Since the introduction of the 80 Plus certifications, we've seen a slow but steady trickle down effect where labels that were once reserved for the highest of the high-end (e.g. 80 Plus Gold) have eventually reached mainstream price points. Manufacturers including FSP, Rosewill, Sparkle, and SuperFlower now sell affordable 80 Plus Gold power supplies for less than $100. But if mainstream users are now able to get 80 Plus Gold, what should the high-end market offer? Enter 80 Plus Platinum:
Those looking for maximum efficiency can now set their sights on 80 Plus Platinum PSUs, which will be new halo market for high-end—and high cost—power supplies. To reach the necessary efficiency levels, some improvements are necessary that can change some of the core characteristics of a power. Improved resonant topologies, new MOSFETs for synchronous rectifying, higher switching frequencies, better drivers, and low-resistance conduction paths are just some of the things we'll see with 80 Plus Platinum. We're naturally eager to see what the new models can bring to the table, and Enermax sent us their Platimax 750W model, which uses an optimized Modu87+ design. Read on to find out if Enermax is the new efficiency king, and how it performs in other metrics.
The overwhelming majority of cases from SilverStone we've reviewed so far have been based on some very unorthodox designs, featuring layouts that feel ATX in name only. Yet when we visited with them at CES and they showed off the Temjin TJ04-E, we were surprised: at least superficially, the TJ04-E looked like a garden variety ATX case. It had SilverStone's usual clean lines and style, but everything seemed almost too normal. Thankfully we have the Temjin TJ04-E in house today, and while it may indeed look fairly by-the-book at first glance, SilverStone's mad scientists have tweaked quite a few things beneath the surface.
NZXT recently released the Switch 810, a new high-end full tower model they proudly had on display at CES at the same time they were seeding samples to reviewers. It's a looker to be sure, but NZXT's engineers also played a lot with the insides of the enclosure, and what they've put together is a chassis with a remarkable number of uncommon features designed to appeal to enthusiasts who want to maximize both the utility of their machines along with the control they have over that utility. It looks great on paper and great on display, but how does it work in practice?
NZXT is a well known provider of "eye-catching" cases and peripherals, but like many other brands they offer power supplies as well. These include the HALE90 series, their first 80 Plus Gold product to hit the market. While the HALE90 targets the high-end audience, NZXT also wants to cater to midrange users, and for that market they have their new HALE82 series that covers wattages from 650W to 850W. The rated output makes these models good for high-end single GPUs as well as moderate SLI and CrossFire systems. Features such as 80 Plus Bronze certification and modular cables are common these days, but such features say little about how good a PSU really is. Today, we're testing the 650W and 750W models, with our usual results on the following pages.
While flagship enclosures are certainly interesting and there are some great deals to be had even just north of $100, competition south of that border is mighty fierce and only becomes more so as manufacturers refresh their lineups with the latest trends and advances in chassis design. We've seen a lot of great options for end users looking to save some scratch, but we haven't had a chance to see what Antec can do in this market...until now. Antec is launching their new Three Hundred Two chassis, and if you're an enthusiast on a budget looking for the best cooling you can get without spending up for it, this may be the case for you.
The Cooler Master Cosmos is more or less legendary among top-of-the-line enclosures. It's not hard to see why, either: it's big, it has loads of expansion, and it looks like a giant refrigerator...for your computer. That said, some time has passed since the Cosmos originally landed with very little in the way of updates. Today, Cooler Master brings us the long-awaited update, the Cosmos II. With a $349 MSRP and a shipping weight of nearly fifty pounds, this enclosure is oversized in every way. Will it retain the cachet of its predecessors, though, or have advances in the computing market since the era of the original Cosmos left the Cosmos II a shiny relic of a bygone era?
We were big fans of SilverStone's Temjin TJ08-E when we reviewed it back in August. Who wouldn't be? Even SilverStone was surprised at just how effective the little enclosure was, producing better cooling and acoustics than their own substantially more expensive Fortress FT03. Today SilverStone comes to us with a modified Temjin TJ08-E--modified for a lower price point. The Precision PS07 is almost identical to its predecessor internally, but SilverStone has cut some corners to shave about $20 off the end retail cost. Was it worth the sacrifice?
A lot of our case reviews lately have been for enclosures that hover around the $99 price point and then range below. The big, expensive ones are exciting and ultimately many of them are definitely worth your hard earned money, but what about the friend who's on an extreme budget? What if you're on an extreme budget? The case is often one of the easiest and safest places to cut money out of the cost of a custom build, and BitFenix has been diligently serving the cash-strapped for a while now. Today we have on hand the new Outlaw, and we'll show you just how much case you can get for fifty bucks.
This is our first look at a power supply from a relatively new company, Lepa. We'll be looking at their B850 (850W) model, that looks to target the upper end of the mainstream market. It has the relatively common 80 Plus Bronze certification (up to 88% efficiency), the expected safety features, and a 135mm fan, all backed by a 3-year limited warranty. Let's find out if this newcomer can deliver the goods or is merely another also-ran.
If you're looking for a new case, Antec is setting side a pair of its Eleven Hundred model cases for two lucky AnandTech readers. The Eleven Hundred features three tool-less 5.25" drive bays and six tool-less 3.5" bays in addition to all of the grommet lined routing holes you've come to expect from Antec. Check out the gallery below for more shots of the case.
Read on for entry details!
When you start dipping well below an MSRP of $99 for an enclosure, you'll see manufacturers having to make compromises in the design and build quality in order to keep the price down. That's not unusual, and it gives the opportunity for smart engineering to come to the forefront in a bid to maximize value at minimal expense. We've seen a lot of exciting cases at $99 and in that neighborhood, but Rosewill's Ranger can be had for just $69.99, putting it in direct competition with crowd favorites like Bitfenix's Shinobi. Rosewill offered superior value with their full-sized Thor v2; can they repeat that success at half the cost?
If you're willing to shell out the money for them, there are a lot of interesting alternative enclosure designs on the market. Companies like SilverStone, Thermaltake, and Lian Li are happy to sell you more experimental and exotic cases once you get past $150 or so, but what if you want something a little spicier without breaking the bank? At $99 Lian Li has you covered with the new PC-A05FN. There are a lot of good (or at least interesting) ideas at work in the PC-A05FN, but how well do they pan out?
If you browse custom builds across different boutiques, you'll find NZXT's name comes up an awful lot. One of their enclosures, in particular, tends to see a lot of action: the Phantom. Its unusual angular design for some people is the right mix of style and gaudy, resembling the kind of case an Imperial Stormtrooper might choose if they were planning on learning how to at least hit the broad side of a barn in their off-duty hours. Today we take the wraps off of the Phantom's new fun size version, the Phantom 410, offering all the style without the massive footprint.
Earlier today Dustin reviewed Antec's new P280 chassis, but now we've got two of these cases to give away to a couple of lucky readers. In our review, Dustin felt that the P280 brought some of the ease of assembly features that were missing from Antec's lineup without sacrificing much of what made the P180 series so great. Be sure to read his full take on the P280 here, and then leave a comment below (please only leave one comment!) to enter.
Read on for full entry details including eligibility requirements. Good luck!
Antec's existing Performance One series, peaking with the P183 and P190, has become a standard for silent, high performance computing. These enclosures have been extremely popular from the word "go," and for a long time the P180 and its descendants have been easy recommendations. But you could argue the designs are starting to feel a little outdated, and while Antec's recent Solo II was an interesting step forward, it felt like a tentative one.
The new P280, on the other hand, is a major evolution. Intended not as a refresh of the P183 but to exist alongside it, the P280 features some radical changes for Antec in terms of design while lowering the cost of entry for the entire line. Is it a smart evolution, or did Antec's engineers split too many decisions in trying to appeal to both silent computing and high performance markets?