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Raidmax RX-520XP PSU
Author: jonnyguru
Date Posted:17/03/2005 10:07.18
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Bottom Line:
There's more to picking a PSU than the wattage, as explained in the first of a series of forthcoming PSU reviews.
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Observations
Keeping things quiet and cool.
To keep things quiet, the Raid Max is built on a Topower base which features
Topower's typical affair of thermostatically controlled fans mounted with rubber
grommets. Then, there are four fan headers that are thermostatically controlled
and run as low as 4V, so your case fans can spin slowly when your PC's ambient
temperature is cool, or fast when your PC is warm.
Noise is a priority for Raid Max. That's another good reason to start with
a Topower base. They mount their fans through rubber grommets.
Speaking of fans, the Raid Max also will keep your fans spinning
for a full three minutes even after your PC is shut off to help cool down
the computer
even after it has been shut down. Something they call "ECASO" (Enhanced
Cooling After System Off) You know what they say! ECASO, Su Casa!
Inside, we can see the similarities between this PSU and an OCZ, Tagan and
TTGI. This is because they're all made by Topower. Note the large heat sinks.
Lots of
surface area here to help dissipate heat. But there's some subtleties that
set it apart from it's cousins.
Nobody likes interference!
Another attention to detail that Raid Max includes is it's
close scrutiny to EMI. All of the wires are twisted to help prevent EMI.
Raid Max has also
added iron ferrite cores to two of the 5.25" drive power connectors, labeled
VGA/HDD, as well as the AC input power cable. They have also added a few capacitors
to the two VGA/HDD cables to help clean any unwanted ripple in the lines.
Good size caps, good size heat sinks, front to back air flow... This is a well
built power supply.
Digging them heat sinks!
One thing I really liked about this power supply is how quiet the fans were
because of how slow the fans were spinning. The main reason this worked out
so well is because the heatsinks inside of the unit were absolutely huge. The
sinks came up through the center of the PSU and then spread out from there
essentially canopying the entire inside of the power supply with a complex
network of fins. The large amount of surface area meant the sinks were able
to dissipate more heat, requiring less air flow provided by the fans.
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