From personal experience, the SATA cables they include aren't suitable in their own cases, at least not in RVZ01.
Right angle SATA connectors are completely inferior compared to straight ones inside cramped cases, because the "T", that theconnector forms with its cables, gets in the way more often than not and causes a lot of stress onto the drive connector or the cables.
The right angle SATA connectors are so bad, in fact, that I am forced to use 4-pin molex to straight SATA cables, which adds further clutter inside an already cramped case.
The downside of straight connectors is that you now need to accommodate the Minimum Bend Radius behind the drive for the cable to make a 90° turn (extra wasted space), and you need to run DOUBLE the number of actual wires through the case (due to the lack of daisy-chaining).
no you don't? There are daisy-chained straight SATA connectors. This was a pretty standard type of connector found on older PSUs, but for some reason, I haven't seen many, and by that I mean none, these days.
You see, the problem with right angle connectors, is that you need accommodate the minimum bend radius between the drives anyways, because these connectors aren't spaced to the typical drive spacing.
And also, I would like to stress that 'right angle' power connectors are the 'wrong angle' in RVZ01. The 2.5" drives are belly up. The "right" angle connectors protrude above the side panel.
both types of connectors suffer from the same problems with Minimum Bend Radius, just in different situations.
as for daisy chaining straight connectors, I haven't seen one with several straight connectors, I don't see how that would even be possible. The one you show just shows a single connector at the end like typical straight connectors, not several daisy chained together like you can have with the 90° cables.
not saying 90° cables are better, or that straight cables are better. they both have their uses.
So in summation, if you want a 600W SFX power supply you have to buy this one.
About the cables, Silverstone uses the same standard for all their modular cables and has for quite a while. They offer a wide range of replacement cables in different lengths and even single cables. Not only that if you buy a bunch of their power supplies you end up with a bunch of extra cables. That's a great reason to keep buying their products. The last 4 power supplies I've bought were Silverstone, mostly so I can mix and match cables with my existing collection if I need a longer/shorter one.
Actually, Athena Power has a bunch of SFX PSUs that are over 600W and they even have an 800W model.
Silverstone is also going to release a 700W model of their SST-SX500-LG, although, strictly speaking, these "Long" models don't conform to SFX standards.
Personally, I don't see how or why you would want more than 500W, because I'm quite sure you would run into thermal issues with a CPU+GPU that would require that kind of power in a case these SFX PSUs are designed to go in.
First off, thanks for reviewing power supplies of lower wattage and it's great to see Anandtech taking a look at SFX PSUs in particular. Not all of us are interested in 1000 watt supplies so the variety is great.
But I did notice..."The OEM behind the *very* densely packed design you see below is Enhance. Enhance is not a *very* common manufacturer for *very* high output PSUs..." this review contained a lot of "very" and "relatively" which hurt readability somewhat.
2 year ago i looked for SFX PSU and only choice was Seasonic 300W and even with 30W power outcome was noise. So i moved into expensive picoPSU and after that for second very small machine i selected board with laptop like external adapter connector and adapter bundled with Akasa Euler S. Usually if you case about size, you want to have machine near of you and it means machine should be quiet.. So for smaller power consumation (<200W) machine there are better laptop like solution and for bigger machines is still ATX PSU needed.. or maybe there are some niche never where reviewed extendar passively cooler 300W boxes.. - but there are not small, so..
Any chance of reviews on the Corsair SF600 (competing 600W SFX and 92mm fan in the SFX form factor with High Power as OEM) or Silverstone SX500-LG (500W Extended SFX form factor with 120mm fan and again the OEM is High Power)?
I wish SFX is the new mainstream standard for PSUs. The sheer size of ATX PSUs is wastingso much physical space inside a mITX/mATX enclosure, and the vast majority of users simply doesn't need more than 400W even for a gaming PC with power requirements dropping like a rock since 2011.
Or even better, a complete move to a +12V DC PSU standard to cut down even more PSU circuitry and save more space at the same time.
Only because it's a quickie review. It wasn't that long ago that I remember seeing PSU reviews here where they were opening them up and critiquing the internals and choices of components, looking at electrical noise of the switching IC, rectifier, and MOSFETs, etc. I think Anandtech could arrange to test a PSU at both common voltages/frequencies if they wanted to make a good quality review. A desktop variac can probably be picked up for the price of this PSU or less and could be used for many reviews. Or perhaps they employ someone stateside who could run a few tests on the same model.
I get that this is just a drive-by review for the weekend that isn't intended to be a thorough or high budget affair. And I don't really even know if they're the type who just ships free stuff from manufacturers to your house to try out or if they have invested a couple of hundred into various lab equipment on regular occasion to do proper testing, but I feel like review sites used to lean toward the latter and we are losing that slowly in favor of review mills.
At any rate, the only reason any of this came up is because the reviewer mentioned that it didn't meet 80 plus. That seems like an interesting thing to dig into, because one familiar with power supplies would expect the situation to get worse at 120v.
Actually, that is entirely wrong. I do have a VARIAC and I do use it to get an exact 230 VAC output. However, dropping the voltage down to 110/120 Volts is just false/fake testing. You see, VARIACs convert the voltage output but do nothing about the frequency. Whoever is claiming to be using a VARIAC for dual voltage testing, sorry, that's just wrong.
To perform testing at any voltage/frequency, you need a programmable power source. One in the range of 2-3 KVA costs about $25.000. I do not think that I need to explain why I do not have one.
We’ve updated our terms. By continuing to use the site and/or by logging into your account, you agree to the Site’s updated Terms of Use and Privacy Policy.
Facebook
Twitter
RSS
20 Comments
Back to Article
meacupla - Friday, August 21, 2015 - link
From personal experience, the SATA cables they include aren't suitable in their own cases, at least not in RVZ01.Right angle SATA connectors are completely inferior compared to straight ones inside cramped cases, because the "T", that theconnector forms with its cables, gets in the way more often than not and causes a lot of stress onto the drive connector or the cables.
The right angle SATA connectors are so bad, in fact, that I am forced to use 4-pin molex to straight SATA cables, which adds further clutter inside an already cramped case.
edzieba - Friday, August 21, 2015 - link
The downside of straight connectors is that you now need to accommodate the Minimum Bend Radius behind the drive for the cable to make a 90° turn (extra wasted space), and you need to run DOUBLE the number of actual wires through the case (due to the lack of daisy-chaining).meacupla - Friday, August 21, 2015 - link
no you don't? There are daisy-chained straight SATA connectors. This was a pretty standard type of connector found on older PSUs, but for some reason, I haven't seen many, and by that I mean none, these days.This is the perfect solution, daisy chain straight connectors: http://cdn.overclock.net/a/a8/a8f3a740_2012-12-09_...
You see, the problem with right angle connectors, is that you need accommodate the minimum bend radius between the drives anyways, because these connectors aren't spaced to the typical drive spacing.
And also, I would like to stress that 'right angle' power connectors are the 'wrong angle' in RVZ01. The 2.5" drives are belly up. The "right" angle connectors protrude above the side panel.
Margalus - Friday, August 21, 2015 - link
both types of connectors suffer from the same problems with Minimum Bend Radius, just in different situations.as for daisy chaining straight connectors, I haven't seen one with several straight connectors, I don't see how that would even be possible. The one you show just shows a single connector at the end like typical straight connectors, not several daisy chained together like you can have with the 90° cables.
not saying 90° cables are better, or that straight cables are better. they both have their uses.
geniekid - Friday, August 21, 2015 - link
More SFX/SFX-L reviews!Flunk - Friday, August 21, 2015 - link
So in summation, if you want a 600W SFX power supply you have to buy this one.About the cables, Silverstone uses the same standard for all their modular cables and has for quite a while. They offer a wide range of replacement cables in different lengths and even single cables. Not only that if you buy a bunch of their power supplies you end up with a bunch of extra cables. That's a great reason to keep buying their products. The last 4 power supplies I've bought were Silverstone, mostly so I can mix and match cables with my existing collection if I need a longer/shorter one.
meacupla - Friday, August 21, 2015 - link
Actually, Athena Power has a bunch of SFX PSUs that are over 600W and they even have an 800W model.Silverstone is also going to release a 700W model of their SST-SX500-LG, although, strictly speaking, these "Long" models don't conform to SFX standards.
Personally, I don't see how or why you would want more than 500W, because I'm quite sure you would run into thermal issues with a CPU+GPU that would require that kind of power in a case these SFX PSUs are designed to go in.
BrokenCrayons - Friday, August 21, 2015 - link
First off, thanks for reviewing power supplies of lower wattage and it's great to see Anandtech taking a look at SFX PSUs in particular. Not all of us are interested in 1000 watt supplies so the variety is great.But I did notice..."The OEM behind the *very* densely packed design you see below is Enhance. Enhance is not a *very* common manufacturer for *very* high output PSUs..." this review contained a lot of "very" and "relatively" which hurt readability somewhat.
Ryan Smith - Friday, August 21, 2015 - link
Yeah, we did go a bit overboard there. Thanks for pointing it out.ruthan - Friday, August 21, 2015 - link
2 year ago i looked for SFX PSU and only choice was Seasonic 300W and even with 30W power outcome was noise. So i moved into expensive picoPSU and after that for second very small machine i selected board with laptop like external adapter connector and adapter bundled with Akasa Euler S.Usually if you case about size, you want to have machine near of you and it means machine should be quiet.. So for smaller power consumation (<200W) machine there are better laptop like solution and for bigger machines is still ATX PSU needed.. or maybe there are some niche never where reviewed extendar passively cooler 300W boxes.. - but there are not small, so..
duyfken - Friday, August 21, 2015 - link
Any chance of reviews on the Corsair SF600 (competing 600W SFX and 92mm fan in the SFX form factor with High Power as OEM) or Silverstone SX500-LG (500W Extended SFX form factor with 120mm fan and again the OEM is High Power)?E.Fyll - Saturday, August 22, 2015 - link
It is very likely, yes. One thing at the time.Corsair's model is not available yet.
duyfken - Saturday, August 22, 2015 - link
Cheers, good news for more informed decisions on (many) future iTX builds :)tonyou - Sunday, August 23, 2015 - link
High Power is not the OEM for SF600 (it was in fact Great Wall) according to Corsair's own personnel:http://www.jonnyguru.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1...
StrangerGuy - Saturday, August 22, 2015 - link
I wish SFX is the new mainstream standard for PSUs. The sheer size of ATX PSUs is wastingso much physical space inside a mITX/mATX enclosure, and the vast majority of users simply doesn't need more than 400W even for a gaming PC with power requirements dropping like a rock since 2011.Or even better, a complete move to a +12V DC PSU standard to cut down even more PSU circuitry and save more space at the same time.
sor - Saturday, August 22, 2015 - link
Most power supplies are more efficient at higher voltage, not less. It would be interesting to see you retest at 120vDanNeely - Saturday, August 22, 2015 - link
He can't. He lives in a country with 220V wall power; which means the only way to get 120V is a huge transformer.sor - Saturday, August 22, 2015 - link
Only because it's a quickie review. It wasn't that long ago that I remember seeing PSU reviews here where they were opening them up and critiquing the internals and choices of components, looking at electrical noise of the switching IC, rectifier, and MOSFETs, etc. I think Anandtech could arrange to test a PSU at both common voltages/frequencies if they wanted to make a good quality review. A desktop variac can probably be picked up for the price of this PSU or less and could be used for many reviews. Or perhaps they employ someone stateside who could run a few tests on the same model.I get that this is just a drive-by review for the weekend that isn't intended to be a thorough or high budget affair. And I don't really even know if they're the type who just ships free stuff from manufacturers to your house to try out or if they have invested a couple of hundred into various lab equipment on regular occasion to do proper testing, but I feel like review sites used to lean toward the latter and we are losing that slowly in favor of review mills.
At any rate, the only reason any of this came up is because the reviewer mentioned that it didn't meet 80 plus. That seems like an interesting thing to dig into, because one familiar with power supplies would expect the situation to get worse at 120v.
E.Fyll - Monday, August 24, 2015 - link
Actually, that is entirely wrong. I do have a VARIAC and I do use it to get an exact 230 VAC output. However, dropping the voltage down to 110/120 Volts is just false/fake testing. You see, VARIACs convert the voltage output but do nothing about the frequency. Whoever is claiming to be using a VARIAC for dual voltage testing, sorry, that's just wrong.To perform testing at any voltage/frequency, you need a programmable power source. One in the range of 2-3 KVA costs about $25.000. I do not think that I need to explain why I do not have one.
home improve - Tuesday, August 25, 2015 - link
Depending on the games an individual plays, it is advisable to a high-end graphics card for several reasons such as stereoscopic 3D...<a href="http://www.myhomeimprovementsolutions.com/best-gam... games</a>