550W Roundup: Three PSUs at Different Prices
by Martin Kaffei on October 28, 2010 4:00 PM ESTOCZ Fatal1ty OCZ550FTY
The OCZ Fatal1ty comes with the usual assortment of parts: you get a users manual, a US/UK/Europe power cord (depending on your location), and the necessary mounting screws. In addition, the power supply has cable management ("EZMod Technology for custom cabling"), and the modular cables are placed in a separate bag. The distinctive product features consist of a red LED-fan and active PFC—the latter is not that remarkable, but it's a step up from budget PSUs like the Techsolo. OCZ also makes mention of the 135mm fan and 80 Plus certification. The marketing tells us to "get the Gear used by the Pros", referencing the infamous John "Fatal1ty" Wendel of Quake 3 fame [Ed: has he even done much recently?], and we can only hope the pros use high quality power supplies. OCZ offers a 3-year-warranty with support in their forums.
The varnish is shiny, the ventilation holes are tiny, and when the fan is off you can see almost transparant fan blades and parts of the internal design. The depth of the housing is 16cm, which is okay for a 550W power supply with cable management. There is a large power switch in front of the PSU, but no need to mention this as a feature on the packaging.
| Cables and Connectors | ||
| Fixed/Modular | Main | 24-pin 45cm |
| ATX12V/EPS12V | 4+4-pin 45cm / 4-pin 45cm | |
| PCIe | 6/8-pin 50cm / 6-pin 50cm | |
| Peripheral | 3x PATA 45-75cm / 3x PATA 45-75cm + Floppy 15cm | |
| 3x SATA 45-75cm / 3x SATA 45-75cm | ||
The main cables could be longer than 45cm for use in large cases, but this will work fine otherwise. The 4+4-pin ATX12V and one more 4-pin ATX12V is not bad for a 550W PSU. Six SATA and six Molex connectors are more than enough for common PC configurations, and the floppy connector increases the maxmium cable lenght up to 90cm (but only if you need a mini-4-pin Molex, obviously). Finally, the 6/8-pin and 6-pin PEG connectors make for a reasonable 550W PSU setup.
OCZ continues to use a Globe Fan fan with a double ball bearing, which is partially covered by ducting. The fan needs 0.33 amps and has eleven transparent fan blades.
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dinkumthinkum - Friday, October 29, 2010 - link
I also was stung by an Antec about 5 years ago. I read later that they switched suppliers at some point and quality suffered. I switched to FSP and later Corsair/Seasonic, so far so good.I had a small form factor FSP die on me mysteriously but I suspect that was due to the level of chalk dust in the room. I replaced it with a Seasonic, which has been amazingly quiet and reliable.
Phaedrus2129 - Friday, October 29, 2010 - link
That was the 2005/2006 Fuhjyyu capacitor incident. It affected the TruePower, TruePower II, and Smartpower units. Those PSUs were shipped with Fuhjyyu capacitors on the secondary, which are extremely unreliable. Antec claims their manufacturer (CWT) put them on without permission to save cost; CWT claims Antec specc'd them that way. Either way, Antec and CWT parted company, and now all Antec PSUs use Japanese or mid-range Taiwanese capacitors.In other words, they had some bad units in 2005/6, that doesn't make them bad for all time. Their current lineup is excellent, baring the Basiq line.
Pessimism - Friday, October 29, 2010 - link
Saying a power supply exploded at 50% load is not enough. For maximum impact, post photographs of its remains after attempted use.sviola - Friday, October 29, 2010 - link
Nice Review. I look forward for more reviews like this and, who knows, a PSU round-up in the same way of the gpus and memory round-ups.iamezza - Friday, October 29, 2010 - link
Loved the review. I liked the humorous writing style and didn't think it was too unprofessional.xi0s - Friday, October 29, 2010 - link
PC Power & CoolingNice review, though seeing how simple it is to test PSU's and how many more players there are on the market these days, I would've much preferred a roundup of atleast 5 PSU's instead of a measly 3. Not that you didn't make a point here, but surely you could've done more with it.
ClagMaster - Friday, October 29, 2010 - link
Why get an Antec TP-550 when you can purchase a Seasonic SS-560KM Modular Power supply for a few dollars more and get top-notch performance and reliability ?Corsair power supplies (manufactured by Seasonic) are also excellent too. But the Seasonics are the best.
softdrinkviking - Friday, October 29, 2010 - link
is actually a pretty big fan company in the asian PC market.they sell there fans in the big consumer electronics stores that have a DIY PC
section, and in hobby stores. (here in japan)
i will say that they are cheaper than most fans, but not the absolute cheapest.
JohnMD1022 - Friday, October 29, 2010 - link
Why bother with a PSU that is not available everywhere?Restrict reviews to components that are available worldwide.
Beenthere - Saturday, October 30, 2010 - link
Fanboism doesn't make a good PSU.Thankfully a few sites conduct proper load testing of PSUs so intelligent PC enthusiasts can make an informed decision. Without actual test results of specific PSU models a consumer has no means to tell good PSUs from ad hype. An educated consumer doesn't buy hype they buy quality, performance and value.
One accurate PSU test is of far more value than a baseless fanbois opinion.