321 · · Score: 1

      Let's see you upgrade your desktop machine. If the PSU, the form factor, the RAM interface, the CPU socket, the graphics socket and the HDD connection still fits.

      I had that update thing going on for years. And everytime it was the memory, the cpu, the mobo and the psu that had to go. Most of the time, the old HD was too small anyway, so the only thing I could re-use were the screen and some cd/dvd-drives. What a bargain...

  7. Type-R power supply by doubtless · · Score: 4, Funny

    So do we have to use a K&N air filter for the air intake to maximize the power?

    I'm sure some neon lights will help too.

    --
    geek page at KY speaks
    1. Re:Type-R power supply by Velox_SwiftFox · · Score: 1

      Air intake? I want mine noiseless and fanless. 580W is about right. No convection noise either, please.

    2. Re:Type-R power supply by Jeff+DeMaagd · · Score: 1

      Air intake? I want mine noiseless and fanless. 580W is about right. No convection noise either, please.

      You aren't serious. If you can hear convection noise of such a heat source then you are in trouble, because every computer that consumes that amount of power is going to either need extensive work (like that $1500 Zalman case shown last year) and need to go completely driveless.

    3. Re:Type-R power supply by wpmegee · · Score: 5, Funny

      Throw on a V-TEC sticker and get +5 amps on the 12V rail!

    4. Re:Type-R power supply by Moofie · · Score: 1

      No. He's not serious. That moist sound was the joke hitting you in the forehead.

      --
      Why yes, I AM a rocket scientist!
    5. Re:Type-R power supply by Alioth · · Score: 1

      I know you're just joking - but seriously - an air filter on your computer's intake isn't a bad idea. A local company's MISYS server has air filters on the intakes. It's a machine built to last, and when you open it up it's spotlessly clean inside, not like the catacombs.

      Of course, the filter need not be expensive - a simple foam filter will do the job.

  8. Tool Box by songofthephoenix · · Score: 1
    Beautiful power supply. Also, they did well with its packing - It comes with it's own tool box:

    http://www.xtremeresources.com/modules.php?op=mo dload&name=Reviews&file=index&req=showcontent&id=7 8&page=2

  9. Sketchy by birge · · Score: 2, Insightful

    It seems to me that one of the whole points of digital is that as long as the power rails are above some sufficient level of performance, any improvement in performance is pointless. Power supply noise isn't an issue below some critical value. This reminds me of the crooks who try to sell people on $100 digital audio fiber optic cable for "higher fidelity."

    1. Re:Sketchy by aussersterne · · Score: 1

      Don't be naive. Electronic digital components are still electronic; their digital property is the result of engineering, not the result of physics.

      The average computer has 30-50 amps of DC power flowing around inside it along with a pile of VRMs. Inadequate or low quality conductors and connections can lead to excess heat, meltdowns, overvoltage/undervoltage, or degredation in components due to said heat, meltdowns, overvoltage/undervoltage, etc. This degredation can then in turn affect power consistency/availability or indeed the digital nature (threshold sensitivity) of components themselves.

      They're only digital so long as you don't wear 'em out or melt 'em down by giving them bad power. And the result is exactly what many think to be standards of consumer computing: instability, crashes, overheating, component failures, etc.

      --
      STOP . AMERICA . NOW
    2. Re:Sketchy by Cylix · · Score: 2, Informative

      If you dig around a little bit you will find the acceptable tolerance levels most equipment is designed around.

      For ATX 2.01.. the variance is only 5% for all positive voltage rails. For instance, if you see a reading below 4.75 on your 5v line... you are looking at a problem.

      I've already seen this on a cheap power supply and the problem resulted in a few things. Extreme system instability (It was a fair chunk below the 5% mark) and lots of extra heat.

      My guess is the power supply was extremely over taxed because it was over rated, but rather then waste time with further research... I simply replaced the unit. (down time being lost revenue). It still sits in storage... waiting for a day when I will toy with it.

      You can rely on the internal sensors if you like and most newer boards come with such devices. I have a bit less trust in such things and prefer to take the reading directly from the line with a volt meter.

      --
      "You should always go to other people's funerals; otherwise, they won't come to yours." -- Yogi Berra
    3. Re:Sketchy by birge · · Score: 1

      I'm not being naive, but somebody is if they think they are going to replace their adequately functioning power supply and somehow get a performance boost. You simply argued that you saw a case where a power supply was below the threshold for minimum performance. That doesn't refute my argument one iota. My point was that for a given digital system you can divide power supplies into two groups: those that work and those that don't. There's no point in doing anything other than picking the cheapest one from the former category. These guys are selling snake oil, plain and simple.

    4. Re:Sketchy by aussersterne · · Score: 1

      My point is that an inadequate or low-quality power supply with inadequate guage wires, poor current filtering, etc., will work only so long as it doesn't destroy your hardware.

      --
      STOP . AMERICA . NOW
    5. Re:Sketchy by birge · · Score: 1
      Yhat 100$ (never seen a 100$ one, but have seen quite a few 30$ cables) cable is important to some (in an audio system it can reduce transmission errors.

      You can't reduce transmission errors if you've got zero transmission errors to begin with!

      That's exactly what you're going to get with even the cheap cables. We're talking about transmitting low bit-rate optical data over a few feet. The noise margin is so high there's really no point for a good cable. To test this theory, I was able to get a digital lock on my reciever by just holding the cable in my hand a few millimeters from the output port on my DVD. Single-mode 40 GB/s long-haul optics this isn't!

      If anybody spends the money on expensive digital cables (i.e. Monster) they are getting snookered. They'll buy the digital system and listen to the sales guy when he says "Digital is great, you get perfect transmission through the various components of your system" and then they'll turn around and buy the high-end cables from the same guy when he contradicts himself and says "you need Monster cables, dude, they preserve the full integrity of your sensitive digital signals."

      Anyhow, in a computer system, especially one with a high end video card and the latest CPU, a PSU with a tonne of rock solid stable rails is important, particulary if you enjoy overclocking.

      Give me a break. If power supplies were the limiting factor to processor performance, I assure you Intel would be putting their research into power supplies instead of busting their balls to improve clock speed by building billion dollar fabs.

      Regardless, it's irrelevent to my argument. I simply said that as long as you have a power supply that is functioning adequately, you're not going to get any better performance from a "better" power supply. Do you not agree?

    6. Re:Sketchy by birge · · Score: 1
      My point is that an inadequate or low-quality power supply with inadequate guage wires, poor current filtering, etc., will work only so long as it doesn't destroy your hardware.


      Which was my point, too, so I guess we don't have an argument! :-) I don't think the company in the article is really touting their product as a way to keep your PC from destroying itself, however. I think they're trying to fool l88t 'users' into buying it thinking it will make their system better.

    7. Re:Sketchy by Jah-Wren+Ryel · · Score: 2, Interesting

      Power supply noise isn't an issue below some critical value.

      However, in PC's that critical value tends to be a lot higher than one expects. Far too often, PC power supplies get really noisy when pushed to anywhere near their maximum rating. The results can be very mysterious - all kinds of components from hard disks to ram "randomly" failing.

      I've literaly seen the benefits of improved power sources myself - over on avsforum there was an EE freak in the canadian boonies who was all about making sure you have copious amounts of clean power available to assure maximum stable performance in a PC. He used to sell personally modified versions of video-capture cards. He would take a garden-variety $30 NTSC capture card, replace the caps and a few other components in the power supply path and resell it for about $100. The end result was the cleanest video capture short of pro equipment in the $1K+ price range - all because of his improvements to the power circuitry on the cards.

      --
      When information is power, privacy is freedom.
    8. Re:Sketchy by birge · · Score: 1
      However, in PC's that critical value tends to be a lot higher than one expects. Far too often, PC power supplies get really noisy when pushed to anywhere near their maximum rating. The results can be very mysterious - all kinds of components from hard disks to ram "randomly" failing.

      I've been lucky enough to never have had a computer fail due to component failure, and I've been using them with their cheap power supplies for about 25 years. But if you get a crappy power supply that is so bad you get failures, and I can certainly believe they exist, then just get a good enough supply. Getting the "best" there is is pointless. It's a power supply. Getting a really expensive power supply is like using a 50 calibre belt-fed machine gun to kill a spider.

      He would take a garden-variety $30 NTSC capture card, replace the caps and a few other components in the power supply path and resell it for about $100. The end result was the cleanest video capture short of pro equipment in the $1K+ price range - all because of his improvements to the power circuitry on the cards.

      Video capture is analog, so I'm not surprised a good power supply is important there.

    9. Re:Sketchy by petermgreen · · Score: 1

      an inadequate or low quality PSU may well destory your system BUT i see no evidence in the "review" that that PSU is high quality.

      to test a PSU properly is NOT a job for a computer review site and will REQUIRE multiple samples to allow different failure modes to be tested.

      --
      note: i'm known as plugwash most places but i screwd up registering that here somehow in the past and now can't register
    10. Re:Sketchy by SenseiLeNoir · · Score: 1

      Actually I have ONE case where a good optical cable CAN make the difference. I have a DVD player, and a Set-Top FreeView Digital Box (enables us Brits to watch free-to-view Digitial Terestrial Channels). Both are Optical only, and my 5.1 surround system has only one optical input.

      In order to connect both at the same time, i used a Optical splitter, in the oposite direction (to combine). When i used cheapo Fibre, the loss of signal was pretty high.

      Fair enough, I didnt go for the "gold plated" Mega Digital Optical cable, but I went for some mid range, "clean glass" cables, and the whole system worked.

      --
      Have a nice day!
    11. Re:Sketchy by siliconwafer · · Score: 1

      Power supply noise can be a major issue. When a large number of transistors suddenly turn on, there is a very, very large instantaneous draw in current. A poor power supply will respond with a quick voltage drop, as it is unable to meet the demand. The voltage drop can be enough to reset a flip-flop and otherwise affect an IC. (Although board designers should strategically place capacitors around IC's to filter this high frequency noise.) This becomes more of a problem as switching frequencies increase.

    12. Re:Sketchy by masklinn · · Score: 1
      I'm not being naive, but somebody is if they think they are going to replace their adequately functioning power supply and somehow get a performance boost
      Uh oh, no, no one ever said they got a perf boost from switching PSU. switching PSU can net you stability and durability boosts though, to both the PSU itself (for durability) and the other components of the case (for both factors).
      Precision electronics such as what you find in your computer don't like out of specs tensions (ever seen the 3.3V line dishing out above 4V? it's quite ugly), like even more variating tensions (12V dropping from 12.1 to 11.1V when going from idle to load? give me more please), user's bank account doesn't like low efficiency (best PSUs are above 75%, worst are more around 40%. This means that when your computer needs 200W the former will draw 266W while the later will draw 500W from the grid...), and the user himself likes low noise (which means slowly rotating fans or no fans at all, and high efficiency to lower the dissipated heat).

      You may believe electronics is about "works" or "doesn't work", but it's sadly not, and good PSUs (in this case) are important for the global quality of the system and components, and even more important if you push your system to it's limits (overclocking it, or using higly loaded system such as dual processor, SLI graphics, multiple drives, ...)
      --
      "The way we can tell it's C# instead of Haskell is because it's nine lines instead of two." -- wadler
    13. Re:Sketchy by SacredNaCl · · Score: 1

      You can rely on the internal sensors if you like and most newer boards come with such devices. I have a bit less trust in such things and prefer to take the reading directly from the line with a volt meter.

      I've worked on many PCs, and I check at the plug with my multimeter. Some of the internal sensors I've looked at have been so far off that if those values were real the system wouldn't be running but fine at the multimeter. There should be some way to calibrate these, but I never see anything on the board to do it with. Any easy way?

      --
      Freedom is merely privilege extended unless enjoyed by one and all.
    14. Re:Sketchy by birge · · Score: 1
      This means that when your computer needs 200W the former will draw 266W while the later will draw 500W from the grid...)

      I have to admit, that would be a terrific reason to buy an expensive power supply. I didn't see anything in the advertisement about efficiency, though. But I agree that is a real factor.

      Precision electronics such as what you find in your computer don't like out of specs tensions

      You said it. Which is why you buy a power supply that works within spec and don't waste your money on something overpriced that's even more within the spec that what you've already got. Why is it that everybody argues with my argument by using my argument?

      Me: There's no point in buying something better than a supply which gives you acceptable noise limits.

      Somebody else: You're an idiot. You need a power supply that operates within the limits of the electronics.

    15. Re:Sketchy by Cylix · · Score: 1

      It's not like these systems come with a tunable pot.

      SO it's an integrated sensor package hard wired to spec.

      --
      "You should always go to other people's funerals; otherwise, they won't come to yours." -- Yogi Berra
  10. Man, these marketing guys ... by gstoddart · · Score: 2, Funny

    Why am I not surprised to see X-Treme tech covering a Type-R anything?

    Can't these guys come up with any more friggin' letters than X and R? =)

    Young punks, get off my lawn.

    --
    Lost at C:>. Found at C.
    1. Re:Man, these marketing guys ... by Leroy_Brown242 · · Score: 1

      Type-B and W-Sport are not cool sounding though.

  11. sticker? by brjndr · · Score: 1

    ...but does it come with a cool type-r sticker for my case?

  12. Type-R? by Laconian · · Score: 1

    Does the exhaust fan use VTEC?

  13. mistaken for pot growing room? by MichaelGospatric · · Score: 1

    I don't know whether it was a hoax or not, but I remember reading that utility companies look for spikes in power consumption as evidence of indoor marijuana growing. Whether or not 580w would be over this threshold, I'm not sure.

    1. Re:mistaken for pot growing room? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Insightful

      Duh. A fraction of the power of an electric space heater. Duh. Way less than a microwave. Duh. Less than a water heater. Duh.

    2. Re:mistaken for pot growing room? by Jjeff1 · · Score: 1

      I believe this is true, though it's not spikes they look for. Apparently the plants grow better with more light, the growers leave plant lights on 24/7. So they're looking for someone using an unusual constant level of power, not the typical power usage you see in a normal household.

      I'm not also sure if power companies even care, but the police might subpoena this type of information in an investigation.

    3. Re:mistaken for pot growing room? by PornMaster · · Score: 1

      How many watts do the lights use, though?

      I think that you'd have to be using at least tens of kilowatts before you could realistically be flagged. I've run plenty of PCs and air conditioners 24/7 in a 2BR apartment and nobody came a-knockin'.

    4. Re:mistaken for pot growing room? by Cecil · · Score: 2, Informative

      You clearly have no idea how a) power supplies work and b) how marijuana growing works.

      a) 580watt is it's rated maximum power output, on all three voltage rails combined. There are individual maximums for each voltage rail, so you would have to be exactly at each of those to be drawing the full 580 watts at any given time. You never max them all out, you max one out, typically the 5v. Point number two: 580 watts is its maximum power output. After that it may very well burn out or catch fire or whatever. Realistically if you're drawing anywhere near 580 watts you're going to be getting a very unstable system, because at that kind of output it cannot keep a reliable stream of power coming out. For a good power supply, you never want to exceed two thirds of its rated output. For a cheap powersupply, cut the rated output in half, or even to a third. You don't want a maximum sustained load above that. Third point: In all realistic use, PC powersupplies only approach their maximum at startup, when everything (hard drives, fans) is spinning up and all the capacitors are filling, etc.

      b) Even modestly sized marijuana grow-ops (disclaimer: I am not one, I don't even smoke pot, so take this with a grain of salt) use absolutely ridiculous amounts of electricity. The grow-lights alone they use are typically 1 or 2 KILOwatts each, and if you think they're using only one or two lights you're crazy. The temperature control also uses a hell of a lot of electricity for hydroponics. I have 7 computers in my house, two of them very hefty servers, and all of them with at least 340watt power supplies. My power usage on my last bill was 671 kilowatt-hours for a month. A grow-op will use that much in a week, or even days.

    5. Re:mistaken for pot growing room? by sirReal.83. · · Score: 1

      One 2KW bulb for up to 4 very large plants is common. If you have a barn with 100 plants, you'd better watch out :/

    6. Re:mistaken for pot growing room? by Cliff.Braun · · Score: 1

      Having a little bit of experience with one of the two, I agree. Although the biggest lights(HPS's) like gym lights are only 1000 watts a piece, which adds up to 24 KWH a day, or like 750 a month. and that would probably bring in about 10,000 a month if done properly, CO2 and shit.

    7. Re:mistaken for pot growing room? by Farmer+Tim · · Score: 1

      "Apparently the plants grow better with more light, the growers leave plant lights on 24/7."

      Not so. More than fourteen hours a day yields no significant improvement in growth rate (plants need a night cycle too), more than that is a waste of electricity, so growers tend to use timer switches. Power companies look at the times the power is being used, not just the amount: if a large load is switched on and off at exactly the same time every day in a residential building, its a good indicator.

      "So they're looking for someone using an unusual constant level of power..."

      I just checked, the Sonn-T-Agro I have here (two inch diameter, 14 inches long) consumes 400 Watts, or a little more than the computer I'm sitting in front of (which is usually on 24/7), so it's unlikely that anything less than a major server farm would be detectable, let alone mistaken for a growing room.

      "I'm not also sure if power companies even care..."

      Depending on jurisdiction, if the power company has reason to suspect illegal activity they are obliged to pass on information. That said, the last bust I heard of was because the neighbours complained about the smell...

      And before anyone makes accusations, grow lights have legal uses too, just like P2P.

      --
      Blank until /. makes another boneheaded UI decision.
    8. Re:mistaken for pot growing room? by Coolmoe · · Score: 1

      "a) 580watt is it's rated maximum power output, on all three voltage rails combined."

      From TFA
      580Watt continuous output. (Peak Load 630 watts)

      --
      Got hosting
    9. Re:mistaken for pot growing room? by Chris84000000 · · Score: 1

      On the topic of indoor pot growing ops, I highly recommend people check out the 2000 movie "Saving Grace". Very good film.

      And it's just a movie I liked and thought I'd mention it, sorry if I'm getting off topic (Oh no! Offtopic! Here comes the mod-y monster).

      --
      Please stop misusing Catch-22 to describe chicken-egg problems or other paradoxes that are not Catch-22.
    10. Re:mistaken for pot growing room? by Mike+Buddha · · Score: 1

      Grow lamps start out at about 1000W and go up from there. I don't think there's a whole lot of risk with a 580W power supply. Remember, 580W is peak output and the device only puts that out if you draw that much. Normal use will draw far less power than the 580W.

      --
      by Mike Buddha -- Someday the mountain might get him, but the law never will.
    11. Re:mistaken for pot growing room? by Cougem · · Score: 1

      A PSU only draws the power it needs anyway. You'd get no bigger power spikes with a 580W than a 300W. It just means you have more power to play with if say....you installed 7 water pumps for your water cooling system.

  14. Hiper Type-R Modular Blue Line 580W PSU by Starji · · Score: 1

    With a name like that, how can't it sell?

    1. Re:Hiper Type-R Modular Blue Line 580W PSU by Genom · · Score: 1

      I'll hold out for the Super Turbo Hiper Type-R Modular Blue Line EX+ Alpha 3, myself.

  15. What this... by __aaclcg7560 · · Score: 1

    Let me know when K-Mart is running a "blue light" special on this power suppy. I'm too cheap to pay full retail. :P

  16. Sparkle by Solder+Fumes · · Score: 1

    Meh...it's an art piece, for sure. But I've had excellent luck with nice, inexpensive Sparkle power supplies from Newegg.

    1. Re:Sparkle by Farmer+Tim · · Score: 4, Funny

      A name like "Sparkle" for a PSU doesn't fill me with confidence, but at least is isn't called "Flash BANG!"

      --
      Blank until /. makes another boneheaded UI decision.
  17. Underestimating by Jeff+DeMaagd · · Score: 1

    I think more users underestimate the value of a half-decent surge protector, and many of those that think they are using one are actually using a plain power strip.

    On the power rating, the problems I've run into in the past is finding the power consumption ratings of all the devices I expect to use, and how much power is used from the respective voltage rails.

    1. Re:Underestimating by Cylix · · Score: 2, Interesting

      It's more troublesome then some really understand.

      I can really appreciate the UL listings on the back of a television monitor after dealing with so much much equipment that doesn't have any listings.

      When performing an evaluation... I had a friend recommend just getting an amperage meter tool to check the system needs. It really doesn't take in account the initial power spike, but it helps when things are poorly documented.

      So... all I can say is...

      Over spec, over spec and well... you know... over spec some more.

      --
      "You should always go to other people's funerals; otherwise, they won't come to yours." -- Yogi Berra
    2. Re:Underestimating by Jeff+DeMaagd · · Score: 1

      The problem with overspec'ing is that you lose efficiency. The rated efficiency of any power supply is at the rated load, efficiency goes down considerably when at a fraction of the load. How much difference, I really don't know.

    3. Re:Underestimating by aussersterne · · Score: 2, Informative

      To make matters worse, there are no standards per se. For example, most mainboards these days draw CPU power from the 12v rail, but some (most notably a few Tyan boards) draw power for as many as two CPUs from the 5v rail instead.

      When a power supply is listed as "XYZ watts," most users just assume that either it's big enough or it isn't. But a 550 watt power supply that only supplies 25a on the 5v rail giving the rest to 12v is going to flame out or melt wires eventually if your mainboard runs two CPUs on its 5v line. Meanwhile, a 550 watt that supplies 50a on the 5v line but only 10 or 15 on the 12 will flame out if your mainboard runs a pair of CPUs on 12v.

      There really is that much variability, too--check the power supply listings on ebay for a single value like 450 watts and read the amperage ratings for each rail. That power is spread every which way depending on manufacturer whims.

      To make matters more complex are all of the big hairy AGP card that people are running these days, which draw tons of current, too.

      It's a big deal and probably will get bigger if we continue to use bigger and bigger CPUs and GPUs.

      --
      STOP . AMERICA . NOW
    4. Re:Underestimating by rikkards · · Score: 1

      To make matters more complex are all of the big hairy AGP card that people are running these days, which draw tons of current, too.
      Yep. I have a Thermaltake 550w and found that if I plugged in my 9800Pro with floppy power connector and my SATA HD on the same bus and started playing a game the hard drive would power down. Took me a couple times to finally hear the click of the drive shutting down to figure out what was happening.

  18. On the other news... by Papay-Noel · · Score: 1, Funny

    Power supply vendor destroyed by giant monsters from outer space.

  19. The more modular PSUs, the better by Quattro+Vezina · · Score: 1

    This PSU is a Good Thing.

    After buying an Ultra X-Connect last year, there's no way I'd be able to go back to a conventional power supply. I love the modular design.

    It's about time someone else came out with a modular PSU. Hopefully, Ultra and Hiper will be able to push modular power supplies to the point where they completely drive conventional crap out of the market.

    --
    I support the Center for Consumer Freedom
  20. Hyper Typer by datafr0g · · Score: 3, Funny

    I always thought a Hiper Type-R was a very fast keyboard...

    --
    "Who says nothing is impossible? Some people do it every day!" - Alfred E. Neuman
    1. Re:Hyper Typer by flood6 · · Score: 2, Funny

      Jesus jumped up Christ. Can we get a +1 funny for parent over here? Funniest post on /. today.

  21. Here's what I don't understand by 3770 · · Score: 2, Interesting


    Why does the PSU have to be internal?

    Why can't it be external like for laptops. That way heat isn't dissipated inside the computer case.

    Can someone straighen me out here?

    --
    The Internet is full. Go Away!!!
    1. Re:Here's what I don't understand by ottothecow · · Score: 2, Interesting
      you COULD run it outside the case (there are some small cases that do this). But that would kind of defeat the purpose of the big desktop with everything inside of it.

      your drives all make heat but most people prefer to keep them contained in the system.

      --
      Bottles.
    2. Re:Here's what I don't understand by Sycraft-fu · · Score: 1

      Well normally PSUs include fans, at least one blowing right out, and often another drawing air in. Thus they don't usually dissapate much heat in the case, rather they help with the cooling. In older PCs, the PSU fan is often the ONLY fan that works to move air out of the case.

    3. Re:Here's what I don't understand by Detritus · · Score: 1
      You don't want the power supply to be any farther away from the load than necessary. Long power cables can cause problems with excessive voltage drop and poor voltage regulation.

      It's also cheaper to mount it inside the case.

      --
      Mea navis aericumbens anguillis abundat
    4. Re:Here's what I don't understand by masklinn · · Score: 1
      Why does the PSU have to be internal?
      Because that's the point of a *case*
      Why can't it be external like for laptops.
      It's actually not fully external for a laptop, part is out and part is in
      That way heat isn't dissipated inside the computer case.
      Well, initially the PSUs were supposed to use their fans to dissipate heat from the CPU (that's how ATX form factor specs it). Current systems, however, dish a lot of heat which means that they can't and PSUs actually worsen the problem by heating the case (even though they now have up to 2 fans to extract heat from the case and the PSU), but that's one of the problems BTX tries to address, as well as the latest Antec case, P180, which separates PSU+drives from the other parts of the system (MB, CPU, ...)
      --
      "The way we can tell it's C# instead of Haskell is because it's nine lines instead of two." -- wadler
    5. Re:Here's what I don't understand by cr0sh · · Score: 1
      Part of the original ATX spec (as you mentioned) was to have the fan on the PSU suck air from the outside, thru the PSU and onto (and thru) the CPU heatsink. Probably worked OK on the few custom DELL or Acer machines where part placement could be controlled (that, and heat from both parts wasn't a bad thing) - other than that, the design was horrible!

      So, now we have dual fan PSUs and such, some working at odds with the case fans (with the PSU blowing in, and the case fan(s) blowing in as well) - working to move the heat completely wrong...

      Heat rises! If you have a tower style case, you want to work with this fact, so mount a fan up front sucking in cool air (front bottom), and give it a good flow route (ie, bundle your cables, etc out of the way) up, over and around everything to the PSU. For the PSU fans, make sure they are sucking case air and blowing it out the back - follow an "S" curve of airflow in the case. If you have hot running PCI cards, you may need a case fan blowing on them, as well.

      Now - if your system is really maxed out, then this advice won't work - because your PSU is going to be dumping some heat as well, and the advice above probably won't help, because you are running preheated air thru the case fan. Old ATX cases used to have a spot for a second fan just below the PSU, behind where the CPU normally was positioned. There are more than a few current cases that have a similar layout. So - for this, work with the airflow again: Have the S curve routed thru this fan, but for the PSU, do something completely different: isolate it from the rest of the system. In this case, route the air from the back of the PSU, in thru the PSU, then out thru the top of the PSU and out the top of the case. Isolate the PSU airflow from the case airflow, in other words, so that the PSU isn't heating the case airflow, and that flow is only moving heat from the case, cards, drives, cpu, etc. This may or may not require mods to the PSU. If your PSU exhausts air from two places, change the fan on the outside to suck air in, and route the internal exhaust fan air out through a custom duct or something, to the outside, and not into the case...

      With all of that said, just remember you are trying to route hot air away from components and outside of the case, and bring in cool air from the outside (oh, and don't get the hot and cool air intakes close to each other, nor seal the computer in a cabinet or even a small room without an A/C unit). Ideally, the cases would be easily set up for this, but between the requirements of the ATX spec, the varying layout of PC motherboards, and the cooling requirements of the parts (and, BTW, who thought that mounting an AGP video card upside down was a good thing - grr!) - we have what we have, and the whole design sucks (and not in a good way), so until things change, you have to get very creative and think carefully about what you are trying to accomplish in order to move that hot air OUT...

      --
      Reason is the Path to God - Anon
  22. Real reviews by Rufus211 · · Score: 4, Insightful

    First of all, wtf is with that name? All it needs is a few more Xs for Xtreme.

    Anyway, thanks for a bunch of pictures of the PSU without actually telling me anything. If you want a real review of PSUs, head over ot X-bit labs. All of their reviews contain actual power data with power draw vs rated voltage graphs and scope readings of rail fluctuations. And one picture of the PSU if you actually care.

    1. Re:Real reviews by OurCompliments · · Score: 1

      Yeah, but are they modular? Thought not.

    2. Re:Real reviews by Elledan · · Score: 1

      You said it. This was simply one more of those 'look at the pretty colours'-types of reviews.

      Some things which bothered me in this review:

      - This PSU doesn't use XLR connectors, but bayonet catches. XLR connectors are used for professional audio applications.
      - Those heatsinks are a joke for what is a PSU which might do around 450 - 500 W (compensated for 25 -> 40 degrees testing environment). Without the 120 mm fan this unit will probably choke and die within minutes.
      - A real PSU test involves measuring each rail under varying, dynamic or static loads, for which you'll need more than an overclocked PC. Pushing the PSU to, and beyond its rated output is standard.
      - Ripple on voltage rails is measured in mVs, and requires more than a fancy piece of monitoring software reading the mainboard's sensors (which are never accurate enough).
      - I really hope that the multimeter she used in this review was not calibrated, because a constant +/- 2.5% overvoltage on the +12 V rails is NOT healthy. There's a reason why professional PSUs, like PC Power & Cooling can have 3% and lower tolerance on its rails.
      - Those +12 V ratings look quite weak for a 580 Watt PSU; even the EURO 50,-, 350 Watt Enermax PSU in my main system has around the same ratings on its single +12 V rail as this PSU has on both rails combined.

      In other words, this review sucks :) as does the tested PSU in all probability.

      --
      Site & blog: http://www.mayaposch.com
    3. Re:Real reviews by FidelCatsro · · Score: 1

      Honda Type-R Which is Hondas Performance version of their cars which also have silly names
      Such as the "Honda Civic Type-R Dangan Hot Hatch" With its I-vetech engine, Which i imagine produces less energy than that thing

      --
      The only things certain in war are Propaganda and Death. You can never be sure which is which though
    4. Re:Real reviews by SenseiLeNoir · · Score: 1

      Or better yet, just BUY a pre built car from the manufactures (AMG, Brabus, etc). Those designs are usually tastefully done, and work WITH the design of the car, as opposed to against it.

      As a side note, Last friday I got my dad and sister a Mercedes A-Class A160, Manual. Despite its "piddly" moosical look, that car was able to blast past a Boy Racer with his souped up VW Golf. SHoudl have seen the look on his face....

      --
      Have a nice day!
    5. Re:Real reviews by adamjaskie · · Score: 1

      Well, that is the whole trick of subtle appearance modifications. Work with the design of the car, rather than against it. You can buy something pre-made, or you can do something unique. Also, some people enjoy tinkering. Sure, you can buy an M3, like so many people do, or you can buy a 325, swap in a different engine, and do a lot of work to it, and you end up with something that may or may not be as fast as an M3, but it is your own creation, rather than a cookie-cutter performance car that a few thousand people already have. You might even end up spending as much as you would for an M3, but it is something YOU had input on the creative process.

      I have seen modified Civics that are tastefully done, and look very good. However, they are few and far between. I see a LOT more M3s and Porsches than I do tastefully modified Civics.

      You can make a VW Golf fast, however, most Boy Racers (same concept as "ricers") don't do anything to the engine. They just paste on a huge wing, carbon fibre hood, unpainted body kit, crappy paint job and lots and lots of stickers. And maybe some huge wheels, a loud exhaust system, and a few coils cut off the springs to make it ride lower (and bottom out on the seams between highway sections).

      --
      /usr/games/fortune
    6. Re:Real reviews by dubiousmike · · Score: 1

      Its not a real review when the story submitter says, "so we will shortly know if it can stand up to its claims".

      Why not submit the story until you know how it actually performs. Definitely seems like more of an ad than anything else...

    7. Re:Real reviews by SenseiLeNoir · · Score: 1
      The A160 does 0 to 60 in 15 seconds. Maybe he was trying hard not to laugh.


      AC, the A160 you quoted in your enlightened link was a A160 CDi (HINT: Diesel). The A160 petrol does 0 - 60 in less time ;)

      Secondly, its 0 to 30 performance is pretty good. its only as it goes towards 60, it fades out. Thirdly, Mr Boyracer was definately not laughing. His car was a Golf 1.6, but totally crippled by his booming sound system, and his immense wheelspin that he decided to achieve to get moving.
      --
      Have a nice day!
  23. Comparisons by Mdalek · · Score: 1

    I think they should have made comparisons with other cheaper and competing high brand PSUs, otherwise there's no point in giving those readings on the PC Probe software.
    Performance would seem more important to me than the country the steel came from.

  24. Riiight by Sivar · · Score: 1
    "powering her Intel P4 3.73 EE, Asus P5AD2-E premium based test bench."

    And we're supposed to believe that someone is powering a P4 3.73GHz with only a 580W power supply?

    In all seriousness, I have to be suspect of a title like "European Senior Reviewer" from a website that has the 'word' "Xtreme" four times in the title image alone (and not just because most hardware savvy people are using either Athlon64s or Pentium-M's). I guess it's cool, or something, to have an xtreme power supply for the extremely power-hungry PIV. Or maybe it was the metallic blue finish--always an important factor when considering the relative merits of competing power supplies. :)
    Reminds me of that group of idiot truck-driving teenagers in Harold and Kumar go to White Castle. "That was so not extreme."
    Cool movie. :)
    --
    Computer Science is no more about computers than astronomy is about telescopes. --E. W. Dijkstra
    1. Re:Riiight by Sivar · · Score: 1

      To be clear, I wasn't saying that the website with the TFA is a bad one. It's writing is of better quality than a lot of them out there. I was just struck by the blatant overuse of the marketdroid word "xtreme." I am sure I am the only one.

      --
      Computer Science is no more about computers than astronomy is about telescopes. --E. W. Dijkstra
  25. Not a proper review by nic1m · · Score: 1

    These guys should learn how to properly test PSs from X-bit labs http://www.xbitlabs.com./

  26. Underestimating-Movie: A False Hope. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Interesting

    "I think more users underestimate the value of a half-decent surge protector, and many of those that think they are using one are actually using a plain power strip."

    Those cheap consumer surge protectors give a false sense of protection. A whole house surge protector/ power conditioner with excellent grounding is much better.

    "On the power rating, the problems I've run into in the past is finding the power consumption ratings of all the devices I expect to use, and how much power is used from the respective voltage rails."

    That's what a good meter's for.

  27. Hard to take seriously by OverlordQ · · Score: 1

    Hard to take something seriously when it's called 'Hiper' is it supposed to my 'Hyper-Mega-Awesome' or 'Hipper' or what are they going for here? Personally though, you can't go wrong with something from PC P&C

    --
    Your hair look like poop, Bob! - Wanker.
    1. Re:Hard to take seriously by ottothecow · · Score: 2, Interesting
      unfortunately according to their "calculator" I will need a 730W PSU for my system

      I have noticed that I run a bit undervoltage according to PC Probe on the +5 and +12 lines but the stability is rock solid so I havnt worried about it (athlon 64 on a 480W I believe)

      --
      Bottles.
  28. So by axonal · · Score: 1

    So putting this Type-R part will make my computer faster, right?

  29. Power BILL by Duncan3 · · Score: 1

    THis is a dual core Intel chip and a top end graphics card... Lets see, 580W * 24 * 365 * $0.17/KW*Hr (CA rates) = $863.74/yr

    Not bad. Add in what it takes to cool the room it's in, large fans, or AC, so double that.

    So only about $1,700/year to power that new dual core Intel system. Rural China will be swarming with these in no time!!!

    *waits for Intel and AMD to get a F'ing clue*

    --
    - Adam L. Beberg - The Cosm Project - http://www.mithral.com/
    1. Re:Power BILL by Jimmy_B · · Score: 1

      Your math is completely wrong. First of all, a system only draws its peak amount of power while it's booting (typically about 5 seconds while the hard drives spin up). Second, the power supply wattage ratings are inflated because they add up the max wattages on each of the rails, when in reality you'll only come close to max on one. Third, cooling a room with one computer sure as hell doesn't take 580W, either. Finally, there's no way you'd ever need a power supply like this unless you had a whole lot of hard drives at once. Overall, your number is off by at least a factor of 10 - and that's not even considering the fact that you assumed the computer would be on 24/7 and in California.

    2. Re:Power BILL by Duncan3 · · Score: 1

      A dual core Intel system uses something like 250W when idle. So at worst, I'm off by a factor of 2, obviously systems dont run at peak all the time ;)

      --
      - Adam L. Beberg - The Cosm Project - http://www.mithral.com/
    3. Re:Power BILL by Spellunk · · Score: 1
      remember introductory chemistry/physics?

      change your 580W to .58KW and things start to look better (you are multiplying by KW/Hr?). There are other problems, but I really don't care enough to correct your low level math mistakes.

      --
      Quidquid latine dictum sit, altum viditur.
    4. Re:Power BILL by CRC'99 · · Score: 1

      I'm amazed that with this being slashdot and all, people still don't have a clue on energy consumption of PCs...

      Just because you have a 580W PSU, you will not draw 580W out of the wall outlet. I could have a 2kW power supply in my PC, but it's not going to draw 2kW from the power point.

      Your PC will only take as much as it requires. It may be that you are only using 150W out of your 580W power supply. The rest, is just spare capacity.

      Is it really that hard to understand?

      --
      Sendmail is like emacs: A nice operating system, but missing an editor and a MTA.
    5. Re:Power BILL by Duncan3 · · Score: 1

      I do, and I did ;)

      --
      - Adam L. Beberg - The Cosm Project - http://www.mithral.com/
  30. Not UL certified - do not buy by Animats · · Score: 1, Informative
    The big picture of the power supply shows a CE label, but no UL certification number. That's always a bad sign. So let's go to the UL certification database.

    There's a company listing:
    HIPER ENTERPRISE CO LTD
    E224709
    5TH FL
    79 MIN-SHENG EAST RD, SEC 4
    TAIPEI 105, TAIWAN

    But they have no listings for PC power supplies. They're listed as a maker of circuit and battery chargers. The Hiper web site says they're in Guangdong province, China. So this may be a different company.

    What this outfit seems to do is buy power supplies and repackage them. But, because they change the wiring, fan, and connectors, any certification applying to the original power supply is now invalid. Hiper should have run their power supplies through UL certification under their own name. They didn't.

    This matters. If you read serious reviews of power supplies, where they're connected to a dummy load and run at their rated power, you find that many power supplies won't deliver their rated power. Some catch fire under full load.

    When you look at the loser power supplies in those reviews, the ones that burn up are never in the UL database. And most of the ones that work properly under full load are.

    UL loads the things up to full load at the top end of their temperature range and runs them for a few days. That's all. UL certification only means that it won't catch fire. That's a good first step, These guys didn't take it.

    1. Re:Not UL certified - do not buy by DNS-and-BIND · · Score: 1
      Oh come on - speaking as a man who works with electronics at a factory in China - UL is such bullshit. They charge you a shitload of money, they take forever, they don't give a shit about getting things done, and all their listing does is give consumers like you warm fuzzies. Half the crap that comes out of China has fake or misleading labels anyway. Speaking from experience here, quality has ZERO to do with a UL listing.

      If you're really into certifications, ETL is the company to do business with. They certify to the exact same standards as UL. Only, people like you scream, "IT'S NOT UL!#@!#@ OMG WTF" and refuse to buy.

      --
      Shutting down free speech with violence isn't fighting fascism. It IS fascism!
  31. because it isn't efficient... by YesIAmAScript · · Score: 2, Informative

    Laptops actually only have a portion of the power supply outside the case. They convert to 28V, for example. Converting to a low voltage like 3.3V outside the case is inefficient, for the same reason that houses don't use 10V power. If you have a device that needs 330W, it can take 12A at 28V or 100A at 3.3V. Now, let's consider the resistance in the wires. If they are 0.01 ohm/foot, and you have 1 foot of wire, then you will lose 0.01*12 or 0.12V if you use 28V , or you will lose 0.01*100 or 1V at the 3.3V input. Now, at 28V, you lost 0.5% of your power. At 3.3V you lost 30%. And this is over one foot. If the wire is 3 foot, it gets far worse. So it is smart to run high voltage as much of the way as possible, and the low voltage runs should be short. Again, this is the same to your house. Laptops get away with this because they use less power, less power is less power lost. And as I said, they don't put the power supply outside the machine, only part of the power supply. It might be smart to put the rectification (AC->DC conversion) outside the case, because it doesn't reduce the voltage and it does generate heat. But it really won't save you much. On a final note, connectors have a voltage drop of their own, so it really isn't smart to put extra connectors in the low voltage outputs from the power supply. New power supplies are doing this, because it sells units, but it will cost you in the end in lost efficiency and lower reliability (connectors can break).

    --
    http://lkml.org/lkml/2005/8/20/95
    1. Re:because it isn't efficient... by SuperQ · · Score: 1

      the problem with your theory is that voltage drop over say 5' of 14 gauge copper wire with 5 amps is only about .065 volts.

      adjusting the gauge and strand count can probably solve most of external power supply issues with desktop computers.

      The main issue I would guess is that people with desktop computers don't want the extra box, with fans. Smaller computers like the Mac Mini get away with it becaues they don't nee 300+ watts of power.

      Personaly, I would love to start seeing smaller supplies, and cooler running machines.

  32. Adverts. by Seumas · · Score: 1

    It seems like every PSU related story on Slashdot is really some sort of a direct sales-pitch.

    Oh - and 580 watts?! That'll go really well for the average geek's apartment where they might only have two 1800 watt circuits. Add in the monitor, air conditioner (obviously necessary if you work around today's machines), a television or stereo of some sort, some lighting, routers, cable modems, telephones and a few other devices and the average geek isn't going to have the available power flow to keep his house lit.

  33. posturing by SuperBanana · · Score: 2, Insightful

    "Type-R" is well-known among the racing enthusiasts, as a tuned up version of the original platform to its maximum output

    Nope. Actually, I know it to be mostly used for badge engineering- aka posturing.

    There's a strong preference among many car enthusiasts for vehicles that just don't stand out. We call them "sleepers", and their performance and subtlety speak for themselves.

    For example, with just a litre more displacement- helps to have 5 cylinders instead of 4) and a turbo- I've got around 150-180 more HP than them. A manual transmission (don't laugh, half the ricers drive automatics), all wheel drive, and not a single badge on the car except rings on the trunklid and 'quattro' in the front grille.

    Kicker? Blue book value is probably half to a third what a new base-price honda coupe costs. Granted repairs are a little more common, but in the end, for some of us, the occasional hassle is worth it :-)

    1. Re:posturing by Stauf · · Score: 1

      You drive a 5 cylinder car? That acheives 150-180 HP *more* then some other car?

      150-180hp is a fair car in itself. Around the best of the top-of-the-line (non-turbo) 4 cylinder cars, and about in the middle of 6 cylinder performance.

    2. Re:posturing by klep · · Score: 1

      Audi, obviously. 5 Cylinders? Does that mean an Audi 90? OTOH that's the only 5 cylinder Audi. Im not a car freak, but I once was the proud owner of a 2001 manual 2.8 quattro A4.

      A turbo, so that means an after market chip to mod that turbo. Easily adds a lot of HP.

      Quattro, pretty much means you cannot burn your tires in 1st. Always got grip (well, that's with the +- 200 HP in the A4, probably different when you talk 300+ HP).

      Yeah, I like them Audi's. Would love to drive one of them new S4's one day.

    3. Re:posturing by SuperBanana · · Score: 1
      You drive a 5 cylinder car? That acheives 150-180 HP *more* then some other car?

      Yes. 2.23l, 20v DOHC; runs about 17lb of boost (93-94 octane mandatory). With a chip, 270-280hp (stock is 217). $2-3k will get you 320-330HP or more; expensive because that level of power requires a larger turbo and improved exhaust manifold; that level of power also does for the most part exceed the flow rate of the stock dual exhaust system.

      I went off the base model engine for the Civic, which is 115hp.

    4. Re:posturing by Stauf · · Score: 1

      Hrm, there is that. IIRC though, the Audi 90 acheives around 170hp, and assuming that most ricers are at around 100hp, that would mean that the aftermarket turbo adds 100 or so horsepower - which is an awful lot.

    5. Re:posturing by Stauf · · Score: 1

      I realy shouldv'e added 'And you call this car a sleeper?' to the end of my first post.

    6. Re:posturing by marauder404 · · Score: 2, Informative
      "Type-R" is well-known among the racing enthusiasts, as a tuned up version of the original platform to its maximum output
      Nope. Actually, I know it to be mostly used for badge engineering- aka posturing.

      Nope. Actually, "Type-R" has a very specific meaning -- it's a trademark that Honda uses several of its cars to denote a more highly tuned model, such as an Integra Type-R. The ITR was brought to the US in 1997, featuring a more powerful engine, a different gearbox, and less frills to reduce weight (such as air conditioning and insulation), among other changes. This is not dissimilar to other cars from other brands, such as the Mazda Miata R, the BMW M3 LTW, and the Chevy Corvette Z06. Honda also has a Type-S designation for other cars that sits between the regular versions and the premium enthusiast version.

      However, car/pop culture being what it is, the branding has been diluted with lots of wanna-bes and suddenly Type-R stickers and badges started appearing on all kinds of cars, notably non Type-R Hondas, but on other makes and models as well. For example, Accord Type-Rs, of which none were brought into the US, are a relatively common "sight."

      "Badge engineering," as you point out, has much to do with the prevalence of such silly names making it into all kinds of non-car products. However, the Type-R designation has a very specific meaning that is rapidly getting diluted in a very bad way.

      I'm with you on the "sleeper" bit, but my car, is less than stealthy.

    7. Re:posturing by Stauf · · Score: 1

      I'm not sure where these 100hp ricers you're speaking of reside, but most of the ricers in SE Asia are going around with anything from 125 - 300bhp.

      Well, then they don't reside in SE Asia. The two, far and away, most popular vehicles on the road here among the ricer crowd are the Lancer (non-Evo), the Civic and the Celica (mid 90s models). That'd be 80-120hp (depending on model), 115hp and 110hp respectively.

    8. Re:posturing by Colin+Smith · · Score: 1

      "150-180hp is a fair car in itself."

      What if it weighs 2.5 tonnes? It's power produced per unit of weight that matters.

      My own car, 1.1 tonnes and 80bhp. 72bhp/tonne
      My commuter bike, 0.22 tonnes and 78bhp. 354bhp/tonne

      My sportsbike, 0.19 tonnes and 170bhp. 895bhp/tonne

      Guess which is quickest.

      --
      Deleted
    9. Re:posturing by Viceice · · Score: 1

      Not only cars, but it's bikes also. I.e the NSR150RR or the CBR600RR..

      Though the newest and fastest NSR is an SP.. makes me wonder if they have caught on to the "Badge engineering," you're on about an decided an change in naming is in order...

      --
      Sometimes I wish I was a plumber, then I'd know how to deal with other people's shit.
    10. Re:posturing by JPelorat · · Score: 1

      This pretty much says it all:

      http://www.vgcats.com/comics/extras/civic.gif

      --
      Hokey statistics and ancient misconceptions are no match for a good thought in your head, kid!
    11. Re:posturing by jandrese · · Score: 1

      You forgot to add the mass of at least one person into those calculations. Obviously you can't drive a vehicle with no drivers.

      I'm going to assume you weigh 150lbs.

      Car: 1.175 tonnes, 80bhp == 68 bhp/tonne
      Commuter bike: 0.295 tonnes, 78bhp == 264 bhp/tonne
      Sports bike: 0.265 tonns, 170bhp == 642 bhp/tonne

      Obviously the bikes are still faster (your sports bike has more than double the horsepower of the car already!), but it's easy to see how the insane power to weigh ratio drops off rapidly as you start adding stuff like a driver and gas.

      --

      I read the internet for the articles.
    12. Re:posturing by Colin+Smith · · Score: 1

      Of course and as a bike rider you learn very quickly that even more important than raw bhp is torque and how it's delivered. And still more important again is grip.

      If you want to be *really* quick, you have to be able to get into corners fast and get out faster. Which is why I find all these bhp comparisons laughable.

      --
      Deleted
  34. Who needs 580W PSU??!!! by johansalk · · Score: 4, Informative

    Before you spend your hard-eanred cash on such fancy item, be sure to go to http://www.jscustompcs.com/power_supply/ and calculate your PSU requirements, which will likely inform you that, unless you're in the exceptionally rare minority, far less expensive PSUs with less wattage will more than suffice.

    1. Re:Who needs 580W PSU??!!! by interstellar_donkey · · Score: 1

      That's a great link. Thanks.

      I was surprised to learn that I only needed 258 watts in my system as it currently stands. (And I was afraid I was overtaxing my 300watt supply). They even admit these are peak wattage numbers, and realisticlly you'll need less.

      --
      The Internet is generally stupid
    2. Re:Who needs 580W PSU??!!! by Bo'Bob'O · · Score: 2, Funny

      Damnit, where were you 2 weeks ago?

      *looks at his brand new 450 powersupply, with a meter up front reminding him he only uses 100 of it.*

    3. Re:Who needs 580W PSU??!!! by Keruo · · Score: 3, Insightful

      That calculator counts only continuous power usage.
      I punched in system that I measured to take ~500W when powering up, due spinning of drives, and that calculator recommended that I should use only 280W power for that system.
      300W psu couldn't start that system, or if it even powered up, it would most likely burn while spinning up the drives.
      Calculators like that are crap.
      Just make a list of the components you're planning to use and search for their datasheets, they're available online almost without exception.

      --
      There are no atheists when recovering from tape backup.
    4. Re:Who needs 580W PSU??!!! by CurbyKirby · · Score: 1

      A PSU comparison by tomshardware shows that manufacturer-claimed wattages are only rough estimates at best and naively/dangerously optimistic at worst. Some good PSUs can power much more than they claim, and some bad ones cannot even approach their claimed max loads.

      As an aside, my 300W PSU powered a 3GHz P4, GeForce 4, 2x 10k RPM Raptors, 7.2k RPM storage drive, etc. with no stability issues for 18 months. (I replaced the PSU because of hardware upgrades, not PSU failure.) That shouldn't be surprising but you might want to re-evaluate your power needs if it is.

      --

      --
      "Extra Anus Kills Four-Legged Chick" -- Headline
    5. Re:Who needs 580W PSU??!!! by bioteq · · Score: 2, Interesting

      I'm not quite sure that thing is very accurate. It does not take into consideration other hardware, nor does it take into consideration of any mods of the like that people may do.

      As it is, I run an AMD xp, 5 80mm case fans, 1 120mm exhaust fan, cd-rom, dvd drive, 2 hard drives (both 7,200 RPM) and 3 nVidia graphics cards (tripple monitor. 1x agp, 2x pci) and 1gb of DDR memory (two sticks)

      You must also realize, that if you have *just enough* power from your PSU to power your system, that you're going to make that PSU work harder to produce that power. Which means, quite honestly, more heat and we all know what more heat leads to. A bigger PSU doesn't have to work as hard to supply power to all your parts.

      As it is, I run an Antec 550watt True Power 2.0, and although I'm not maxing it out (yet), it does get a strain on startups.

    6. Re:Who needs 580W PSU??!!! by blackicye · · Score: 1

      Hmm odd the Calculator has AthlonXPs and P4 Prescotts as pulling the same wattage (89 watts) is that right?

    7. Re:Who needs 580W PSU??!!! by swv3752 · · Score: 1

      General rull of thumb is add 50-100W for overhead and expansion capability.

      --
      Just a Tuna in the Sea of Life
    8. Re:Who needs 580W PSU??!!! by toddestan · · Score: 1

      There are a couple of Athlon XP CPUs that get that high. Most use around 70-75W. The mobile versions use around 40W.

  35. Good lord, what a name. by (H)elix1 · · Score: 4, Insightful

    Well, it looks pretty enough. Not a single mention as to any of the important stats, however. Modern hardware sucks up an incredible amount to juice, and this review did not mention how many amps on each rail, or decibels when the PS was running under load.

    Been burned on crappy 'high wattage' power supplies before. Worth reading the Watts don't mean Jack sticky and a few others in the form if you are looking to build a SLI system.

    Type-R... It was bad enough to buy a DFI 'LanParty UT SLI-DR' board, of which only three letters told me anything about it. What is with these marketing people?

  36. Some review by Smallpond · · Score: 4, Insightful

    This is supposed to be a review of high-end power supply specs and it never mentions ripple? How about overvoltage protection? Aging? Brownout or surge protection? So how stable is the output of this supply? Real stable. Oh, OK.

    Then there are statements like this in the review: "Cheap power supply units ... may blow up". Yeah, I think I saw this on Star Trek last week. If they would only stop making those cheap supplies out of TNT.

    1. Re:Some review by petermgreen · · Score: 1

      yeah he has hardly tested this thing at all probablly because its a computer orientated site and he doesn't have the kit (it sounds like he doesn't even have a scope let alone the amount of kit you would need to build a proper psu test rig)

      also to test a psu model properly imo you have to destroy a few of them (for example plugging the psu into a variac and then turning up the voltage until it blows whilst watching the output voltages) in order to determine how the psu behaves when it is destroyed (ie does it fail gracefully or does it fail in a way that will destory your pc?).

      also he states that everyone would wan't a main ATX cable. sure most people might but some may wan't to use the PSU for non-pc perposes or as a second PSU in a large PC setup.

      --
      note: i'm known as plugwash most places but i screwd up registering that here somehow in the past and now can't register
  37. No cost information? Dubious source? by EMIce · · Score: 2, Insightful

    No price anywhere. Can it unseat the competition? Who knows?

    The use of Honda's unrelated Type-R performance label tells me they are appealing to quality by association to something they deserve no merit for.

    The review site talks up the need for a beefy PSU, but shows no methodical testing whatsoever.

    Seems to me the editors are a bit detached from if not journalistic integrity, at least some base duty they have to give us relevant stories. This is a clue to the sort of fuzzy logic is used when choosing submissions. Choices seem related more to pandering than genuine identification with the interests of slashdot readers.

    No wonder they got rid of John Katz, lest it be too obvious. He writes for MSN now.

  38. ~$140 by cve · · Score: 2, Interesting

    I couldn't find a US reseller though.

  39. The only power supply that ever died on me by dusanv · · Score: 2, Interesting

    Was the most expensive one:
    Topower 420
    It was in my gaming PC to protect the expensive components. I turn that thing on once a week at best. I also have a no-name PSU that cost me $30 with the case that has been on for the past five years with zero problems. Go figure.

  40. Temperatures, please! by killermookie · · Score: 3, Informative

    Yeah, it's a pretty box that has a big number by the word Watt.

    I don't know this power supply and it may be solid. But one thing most PSU manufacturer's keep hidden is the temperature that these's PSU are tested at. Some boast Watts of over 500, but at temperatures of 25 C.

    The hotter your PC is, the lower the Watts your PSU puts out. It was something I learned before by nVidia's latest videocard.

    I went with PC Power and Cooling for the reason that they display the Watts AND the temperature that it runs at.

    PC Power and Cooling Turbo 510: 510W at 50 C

  41. Looks Cool but, by midnight2038 · · Score: 1

    Honey, what did the kids do with my SATA power cabels? F*&K it anyway....

  42. Mod parent up by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Informative

    They didn't get UL listed because (A) it costs money and time, neither of which a fly-by-night company is willing to invest; (B) it probably wouldn't've got past the UL engineers.

    If this PSU catches fire and burns your house down, your insurance company will not cover it because you are using unlisted electrical appliances. No joke, son.

  43. I hate to be an ass... by Lisandro · · Score: 2, Interesting

    ...but the build quality is awful. Check this image: cramped cables (without need), restricted airflow, solder joints holding weight, bent circuit boards, minuscle heatsinks, panel mount parts glued with silicone... no wonder it needs two fans (and one is 120mm)!!!
    Come on, i know ATX power supplies are limited in size, but i have an "el-cheapo" Chinese 300w PSU which works like a charm and it's much better designed and built. It looks cool, and it seems that it's very good at regulating the output voltages, but you can get that elsewhere without the glitz. No mention of it's price either.

    To be honest, i wouldn't want that powering my PC.

  44. Re:Power supply important? - Yes it is. by StormyWeather · · Score: 1

    I had all sorts of hell with my athelon 64 booting sometimes, locking up others. Rebooting randomly, and basically being a big pain in the butt. Then I replaced the power supply with a non-cheapo unit, and put a battery backup on the system and haven't had a problem since. I've also heard similar tales from other folks.

  45. Re:No cost information? Dubious source? by interstellar_donkey · · Score: 2, Funny

    The use of Honda's unrelated Type-R performance label tells me they are appealing to quality by association to something they deserve no merit for.

    Perhaps you could just take a regular power supply and put a "Type R" sticker on it. The kid down the street put a Type R sticker on his Toyota, and he claims the sticker alone makes it faster.

    If you really wanted maximum performance from your power supply, you have to put a bunch of Japanese characters all over the power supply, as well as do a really bad job of placing it lower in your computer's case. Also, you'd have to solder a giant coffee can to the cooling fan, because that makes it goes faster too.

    --
    The Internet is generally stupid
  46. BS by l3v1 · · Score: 1

    I trust my 465w a-pfc enermax anytime over some slashvertised psu with -Rs in its name from sites with Xs in its name. whatever. Anyways, someone who uses such cpus and don't have the clue to take care of a proper psu, they deserve what they end up with.

    --
    I am putting myself to the fullest possible use, which is all I can think that any conscious entity can ever hope to do.
  47. Hiper? by EdMcMan · · Score: 1

    I have never heard of Hiper before. Anyway, I decided to see how much this PS costed.. and I couldn't find it for sale anywhere.

    Considering most cases come with a decent power supply, there isn't much room for expensive power supplies.

  48. Mmmmmmmmm Slashvertisements by Devar · · Score: 1

    Gotta have the daily dose of capitalism!

    --
    It's a Bagel.
  49. Too quick to blame PSU by syousef · · Score: 1

    I recently upgraded my graphics card to a Gigabyte 6600GT. When I had instability issues the first things blamed were heat and PSU. Heat was a problem, but not the central one. Cleaning out the heatsink and adding a case fan was worth doing. However it I think it was an issue with drivers and motherboard. (Turning off AGP direct writes seems to be the thing that fixed my game and system freezes).

    However note that I am running the following on a generic 400W unit.
    P4 2.4 clocked up to 2.6
    1 Gig memory
    3 hard disks
    2 optical drives
    6600GT
    Geforce 440MX PCI
    SB Live
    USB 5 port card
    Extension board for SATA
    Case fan
    All stuffed into a mini tower

    4 external 4 port USB hubs
    Memory card reader
    Joysticks, gamepads and driving wheel
    I also have 2 external drives, one hooked up USB and the other SATA but of course these aren't powered by the PSU.

    I look at the calculators out there and I should be running a 500W, but the fact is not everything gets used at the same time, and the system copes quite well.

    When I say I run stable I'm talking marathon sessions of FS2004 3 screen or games like the incredibles (which was my best test for freezes).

    I do have some issues with the USB occassionally. Devices, particularly the card readers start generating errors in the system log. I don't know if that's a power issue or just XP and crappy drivers. USB 2 support on my motherboard doesn't seem to be the best.

    When I buy my next system I will go for a better brand PSU, however I wonder how much of this "you need a good PSU" stuff is hype drummed up by the PSU manufacturers. I certainly won't be upgrading the PSU on my current machine.

    Of course I'm not running a 6800GT or a newer processor so perhaps that's what would make the biggest difference.

    --
    These posts express my own personal views, not those of my employer
  50. Geez...how much is 'enough'? by mightymik2 · · Score: 1

    I thought all these die shrinks was supposed to *decrease* power consumption... IMHO this is just getting out of hand. My PC has a 350 watt supply (old Barton 2500+ w/ nVidia 4200 card), but i'm just not into building a A64/x800/ 500+ watt monster. I'd repackage what i have into a SFF box, and get a better card. My Mac Mini only draws 20 watts at the plug, and it makes a difference on the power bill not to run the PC. What next...a PC that draws as much as a hair drier? All that power gets converted to heat... Seriously...i'm looking for lower power and equal performance.

  51. In related news, I'm loving my Antec NeoPower 480 by golemite · · Score: 1

    the modular cords really do help clear up the clutter (although I wish they included two PCI-E cords just in case someone needs them for SLI), and the variable fan speed capabilities of the psu keeps it (and other fans) fairly quiet even in my boomy Coolermaster case.

    --
    http://www.s4biturbo.com/
  52. Comment removed by account_deleted · · Score: 2, Informative

    Comment removed based on user account deletion

  53. Ok, couple things here by Sycraft-fu · · Score: 2, Informative

    First, because of the shitty way that digital audio is transmitted, cables actually can make a difference, at least in the copper realm. Not sure about fibre, I'm inclined to believe not but who knows. At any rate, how can there be any problems with digital you ask? Well because the way the elected to do transmission is not only data, but clock as well down the wire. So this means that not only is if a bit is 1 or 0 important, but WHEN that bit happens is equally important.

    The phenomena of a clock being irregular is called jitter and it's quite audible. However it's a funynt hing, you can fuck up a DAT unit so that it jitters so bad that a DAC has trouble locking on the signal and man will you hear it, it'll be awful. But, if you use another DAT to make a digital copy, it'll come out perfect, since there you are just concerned with the data, not the clock (well that's not entirely true, but the clock is stored globally).

    So what can happen with a cable of improper impedeance espically in a noisy environment is that the changes in voltage introduce jitter in to the signal, and thus cause distortion. Now I don't htink this happens with optical signals, but I don't know, I suppose it could. Now please don't mistake this for meaning you need some special audiophile cable, but there can be a difference between some random RCA cable and a properly shielded 75 ohm cable made for S/PDIF.

    As for PSUs, yes you get better performance from a better PSU. Not better speed wise, better stability wise. You get lots of stability problems from a shitty PSU. You have to remember that ene if you don't load down your PSU (shitty PSUs don't perform under load) line voltage isn't stable. At best it's mildy unstable, at worst it can be really unstable. Well a good PSU can provide stable output even during voltage sags or spikes. Shitty ones will change the output voltage, which is highly likely to cause a crash.

    Now while I wouldn't trust something like this to be high end, it looks like so much hype, it really is a buying concern. Don't get some brand X POS, spend the money to get a real quality powersupply. I'm a fan of Antec and Fotron/Sparkle personally. If you want something really solid, it's hard to beat PC Power and Cooling but they tend to be on the loud and expensive side. Good for servers though.

    At any rate, there IS a measureable difference between good and bad power supplies. There's also the question of what happens in the event of a failure. Suppose it over heats or the output limits are exceeded, what's it do? A good one will cut power and not cause a problem. Bad ones often catch fire.

    1. Re:Ok, couple things here by SenseiLeNoir · · Score: 1

      I agree

      I got an Antec Tru Power 430Watt Powersupply, and I love its ability to provide a clean supply, whilst also regulating the rest of the case fans according to temperature. It certainly WEIGHS a lot more than a POS PSU, and looks "cleaner" (all contacts are gold plated, etc)

      I have NEVER had a crash since fitting that baby in.

      --
      Have a nice day!
    2. Re:Ok, couple things here by swv3752 · · Score: 1

      I have a tru-power and it is nice. My desktop with four additional case fans is quieter than most notebooks. (It does help that I replaced my vid card fan with a heat pipe radiator.)

      Thing with a lot of cheap power supplies is that they wil add lead to make them weigh more and give the illusion of being higher quality.

      --
      Just a Tuna in the Sea of Life
    3. Re:Ok, couple things here by Woody77 · · Score: 1

      and a remarkably large number of (cheap) devices simply don't bother. You need to buffer and reclock the data on the receive end to get some immunity to the jitter of the sender, including able to slighly increase/decrease your playback speed to match (or you'll eventually get an over/underbuffer situation).

      But it IS an easy problem to fix. But do they bother? not usually.

      So, before I spend money on special cables, I spend money on decent hardware that doesn't need it.

  54. Angry flower time... by AyeRoxor! · · Score: 1

    Read along as she determines the flexibilty this unit offers in it's modular construction

    Please read this informative memo.

    /this goes for you too, Cecil (37810)
    //Is this really one of the most difficult aspects of the written English language?

  55. Recommended by the Icy Hot Stuntaz by anti-NAT · · Score: 1
    --
    The Internet's nature is peer to peer - 20050301_cs_profs.pdf
  56. I TOTALLY agree.... by Cougem · · Score: 1

    The lines:

    the spin of a HDD is louder than the power supply fans and will negate any noise coming from it unless loaded heavily. Another nice feature is that the 80mm fan keeps spinning after you shut down the system for a few minutes

    Are enough to negate any priase from the reviewer in my eyes.
    What's he saying, it's quieter than an HDD!?! I should bloody well hope so, those things are beasts. And they only make a noise when they're being very actively used, while PSU will whirr away in the background.

    The fact the guy says he loves quiet, then goes on to say that this PSU actually KEEPS making noise when it goes off, is an infuriating spin on the matter.

    I'll still with my 21 dB Tagan - http://www.vtec.co.uk/product/390_664.asp

  57. Wrong company by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Informative

    As you would have found if you'd clicked on the company link in the article, the company name is "High Performance PC LTD". Now try searching the UL database again (look for file E245388), and post a correction. Moderators may want to do the same thing.

    1. Re:Wrong company by Animats · · Score: 1
      Actually, they call themselves "High Performance Enterprise PLC" on their "about" page, and the UL listing says "HIGH PERFORMANCE PC LTD". But the address in the UK matches.

      I'd searched the UL database for the part number, but they listed as "HPU-XX150,180,200,230,235,250,275,280,300,320,330 ,350,380,400,425,430,450,475,480,500,525,550,580,6 25,650,680 and 70", instead of " HPU-3S350", etc. So they didn't show up in a search.

      Checking with Companies House, the UK business registrar, we find "HIGH PERFORMANCE ENTERPRISE PUBLIC LIMITED COMPANY", with a name change from " HIGH PERFORMANCE PC LIMITED" on 30/03/2005, which explains the name discrepancy. (There are about 50 companies named "High Performance ..." in the UK.)

      So they actually are legitimate.

      There are so many phony power supplies out there that you do have to check. Read this Tom's Hardware article about power supply burnout.

  58. Urban Computer Lengends? by evilviper · · Score: 1
    "Most users underestimate the necessity of a good, reliable and high quality power supply unit. They usually do not understand that it is the driving force for the whole system and it can affect reliability and stability substantially."

    I'm pretty tired of hearing this claim over and over again... Anyone want to try and provide some actual proof?

    I've owned my share of both Enermax power supplies, and $10 no-name "500watt" power supplies, and I haven't had reliability problems with any of them, even with extremely long uptimes, and months of tripple-digit ambient tempuratures.

    I suspect this myth has just stayed around from the good old days of the 90 watt power supplies, being installed in systems that have a peak power draw higher than that... It's a non-issue these days because the $10 power supplies are rated at 500watts or more, which is better than double the power most people will ever need. It's getting to be less and less true as time progresses, because processors are getting lower and lower power (though nortbridges are drawing significantly more power, unfortunately).

    --
    Slashdot gets worse every day... Pipedot: News for nerds, without the corporate slant
    1. Re:Urban Computer Lengends? by petermgreen · · Score: 1

      maybe recently processors have been getting lower power but i've seen P166 systems running fine with a broken fan and tiny heatsink! you try doing that with any recent cpu.

      I get the feeling we've kind of reached the limit on how much power a CPU can safely handle though.

      --
      note: i'm known as plugwash most places but i screwd up registering that here somehow in the past and now can't register
    2. Re:Urban Computer Lengends? by evilviper · · Score: 1
      i've seen P166 systems running fine with a broken fan and tiny heatsink! you try doing that with any recent cpu.

      Pentium 4s have thermal throttling, so even if you completely remove the heatsink (tiny or otherwise), it will continue to operate, at a fraction of it's normal speed. I suspect even heavily throttled, it will still operate faster than a P166.

      I personally owned an 800MHz Athlon that came with non-functional CPU fans, which I didn't realize for about the first day... It ran just fine for a couple hours at a time before it shut-off.

      There are several Pentium III processors that are INCREDIBLY low power. The best example is the 933MHz Pentium III that runs with about 1/3 lower wattage (hence 1/3rd less heat) than the P166 you mentioned. So, obviously, it would operate just as well with even less cooling than in your example.

      And finally, AMD64 processors are quite a bit lower power than other comparable processors, commonly using only ~60watts of power, which is less than double the power of the processor in your example, and lower power than the Athlon 800MHz I mentioned. Plus, with CnQ, it idles at VERY low power, so it's only using up ~60watts when fully loaded for long periods of time. So, for normal use, you can expect the fastest AMD64 processors to all work with just as little cooling as your P166.
      --
      Slashdot gets worse every day... Pipedot: News for nerds, without the corporate slant
  59. Re:-1 Advertorial by damsa · · Score: 1

    You mean more slashvertisements?

  60. Shouldn't that be "R-Type"? by maybeHere · · Score: 2, Insightful

    *runs & hides*

  61. Buy Seasonic instead by RzUpAnmsCwrds · · Score: 1

    Get a Seasonic S12-430 instead. Quiet (20dbA/1m below 150W), cool (less than 6C difference between intake and output), efficent (over 80%), friendly to the grid (active PFC), and, perhaps most importantly, UL certified.

    I have the older Super Tornado 300W, and it's excellent. All the power I need to keep my system running without a lot of noise or heat.

    Seasonic knows what they're doing.

  62. "powering her" by uuesley · · Score: 1

    any chance Grace is reveiwing this topless?...i for one am reviewing it bottomless...

  63. Copy of Antec's NeoPower by julie-h · · Score: 1

    Before you ruch out an d buy this PSU, take a look at Antec's NeoPower 480W. I doubt that any other PSU company makes as good PSU's as Antec. See Specifications for a VERY detailed spec. of the PSU, nothing is let out. Antec pride them self of relieable PSU's and they have good reason for that. Look at the measured Ripple Voltage.

  64. Re:Waste of time. by Viceice · · Score: 1

    Amen. And if you're a competant rider, you could out corner the civic at every turn too. I wish I didn't let my mod points expire.

    --
    Sometimes I wish I was a plumber, then I'd know how to deal with other people's shit.
  65. Type-R ?!?!?! by corB · · Score: 1

    Please tell me that the appropriate dose of sarcasm was included with that name. Somehow I fear it wasn't.

  66. CB Radio Microphone Connectors by Nick+Driver · · Score: 1

    Looking at all those connectors on the case, you gotta give them credit for findong a use for all those old locking-ring type CB Radio microphone plugs and jacks left over from the late 1970's and early 1980's.

    1. Re:CB Radio Microphone Connectors by spickus · · Score: 1

      Those are still commonly used on ham rigs. Half of them have those, the other half RJ 45's.

      --
      Indecision is the key to flexibility.
  67. "its" not "it's" by taobill · · Score: 1
    Read along as she determines the flexibilty this unit offers in it's modular construction...

    That should be "its" not "it's".

    I could quote a normative reference at you, but I can't be bothered to find it right now.

    Trust me, I'm right on this one.

  68. Meaningless ads and other /. crap by TrueKonrads · · Score: 1

    For crying out loud, a PSU ad as news? I mean it's not even hyped - i'd understand a new Mac review (it's a whole system) or a report on sun's latest monster system, but a PSU?? Why don't we have then a full featured articles on new EzGripp ThumbScrews 3000? /. - Either "editor" or "quality" are becoming foreign terms for the /. operators. P.S. The anti-script image is so l33t now, it took me some 30 seconds to dechiper. I guess i'm a half-script.

    --
    Lone Gunmen crew.
  69. No price listed? by a_nonamiss · · Score: 1

    I find it interesting that the reviewer here makes absolutely no mention of price. He says twice on the first page that it is "affordable" however there is no dollar amount listed. I researched it, and it looks as if it has a street price of around $130. I would hardly call that "affordable." Granted there are more expensive power supplies around, but considering that I can buy a "premium" power supply at my local computer store for $80, I wouldn't be throwing around the word "affordable" like that, especially when he chooses not to list the price in the article.

    --
    -Arthur
    Cave ne ante ullas catapultas ambules
  70. I have machines that need 580+ watts.... by NerveGas · · Score: 1

    ... and they all have at least four CPUs.

    Even my daul-CPU rigs with GF6600 cards get along just fine with smaller CPUs. It's very entertaining to watch people put these things in single-proc computers with a single video card.

    steve

    --
    Oh, you're not stuck, you're just unable to let go of the onion rings.
  71. Errr.... by NerveGas · · Score: 1

    Even my daul-CPU rigs with GF6600 cards get along just fine with smaller CPUs.

    That should be:

    Even my daul-CPU rigs with GF6600 cards get along just fine with smaller PSUs .

    --
    Oh, you're not stuck, you're just unable to let go of the onion rings.
  72. Hiper POS by vwgtiturbo · · Score: 1

    Check out the pic of the PSU on this link : http://www.xtremeresources.com/images/reviews/hipe rtyper580/openleft.jpg

    What do you see wrong with this pic? Check out the heatshrink on the bundle of lines next to the Toriods. Loose... it isn't even shrunken properly. Then, check out the main PCB to the left of the silver screw on the lower left of the pic, right by the IC... the board is BENT!! HELLOOOO!! This is a shoddy piece of sh!t!

  73. Type-R? by Agermain · · Score: 1

    Does it come with a giant-ass spoiler to control the airflow or something?

  74. oh, its a POWER SUPPLY! by rhesuspieces00 · · Score: 1

    I thought we were talking about a new Hyundai.

  75. Type-R Modular Blue Line 580W PSU by kb9vcr · · Score: 1

    At first I thought was some new type of laser weapon that military was researching...that or a secret update for your ship in "Super R Type"
    http://www.consoleclassix.com/gameinfo_rtype_smc.p hp

  76. Desktops are cheaper in the long run by ex-geek · · Score: 1
    Traditional desktop systems are IMHO not that much cheaper to offset their disadvantages, compared to notebooks. When I browse sites like Newegg, I conclude the price premium for notebooks is less than 15 percent, taking the integrated 15-17 inch TFT screen into account.
    Desktops are way cheaper in the long run. I haven't bought myself an entirely new desktop for seven years. I incrementally upgraded it many times since then, whenever some components started to be to small, to slow or they lacked features. I spend a maximum of 250€ per year on my PC and usually have a decent and robust system.
    1. Re:Desktops are cheaper in the long run by phoenix321 · · Score: 1

      Did that for years now and you know where it got me? I ended up having a stockpile of unused hardware taking up space in the basement and in my room. Tried to sell them, but it's mostly the power users that buy single pieces of equipment and they never want a 3 year old videocard or CPU. In rare cases they're building a rig for their girlfriends or relatives, but then they rather recycle their own surplus than buying some from friends or ebay.

      Who wants a 3 year old component? A stable machine complete with everything maybe, but at a horrible discount. With parts you won't get anywhere except hoarding them and building cheap rigs for the only-websurfing-and-emailing portion of your friends. Notebooks sell better, as it took me a long time to find a cheap notebook for "word & excel"-use, not slower than 800mhz. None below 600 euros I've found, even with damaged pixels and a totally mistreated battery. And yes, I tried ebay, too. I just wanted a decent machine to read my email and listen to some music while on business trips and maybe play some modest games. But that failed, 700 euros or more was the sound barrier. The space below is inhabited by 600-700MHz snails or with machines having more or less serious defects. More than 256mbs of RAM were extremely rare and upgrade S0-DIMMs are never cheap. So I would've ended up buying a not-cheap machine that is not fast, has not much memory and a small HD. All that and 2 USB1.1 ports for 700 euros. 800 if I dared to include WLAN-chipsets, but USB2.0 was out of the question. While the desktop machine was getting older and needed upgrades, too.

      So I paid 1300 for a machine that's more than 3 times as fast as my old desktop, HL2-fps-wise, is ultra-quiet, 1gig ram and usb2.0. And surely has a substantial resale value once the latest games begin lagging. 700 euros for 2 year old notebooks that cost 1300 new was rare when I looked through all the offers. But 500 euros price loss in 2 years makes 250 euros per year. The same as yours, but without noise and with online gaming lying in the city park, via one of some free WLANs around.

      Up front, it sounds more expensive, but notebooks can be resold as long as they are working and workable. Complete desktop systems have huge discounts, single parts can hardly be sold at all.

      Comparison: my old machine is a 1800+ Athlon, with a GF4-4200, 128mb vram, 512mb system ram. Can you imagine anyone bidding more than 200 euros for that? Maybe around 150 euros, but only if I'm lucky and meet a fool on ebay. Cost new: 1000 euros. Age: 3.5 years. Loss per year: 240 euros. Savings compared to notebook: 10 euros per year. Encumberance on LAN parties: unbearable. Surfing from places other than my desk: impossible. Watching DVDs with friends in the park: no way. Playing C+C Generals against some other random traveller on a seemingly endless transatlantic flight: harr harr.

  77. Re:We tried using this power supply by AEton · · Score: 1

    "An employee suggested to me that we use this power supply for a few offices here as an evaluation. [...] I made the employee remove the Hiper from the offices and lets just say he's not with us anymore."

    You kicked an employee out because an evaluation that he suggested didn't work out? That is, pardon my French, completely fucked. The whole reason you do evaluations is so that you don't end up in a position where new products put people's job on the line.

    Apart from anything else, from now on if an employee suddenly discovers a product that at a stroke will double productivity, halve costs and save small kittens from drowning, do you think they're going to tell you about it? No, they're going to hide behind conformity, in the hope that that way they'll keep their jobs.

    Congrats, you've singlehandedly halted improvement of your company's computing infrastructure. I'm sure it'll mean far less trouble for you, right up to the point where an innovative competitor buys you up and fires everyone.

    --
    We recently had heard in the office over one of the Yellow Machine that's made by Anthology Solutions.
  78. not a problem with my theory... by YesIAmAScript · · Score: 1

    It was an example, not a case study. If you think that this isn't a problem, why are there multiple parallel +3.3V and +5V wires from your power supply to your motherboard? Over only 18 inches? Whatever drop I have right now, if you extend the cable to 5 feet instead of 18 inches, and go from multiple parallel wires to a single wire for each voltage (you can't have a 1" bundle across the floor), you'll end up losing 15x as much power (assuming about 3x farther and 5x parallel wires right now) as you do with the power supply in the case. And, as an added note, often your power supply is running a re-regulating switching power supply. These things have massive input currents, well north of 5A. I'd love to see smaller supplies. But look at the current situation. My 6800 Ultra video card requires TWO hard drive power connectors into it. Why? The vast majority of power supplies have only one circuit of power for +12V each of and +5V (and virtually all when the card was made, as the number is rising). Yet the instructions say you need to put plugs from two different strands into the card. Why? Because the drop in those power cables is too large for the currents they draw. They need parallel wiring to halve the drop. So what is going to happen if the power supply is now 3x farther away? I'll need 6 wires. Big portions of the power supply must remain in the case right now. And likely forever.

    --
    http://lkml.org/lkml/2005/8/20/95