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Product:
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E-Power Tiger EP-550P5-T1 550w Modular PSU |
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Price:
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$127 (CAN) / $110 (U.S)
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Supplied By:
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E-Power Technology
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Author:
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Skaal-Tel
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Date:
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December 10th, 2005
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Rating:
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While inside the power supply, I continued to snoop around. As near as I can tell, the 120mm fan is connected to a simple
resistive circuit to limit its speed and noise. Most of the internals are covered by large heatsinks and should be well
cooled by the large fan present.
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The cabling system is really the highlight of the power supply of course, as it is modular and sleeved. Provided with the
E-Power Tiger are connectors for twin 6-pin pcx16 SLI cards, 1 FDD, 6 HDD/ODDs, 4 fans, dual 8-pin CPU motherboards, the
regular p4 4-pin AUX connector and of course a 20/24-pin ATX plug. The ATX plug has the extra 4-pin cable separately
sleeved and it can be slid out of both ends of the regular 20-pin connector. If you have a 20-pin motherboard it's a snap
to cut the zip ties holding the two together and cut down on clutter. The same goes for the 4-pin AUX connector which is
twinned with another just like it in the eventuality you're running a dual CPU rig. All the cables except for the fan cable
are professionally sleeved in black mesh with black connectors on the computer end and blue on the power supply end. The
PCI express connectors have a built in EMI (Electro-magnetic Interference) filter, in all likelihood a metallic wrapping
the length of the cable. Also present in each connector is a capacitor, probably to smooth any voltage spikes which may be
sent down the line. Personally I don't see the need for such extreme measures but those with two $800 video cards just might
be willing to pay for the peace of mind.
An added feature with the E-Power Tiger is a dedicated fan cable which is presumably hooked up to a thermistor type of fan
speed control, similar to the main 120mm fan. It might have been nice to sleeve this cable as well, but at least the
connectors are both 4-pin and 3-pin. My only gripe with the cables is the lack of quick-disconnect Molex plugs. Many power
supplies in equal or lesser price brackets are incorporating quick disconnects, and I find them invaluable time savers.
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Each of the cables is keyed on the power supply end to connect only to certain outputs, so there can be
no confusion when setting them up. As an added step, there is a nice safety sticker on the front of the
power supply, tags attached to some of the cables, and a very high quality manual explaining the setup.
Modding:
I like to take a moment and touch on some of the possibilities for modding in each of my reviews. With this
particular power supply my first step would be to replace the fan with a LED fan of choice, which is dead easy.
The finish on this model is excellent, so a paintjob is pretty much out of the question. As far as the cables
go, quick disconnects could be added in any colour. Internally, a second fan could be added to the rear for
increased cooling, and with all relevant voltage rails easily visible on the keyed connector panel it would
be very easy to Dremel out some slots and add a few more cables, at custom lengths and so forth. Of course,
doing all this would clearly void the 3 year warranty, and you could very easily run into some nasty shocks
and so forth. As a safety precaution please, use a multimeter and know what you're doing or don't do it at all!
Power output and Technical details: 520W: +3.3V(28A), +5V(40A), +12V(40A)
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By deciphering the mumbo-jumbo on the label you can make an educated decision about what power supply is right for you.
The E-Power Tiger 550W model advertises a 650W peak load. Doing the math, I can see 292Watts on the 3.3v and 5v rails,
which are decidely less important than the 12v rail. In essence, due to the loss of most 5v computer accessories and
the real step up in 12v usage (i.e. DVD burners, twin high powered video cards, and all the assorted accessories we
modders love to use) the 12 volt rail is what you need to pay attention to when using this product. On average you can
expect ~90% of max output to be the real power of the supply. This power supply is rated for an impressive 480 watts max,
which is about 430 watts sustained. In general, a 6800 ultra alone can consume 110 watts, and since even the 7800 and
x1800 models don't drain so much power, this power supply is rated with more than enough juice to get the job done. I
don't have the test rig to conclusively prove its ability to sustain 480 watts, but I did run the E-Power Tiger overnight
with Prime95, BurnInTest and 3DMark05 on a medium level computer (AMD 2700+ XP, 1GB PC2700 RAM, overclocked ATI 9800 Pro,
1 x HDD, 1 x CDROM) and observed minimal voltage variations. Of course, even under such conditions, my whole computer
draws less than 250 watts total, so your results may vary.
As an added bonus, the E-Power Tiger EP-550P5-T1 550w Modular PSU incorporates Short Circuit Protection, Over Voltage
Protection and Over Current Protection, to keep your computer from going up in smoke.
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Conclusion:
The E-Power Tiger EP-550P5-T1 550w Modular PSU is aimed squarely at the style conscious power user,
with modular cables to keep airflow up and clutter down, nickel plated casing and massive reserves
of wattage for even the most power hungry beast of a rig. Much can be made of the ability to so
easily access the power rails for modding, and for more regular usage, the manual and simple keyed
connectors will keep your less technically inclined friends from hurting their computers. On the
whole this is a good power supply, with a few minor issues that prevent a top score. Instead,
I'm happy to rate this power supply a final rating of 8 out of 10.
If you have any questions regarding this review, be sure to visit the E-Power Technology
website for more information or discuss them in our forums.
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Pros:
- Nickel plated reflective surface
- Sleeved and coloured cables and connectors
- Good airflow
- Quiet fan, and provision for extra fan control
- Comprehensive manual
- 3 year warranty
- Modder friendly
- Loads of wattage
- Capacitive and shielded PCI Express cables
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Cons:
- No quick disconnect Molex connectors
- Cheap 120mm cooling fan
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