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MAD DOG Multimedia MD-500SCPS
Author: JonnyGuru
Date Posted:03/04/2005 10:43.40
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Bottom Line:
If you have a computer that loads up heavy on the 5V or won't load the 12V up over 20A while the 5V is also over 20A and you don't want to spend more than $100 on a modular power supply, this might be a good power supply for you. But if you've got an SLI system...
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First Impressions
What's up with the MD-500SCPS?
The big draw to the MD-500SCPS
we're reviewing today is power, price and modular cables. 500W is
a hot number in power supplies.
You'll find that all of the power supplies that we've reviewed during
March and into April are between 480W and 600W. And as with most of
Mad Dog's products, price point is paramount, but they do it
without
sacrificing
quality
by turning
to Super Flower to manufacture their power supplies. The modular
cables sweeten the deal by allowing the user to only add the cables they
need, keeping
the inside of the case neat and clean and capable of better air-flow. 
Mad Dog's power supply uses 2x2 and 2x3 connectors to interface with the
power supply. The use of existing connectors allows Mad Dog to keep costs
down and since the connectors natively come with clips, there's no problem
with cables popping out. Notice the SATA interface is 6-pin. This
is because the Mad Dog actually provides 3.3V to the SATA drive unlike
the other modular power supplies we've reviewed so far.
The cables on the Mad Dog are similar to that of the
A.C. Ryan we had just taken a look at, except the heat shrink tubing
on the ends actually goes all of the way up to the connector. The
webbing also seems to be a bit sturdier than the A.C. Ryan as well. The
connectors snap into the power supply so they shouldn't come out and
there's even a dedicated SATA power connector that provides 3.3V for
future SATA drives (currently, SATA drives only use 5V and 12V, but 3.3V
is in the specification.)
On the back of the MD-500SCPS we see a little push
button and three lights. When we push the button, the light changes
as does the RPM of the fans. What's nice is that the slowest setting
allows the thermostatic control to override the low RPM,
so when you start using the PSU and
it gets hot, the fans kick up a few revolutions to compensate. The
other two settings are faster and are labeled "normal" and "turbo." The
fans are 80MM in the front, 92MM on the bottom and 60MM in the back. 
SuperFlower makes this unit for Mad Dog and I must admit that it is a very
clean power supply inside. Unfortunately, the heatsinks are rather small,
transformers and AC filtering capacitors are small.... Not quite
as bad as Powmax's power supply, but smaller than most of our other power
supplies.
It's so "neat" inside the Mad Dog that even the wires for the fans are twisted
and then have a clear tube slid over them.
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