CeBIT 2008 Day 3 - PSUs and Cases
by Christoph Katzer on March 6, 2008 5:00 PM EST- Posted in
- Trade Shows
Gigabyte
Gigabyte used a small corner of their booth to show their power supplies, including the 800W Odin that we already reviewed. The Odin series is currently Gigabyte's first and only PSU brand, which is now adding bigger brothers with 1000W and 1200W models. Another eye-catcher at the booth was the memory water-cooling - a little overkill for some people, but for those pushing to get every last drop of performance from their RAM it could prove useful.
HEC / Compucase
HEC / Compucase is a rather conservative known for their power supplies in the system builder field. The company has served that market for many years, and recently they decided to take a step into the retail market. We saw the first versions a few years back, which didn't look very good since they used on an older topology with passive PFC. The company is now introducing the Cougar series, available in black and in bronze (the latter of which actually looks light brown).
We had the chance to open up a sample and inspect the inside. The filtering stage is well designed, with more components than the average power supply. All the installed capacitors are made by Teapo. HEC claims an efficiency of up to 85%, which might actually be possible with this model. We will be testing some of these models soon and will provide additional information at that time.
Lian Li
Lian Li showed a large lineup of cases at their booth, all made of aluminum of course. Lian Li did just introduce a hybrid case not long ago that will actually have a steel body, however. The front will still be aluminum to keep with the company tradition. There are several other new cases coming out that we will be reviewing shortly. Lian Li also displayed a new case that users can use to provide an Xbox 360 with better cooling - and potentially better looking, depending on personal taste.
Lian Li focuses on medium and large towers, leaving the gaudy/exotic creations for other companies. The designs look very sleek and are similar to what we normally see from Lian Li. We also saw several power supplies from Lian Li, based on the same topology that Xigmatek and Hiper use - and we all know where they come from (CWT).
NesteQ
The company NesteQ is more known in the European regions even though it is a Taiwanese company. We were told that there are several US retailers with NesteQ products, something we will look into once we are back home. The reason we wanted to show their products is that they are famous for their semi-passive power supplies. These designs run most of the time without activating the fan. A fan is present, however, and it will start turning at higher loads and heat levels.
The company features several different models, with a new 700W model introduced at the show. This model has several advantages over the older versions, the primary one being that the housing is covered with small ventilation holes, similar to what we have seen with several Hiper models in previous roundups.
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Christoph Katzer - Friday, March 7, 2008 - link
I added the last gallery with misc products.kilkennycat - Friday, March 7, 2008 - link
Did Enermax not have a booth? That's weird. Their power-supplies are somewhat popular in Europe.Christoph Katzer - Friday, March 7, 2008 - link
They had but there was nothing new to show in fact. We wrote quite a lot at CES about the new PRO82+ and MODU82+.MGSsancho - Friday, March 7, 2008 - link
first of all their the best.http://www.anandtech.com/GalleryImage.aspx?id=1398">http://www.anandtech.com/GalleryImage.aspx?id=1398
more on that HTPC case? my current htpc is amd 690 based and its just sitting here in pirces. im looking for a nice case. so yeah moer htps cses please :)
PS. im loving the silverthone cse
Christoph Katzer - Sunday, March 9, 2008 - link
That case is actually for the Xbox360 but Lian Li has the same case also for SFF.Freddo - Thursday, March 6, 2008 - link
All the manufacturers seem to be bragging about having xxxx Watt, but I'm not interested in that.300 is enough for me. I just want a really efficient and quiet PSU. A passive cooled one. Looking at the market today, it seems like the last passive cooled PSUs were released 3 years ago. I'm sure if they tried, they would be able to make passive PSUs more efficient today than they were 3 years ago. So where the heck are those? Stoopid companies.
7Enigma - Friday, March 7, 2008 - link
I'm still waiting for these case/psu companies to get a clue and have a properly vented setup. Why do I have a psu that has a horizontal vent out the back with a closed-top on the case? Seems pretty logical to me that the psu (be it passive or actively cooled) should have the intake at the side (as in the highest point in the case), and the outlet at the TOP with corresponding opening at the top of the case to let the hot air out. Put a piece of removable mesh or something to prevent dust from getting in.I've seen some cases with huge 200mm fans on the top of the case, what I really want is a port hole on the top where the PSU is mounted, with a PSU that has its outlet also on the top. This would reduce the need for active cooling under all but the most demanding situations since the hottest air will have easy access to simply rise out of the case the way physics intended.
For SFF or low power/silent setups you wouldn't even need an intake case fan since the escaping heated air would cause a suction at the front (ideally at the base of the case for the coolest air).
Maybe I haven't looked around enough but comon, SOMEONE, make a PSU/case that would address this. Heck I'm about ready to start my own company to produce these!
xsilver - Thursday, March 6, 2008 - link
if you're only after 300w then I think the second hand market is ripe for the picking at the moment.a lot of noob people who are upgrading their 300w-500w fanless PSU's are selling them off for cheap!
JarredWalton - Thursday, March 6, 2008 - link
Did you read the NesteQ comments? Semi-passive sounds like a good compromise: if you don't break a certain threshold, you get pure silence. It sounds like they're working on US partners right now, so I'm definitely interested to see where they go.JarredWalton - Thursday, March 6, 2008 - link
Just an addendum, I recall quite a few people experiencing failures with purely passive designs. If there's no airflow at all (i.e. no case fans or other fans), temperatures can and do get out of control. Without the potential to activate a failsafe fan to cool things down, you run a risk of overheating and failure. Sure, it fails silently, but I think most people would prefer a little occasional noise just to be safe.