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Gainward PSU

Haven't seen that model here in the States but you can take it to the bank that Gainward didn't actually make that PSU. If you can find out who actually makes it, you can better tell its potential for quality.

.bh.
 
Actualy, the Gainward PSU is a real steal for that kind of money. 🙂

I own such a beauty (yes, it's red - the Gainward-red to be specific but the actual model type is GW-B550W and not the one listed in the first post - I doubt there is another 550W model on the market) and am pretty satisfied with it. It has independent power rails (for all of the main voltages: 3, 5 and 12 V) and the main chopper is about the same size as the one found in the Antec TruePower 480/550W... so the label is fairly honest with the power output. The only downside is the relative little current available on the 12 V rail (20 amps) and the two fans (1x 80mm + 1x 92mm) which are a bit noisy comapred to what can be usualy found in the high quality Antecs.

More interesting aspects may be such as these:

The PSU features voltage feedback for all three main voltages and has the same type MOSFET driver as the Antec TruePower series (only that this one is made by SemTech... Antec's are TIs if I'm not mistaking) so all of the important safety features are well taken care of here (overvoltage, overcurrent and shortcircuit protection).

And a thing about efficency: There is no PFC... which some may see as a minus... but instead there are two big high capacity capacitors taking care of any voltage fluctuations comming from the outlet. I know I've had some terrible time with some not so good active-PFC circuits... they tend to brake down fairly easy in case of high, frequent fluctuations.

One thing that put a smile on my face is that the MOSFET heatsinks are exactly like the ones found in the Antec TruePower.

All in all I can say the Gainward PSU is a best buy for someone looking for a powerful yet cheap upgrade. :thumbsup:

PS: BTW NetDevil... where in hell did you stumble over that link? I couldn't find anything with Goolge about the Gainward PSU.
 
Well... it doesn't realy matter. 🙂

I bet no one belives that Gainward actualy manufactures the PSUs. I cannot be sure who's the actual manufacturer for this Gainward PSU (last time I tried to find out, I concluded that they were made by "the ones" - I can't remember their name now 😛 - that make the HIPER Power PSUs).

But what realy matters is that this PSU brings relatively good quality and performance at (as noted by NetDevil) a very good price.
 
Thanks larisu. Maybe i`ll buy it. The only thing that worries me is amps on the 12v line. Is Sirtec the manufacturer ?

PS: I live in romania and the link is from here 🙂
 
Nope, it's not Sirtec. AFAIK Sirtec makes PSUs for HighPower (its own brand), Chieftec, Thermaltake and some very few others (not so well known).

I'll take a look next time I'm sticking my nose into it. 🙂

Anyway, the overall impression was one of neatness, all components were soldered nicely on the PCB and... oh yeah, now I remember: Andyson... that's the manufacturer. 😀 Same as for HIPER Power PSUs. Not very well known over the Internet, but from what I've seen in HIPER's PSUs, they have a certain tendancy towards quality manufacturing.
 
It is somewhat low... but pay attention to the price. For a 550W, independt rail, well-built PSU you don't have to sell your shorts. 🙂 I had no difficulties in running an A64 @ 2250 MHz, 2x 512 MB TCCDs @ 250 MHz, 1x 6600 GT, 2x 7200 rpm HDDs etc... with this exact Gainward. Of course, the rig was not as power hungry as one fit to slay 550W of real power. But I can tell you that the 12V line never even moved by 20 milivolts under load. And so, taking into consideration its price, I doubt that more value for money can be found elsewhere. 🙂

Don't take this wrongly... there are better PSUs out there, but this one Gainward impressed me quite a bit. The only real thing that bothers me is its noisy character. 😛
 
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