RaidMax 400 and 500 Watt PSU's

Manufacturer: RaidTronics
Supplied by: RaidTronics
Street Price: 400 watt - $54  / 500 watt - $69

By Brian Tiller (6/2/2003)

Introduction

While the CPU can be considered the brains of a computer the power supply is definitely the heart of it.  Pushing needed power through a network of cables to all the components that need it. Today, computers are being asked to perform and accomplish more and more tasks than they were five years ago, and especially by us enthusiasts. I mean what's a computer without a few bells and whistles right? From lighted fans to CCFL's and fan controllers to temperature monitoring devices. So, it's time to get rid of that old 300W PSU and get something bigger and with more power (I just love more power....I guess it's the male in me). Today, thanks to the RaidTronics company we have the opportunity to grab a look at two of the RaidMax series PSU's, a 400W jobber and a big honkin' 500W. 

Specifications

• ATX 400 and 500 Watts meets Meets Intel ATX + 12V 1.1 & 2.03 Version.

• Aluminum housing

• Dual 80mm fans w/auto temperature control

• Over voltage Protection

• Dimensions: (H)85.72mm x (W)152.4mm x (L)145mm w/out fan

Here we have the two power supplies side by side. The blue one in the 400W while the black is big 500 watter. The first thing I noticed about these was the intake fan. As you can see it's mounted on the outside of the casing itself. Neither Dean nor myself had ever seen a PSU with the fan externally mounted so this is definitely something new.

 

The fan is a standard 80mm fan which measures 25mm in thickness, 31.74mm if you include the fan grill. Since the two units are pretty much identical, except for wattage, I'll only be showing the features on one or the other from here on.

 

On the bottom of each PSU is a small chart referring to the individual unit's specifications. Moving on to the rear of the unit, you can see the standard configuration with the power plug, exhaust fan, on/off switch and voltage selector switch.

However, one thing that isn't present but is listed on the specifications is the monitor AC outlet. While the presence of a monitor outlet has pretty much gone by the wayside, you could still make a case for misleading information on the part of Raidmax here.

The last thing we'll look at before we fire this puppy up are the connectors. Besides having the normal motherboard connectors, the PSUs have only six 4-pin molex connectors and two floppy connectors. I was a little disappointed by this, as I personally like to have as many as I can to keep items on their own separate chains (i.e. HDD's by themselves, CD's, and then fans, ect.). Dean, on the other hand, really liked this. He pointed out that this would greatly reduce cable clutter inside the case. Well, I guess it's a case of personal preference here.

At a length of over 23 inches, the cables are plenty long enough for any case, even those big honkin' mamas that I like.

 

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