When someone is
getting ready to build their new dream machine, the power
supply is often overlooked. Generally people focus on the
performance side of the equation, getting the fastest CPU,
hard drive and Memory they can afford, along with a high
quality motherboard to tie it all together. They may even go
as far as to purchase a new case, with power supply
included, but typically these power supplies are the
cheapest available to keep the overall cost of the case
down. A simple way to see this is to take an ordinary power
supply and compare its weight to a high quality, after
market model. Generally, the basic PSU is very light, with
lighter duty components, while the higher end model will
have more "guts" to ensure proper performance under extreme
loads with a cleaner signal. This will result in added
weight, which is often a sign of quality in Power Supplies.
So while the Power Supply is not as sexy as the other key
components of a system, it should be regarded as equally
important as the CPU, Memory or Hard Drive. If there
are any power issues, it can have an adverse affect on all
of the system's components, causing instability or component
failure.
Today we
will take a look at the Soyo Raptor SY-PS400 Adjustable PSU.
This is a high-end power supply that offers a solid 400
watts of power and some advanced features not previously
seen before. Let's take a look.
Features
of the Soyo Raptor SY-PS400 Adjustable PSU
Something Different
Form Factor
ATX
Front Panel
5 1/4" drive bay control panel with display
7-segment LED, over voltage indicator, and two
front panel USB ports.
Alternate color face plate available.
Power Supply
OUTPUT
Leakage Current: <0.75mA @ 250 VAC
Rise Time: 0.1mS~20mS
Hold Time: >17mS (max. load)
Short Protection: All outputs
Over Current Protection (OCP): <240VA
TTL/CMOS compatible on delay 100 to 500mS, off
delap 1mS min.
Input
Input Range: 90~135/180~265VAC (slide switch)
Frequency Range: 47~64Hz
Efficiency: >68% @ max. load, Norminal line
Health Monitoring
Description
ENVIRONMENT
Operation Temperature: 10 degree C~50 degree C
Storage Temperature: -20 degree C~+60 degree C
Storage Altitude: Sea level to 50,000 ft
Operation & Storage Humidity: 10%~95% RH
Operating Altitude: 10,000 ft
MTBF: >100,000 hrs at max load, 115 VAC and 25
degree C ambient conditions
Dimension Description
6" x 3.3" x 5.5" (W x H x D)
FCC Part 15 Class B CISPER 22 Class B
The Soyo Raptor
comes with the typical components found with most PSUs as
well as a few other items that makes it stand out as a
unique package. Along with a main PSU unit, the Raptor
comes with a 5 1/4" control unit that mounts in a standard
drive bay. An extra face plate is included to toggle
the control box color from white to black. The cabling
of the main PSU unit includes two proprietary connections
for the control unit, which supply information to the LED
voltage indicators and allow the unit to adjust the voltage.
Additional cabling is provided to power the unit and connect
the control unit's two USB ports to headers available on the
motherboard. We did find the USB cables to be a bit
short, especially if the control unit is mounted on an upper
drive bay. Typically, a motherboard's USB headers
favor the lower edge of the board and this wiring should
have been designed with more length to give more flexibility
to the control unit's placement. A User's Guide is
provided for the PSU, but is more of a technical guide than
a user's manual and will prove to be unhelpful in guiding
the novice on how to install the unit and connect the PSU to
the control box properly. Nonetheless, within a few
moments of getting acquainted with the complete package, the
user with some experience in building their own machines
should figure it out quickly.
The main PSU
body came equipped with a large 120mm fan which keeps the
unit cool and draws heat away from the CPU, if mounted
within proximity of the CPU socket area. The speed of
the fan is throttled by a thermal speed control, adjusting
the rotation speed, as the unit's temperature rises and
falls. Overall, the unit was quiet, with occasional
increases in audible fan noise, heard under load. The
control unit comes configured to run at the default 3.35V
and 5V settings. The 3.35V output can be adjusted from
run from 3.35V to 3.60V in .05V increments, while the 5V
output can be adjusted from 5V to 5.5V in .10V increments.
This adjustability can be useful in a system that is under
heavy load due to overclocking or an abundance of internal
components. If the system is drawn down due to
excessive load, the dials can be adjusted to increase
voltage output to compensate for the draw. If the
voltage is increased too high, an overload light will appear
to let the user know that the voltage is running excessively
high.
