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Introduction:
First, a little about the company,
Maxpoint. They are best
known as Enermax.
This next blurb is from their website on their company
structure:
“About Enermax: Enermax Technology Corporation, founded
in 1990, is a leading manufacturer of high-end computer
products. Established with a passion for progress, Enermax
believes that the needs of our customers drive our design
and development. Our aim is mutual growth and strength,
enabling our team to help solve the most complex business
challenges. Our very forward solutions provision is an
integral part of a result-oriented relationship. Long a
mainstay of the computer industry, Enermax power supplies
have been ranked first for mission critical applications and
high-end systems.
Our Mission: Our team at Enermax is dedicated to design
and diligent product development. Our engineers are hard at
work for you. Our product is at once value and performance
based. We ensure that all the information needed to make an
informed purchase is available and presented in an easy to
understand format. Our technical support department
constantly studies and tests the latest hardware to be as
informed as much as possible to help you with any issues you
may have. Our customer service is a testament to our passion
for you.
Our Customer Focus: Enermax offers amount the industry's
most comprehensive warranties. For the life of our product
we will provide both technical and customer support. Our
forward endeavor of being consumer driven is not generic
cliché but our ethic and philosophy.~
more info
I've reviewed many Enermax
products over the years, the first of these reviews was back in 2004. Enermax is best known
for their Power Supply Units (PSU), and
I still have one of their PSUs from about 5 years ago. It
still works great except it doesn't meet todays computer
system demands. Some people swear by Enermax PSUs and won't
buy anything else because they are so reliable. While PSUs
are their mainstay, they also have countless other
products; Cases, Peripherals, Rackmount chassis, and more.
With the increasing demands from the latest computer
equipment, Power Supplies are required to have more and more
wattage. With Dual NVIDIA
SLI and ATI
Crossfire gaming setups, along with countless other
computer hardware, a lot of juice is required. This
especially holds true for those who wish to push their
hardware to the limit. Hardcore gamers that overclock will
demand lots of quality power.
Packaging:
They
shipped this product to me in a cardboard box, along with
foam packaging snow to prevent damage and to prevent it from
moving around. Additionally, this PSU box was shrink wrapped in
plastic, insuring that the product has not been opened.
If shrink wrap is removed, then contact the reseller or
Enermax directly.
Also
note: the PSU itself had bubble wrap around it to
further prevent damage.
If that wasn't enough protection the PSU is wrapped in
cardboard.
It's very important
that a product is packaged correctly because they can and
often do sustain damage when not. It's comforting to see
that most companies nowadays take great care in insuring
their products arrive safe and sound. There is nothing worse
than purchasing a product with your hard earned money only
to find out it has been damaged in shipment. Thankfully, this
product arrived in perfect working condition and that's
testament to the way it was packaged.
Included
with this product is a Lanyard, four Screws for mounting
the PSU in the case, two badges, User's Manual,
Power Cable,
and the Power Supply.
Specifications:
This
particular product is available in one model,
EG701AX-VE(W)
(Part No.: W0083RU).
This
power supply has a continuous wattage of 600 which is
ample power for today’s computer systems.
Now how is this wattage determined? Well to understand this, you need to know
what rails are.
Rails are
basically well regulated transformers which convert domestic
current into the voltages that your computer system can use.
There are essentially two different rails: the +3.3/+5v rail
and the +12v rail.
In this
particular case the approximate maximum peak output of the
+3.3/+5v rail is 180 watts and the +12v is 420 watts, which
is essentially how the wattage of this power supply is
determined.
The 3.3/5v rail is responsible for the motherboard, memory,
PCI cards, AGP card and so on. The 12v rail is responsible
for the HDD’s, DVD, CD-ROM, fans, etc.
Ok, let's get into the details and specifications!
Here are the peak amps on each rail. The +3.3V is 34A, and
the +5V is 34A. Unlike most power supplies with only one
+12V rail, this product has two: The +12V1 is 22A, and the +12V2
is 22A. Also, the AC input specs are: 100-240VAC, 50~60Hz,
9.5-4AA.
This power supply meets the SSI EPS
ATX
12V v2.1/2.2 specification. For additional information
on form factors please visit
Form Factor website. This basically means that a
power supply must be able to sustain full load in 50°
C (122°
F) ambient conditions, although power output on all models
will decrease ~1°
C starting at an ambient temperature of 40°
C. Having the ATX 12V v2.01/2.02 specification is important
because some power supplies tend to overheat and shut down
the system under max load. Higher end power supplies float in
the ~85% range. This PSU is 80% efficient. Note that the more efficient a power supply
is, the less heat will be generated, and therefore it won't require
excessive cooling.
This power supply also has Active Power Factor Correction
(PFC). Active PFC is preferred over Passive PFC because it
provides a more efficient power frequency. This reduces total
harmonics, corrects input voltage, and it allows for a full
input voltage range. The disadvantage is that it increases
the cost of the power supply. This PSU has a
0.99 Active Power Factor value.
Additionally, this product is 100% Hi-pot,
Chroma,
ATE (Automatic
Test Equipment)
& Burn-in function tested. So what the heck does all that mean?
Well, production Hi-pot testing ensures insulation integrity.
Chroma is a world recognized leader in power supply testing
equipment which includes automated power supply test
systems, electronic loads, programmable AC power supplies,
and related equipment to support the power conversion
industry. Finally, Burn-in is really a stress test and means
it was tested at full load and still meets specs.
A power supply also needs to be fail-safe. This unit has Under Voltage Protection (OVP), Over Load Protection (OLP),
and Over Temperature Protection (OTP).
Also, it's Safety/EMI Approved:
UL (Level 3), cUL (Level 3), VDE, CB, NEMKO, SEMKO, DEMKO,
FIMKO
certifications.
Ever wonder who actually makes a particular PSU? Most
companies do not make their Power Supplies in-house.
Rather, they are made by an original equipment manufacturers
(OEMs) which are probably unknown to most of us. This is not
the case with Enermax PSUs though. So, how does
one go about finding out who actually made it? Well, that's
very simple. Just get the number which is below the UL logo.
In this case it's
E134014.
Now visit this
UL Database site and enter the number.
Another
important factor is the company's
warranty policy. The following warranty program
information is taken from their site: "Enermax offers the industry's most comprehensive warranties. For the
life of our product we will provide both technical and
customer support. Our forward endeavor of being consumer
driven is not generic cliché but our ethic and philosophy."
Enermax offers a 3-Year Limited Warranty on
Power
Supplies.
A closer look:
Like the majority of new power supplies on the market,
this one meets environmentally-friendlier power standards.
Now,
let's get a size measurement; 14cm(L) x 15cm(W) x 8.6cm(H).
Please note that power supplies have to meet the ATX
standard. This means that the height is usually the same,
although the length and width can vary. This power supply
has a gloss dark blue paint finish and comes with one
80mm (exhaust) fan at the back at a 90mm (intake) at the top. You may wonder
why they didn't use a 120mm fan. Well, being 600 watts
means having much larger capacitors than lower wattage power
supplies. This limits the space inside the PSU and therefore
the use of the smaller 90mm fan. The
overall look is basic, nothing really fancy here like a
modular design or windows.
Some PSU fan grills are mounted on the outside of the power
supply and this could pose a problem with some cases.
Thankfully this PSU fan grill is recessed. While is PSU
doesn't have a quiet 120mm fan it's not that loud. I dislike a power supply that has loud fan(s).
I should also mention that the fans take a few seconds to
power down when the PSU is turned off. This is to insure the
inside of the PSU is cooled off adequately.
This product has auto switching so there's no need to
manually switch between 115V/230V before installation. Also,
note the power cable connection, the power switch, and
rheostat (fan speed control).
Also,
there are ventilation holes to assist in cooling. Notice
that they also have EMI shielding on the leads as they come
out of the power supply.
This power supply has plenty of leads and while they are not
all sleeved the main 20/24 pin Motherboard Lead is. The
other leads are in two sleeved bunches. It best to have all
the leads sleeved because this reduces the cable mess and
increases air flow inside the case.
Leads/Adapters:
1- 24(20) pin Main Motherboard Lead
1- 4/8 (4+4) Pin ATX 12V Motherboard Lead (4 to 8 pin
adapter included)
2- 6 Pin Video Card Lead (for PCI-E Video Card)
2- 4 Pin FD Lead (for Floppy drives)
6- 4 Pin Acc Lead (for HD, CD, DVD, etc)
6- SATA Power Lead
1- Fan Lead
Also note, the 4 pin leads are gold plated and have easy grip connectors which
makes connecting/disconnecting components quick and easy.
Testing:
For testing this Power Supply I used the following test
setup:
Motherboard: DFI UT nForce4 SLI DR Motherboard
CPU: AMD Athlon™ 64 3000+ @ 2.7GHz Processor
PSU: Enermax
Noisetaker II 701AX 600W Power Supply
Video Cards: 2 x EVGA 7900
GT Video Cards
Hard Drives: 2 x WD Raptor 74GB HDDs in RAID0
Drive: Plextor PX-712A
DVD±R/RW Drive
Memory: OCZ EB
DDR PC-4000 2GB Memory
Sound Card: Creative Audigy 2 ZS Sound Card
Please remember that when testing this power supply it was
done with the system overclocked to 2.7GHz. Also, the system
was at maximum load. The results were taken with a
Multimeter, not
through system software.
Conclusion:
The Noisetaker II 701AX 600W Power Supply has everything
you would expect from an Enermax product. It offers quality
reliable power and it's stable. These are things everyone
wants from a Power Supply. More often then not people go for
a cheap Power Supply solution and this is not a wise
decision. A Power Supply is a vital part of any computer
system, especially for today's demanding Personal Computers.
This product is well suited for the gaming enthusiast to
workstation servers. I would have liked to see all the leads
sleeved but this is not going to impact performance and a
mute issue for some. I liked most everything with this
product and was also happy to see an abundance of SATA
leads. Most Power Supplies, even the brand name quality ones
have to few SATA leads. This one has 6 SATA leads which is
excellent. Let's face it, most people are going for SATA
HDDs and need a few extra leads. Overall this Power Supply
offers fantastic performance at a reasonable price point.
Pros:
- Lot's of quality power
- Stable
- Active PFC
- Dual PCI-E Video Card Leads
- Officially NVIDIA SLI certified
Cons:
- Cables are not all sleeved
- No modular leads
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