Posted 03/04/10 at 09:48:58 AM by Paul Lilly

OCZ has been so busy pumping out SSDs as of late, it's easy to forget the company also churns out power supplies. OCZ hasn't forgotten, and coming soon, the company will add to its PSU lineup with a new Fatal1ty 750W unit.

Currently being shown at the CeBIT exhibition, the Fatal1ty sports an all new modular design fitted with low-profile modular cables. It also boasts a single +12V rail, a staple of PC Power & Cooling units, now a subsidiary of OCZ.

Other features include all Japanese made solid-state primary capacitors, a double ball bearing 135mm red LED fan, and 80+ Bronze certification with 85 percent efficiency.

No word yet on price or availability.

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Posted 10/21/09 at 01:30:53 PM by The Maximum PC Staff

Lately I’ve been having an issue on startup with my PC. During POST, my system will hang and fail to load past the Asus splash screen. My keyboard stops responding altogether, so I cannot hit Tab to see the POST messages. (I’ve changed keyboards and the issue persists.) When it does load past POST, it hangs just before the GRUB boot loader. When this happens, I usually have to hit the reset button and go through the process three times before I can load an OS. Other than the keyboard swap, I’ve made no major changes to my system that I think would prevent my PC from POSTing and I run everything at stock clocks. When I do load into an OS, everything is rock-solid and stable with no issues.

I have an Athlon 64 X2 4600+ on an Asus M2-N32 SLI Deluxe motherboard, 3GB DDR2 RAM, and an XFX 8800 GT. My keyboard is a Logitech G15. My PSU is a Cooler Master 600W eXtreme Power Duo.

My bet is on the PSU, but I really don’t have an easy way or the cash at the moment to test this. Please let me know if I’m on the right track.

Read our response to J.P. after the jump.

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Posted 10/07/09 at 01:30:30 PM by Paul Lilly

Corsair on Tuesday announced the launch of its new TX950W power supply, which takes its place as the flagship model in Corsair's TX series. The only higher wattage PSU the company offers is the modular HX1000.

The company's PSUs have earned a reputation as being reliable, and Corsair says this newest unit is "built using industrial-grade components to ensure clean and stable voltages." It comes with a dedicated +12V rail rated at a whopping 78A (936W), which the company says equates to 98.5 percent of the PSU's total power output.

Other specs include 80 PLUS Bronze certification (at least 85 percent energy efficient at typical load levels), six 6+2-pin PCI-E cables, active PFC, and a five year warranty.

No word on price or availability, though we'd guess it to be in the ballpark of $225.

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Posted 09/15/09 at 10:55:00 AM by Paul Lilly

Corsair today added to its Professional Series of power supplies with the release of its HX650W modular PSU. The 650W unit edges out the HX620 and settles behind the HX750W, HX850W, and HX1000W, all of which boast a low profile modular cable set, low noise levels, and high efficiency ratings.

"The Corsair HX650W is ideal for enthusiasts and gamers who are looking for a highly efficient, quiet, modular power supply, but don't need the higher wattage offered by the other PSUs in the Professional Series," said Jim Carlton, VP of Marketing at Corsair. "The HX650W offers the same unmatched quality standard and 7 year warranty, but at a power level more suitable for mid/high-spec PC builds, such as those based on Intel's Core i5 and Core i7 'Lynnfield' processors."

The new PSU serves up 52A through a single +12V rail, which Corsair claims has been tested and guaranteed to operate at 100 percent load at an ambient temperature of 50C. Other specs include an 82 percent efficiency rating (enough to earn the 80 PLUS BRONZE certification), 4 PCI-E connectors, and support for both SLI and CrossFire X setups.

No word yet on price or availability.

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Posted 09/11/09 at 12:45:35 PM by Paul Lilly

Nothing to see here, just an empty, desolate post.

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Posted 08/12/09 at 03:15:09 PM by Paul Lilly

Adding to its EX power supply line, BFG this week launched its new EX-1000, a 1000 watt modular power supply that you will only be able to purchase at Best Buy stores or through BestBuy.com.

The modular unit boasts 80 Plus Bronze certification, which calls for PSUs to retain 85 percent power at a 50 percent load, and never drop below 82 percent at any load level. According to BFG, out of the 1,627 power supplies certified to be 80 Plus efficient, only 175, or less than 10 percent, are 1000W or greater.

Connectors consist of 12x SATA, 2x 4-pin floppy, 9x 4-pin Molex, 3x 8-pin (6+2) PCI-E, 3x 6-pin PCI-E, 1x 8-pin CPU 12V, 1x 4-pin CPU 12V, and 1x 24-pin (20+4-pin) motherboard. Other features include quad +12V rails, a "silent" 135mm intake fan, a handful of Velcro straps, and a lifetime warranty (when registered within 30 days of purchase date).

The EX-1000 is available now from Best Buy / BestBuy.com for $200.

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Posted 07/31/09 at 10:07:29 AM by Paul Lilly

Adding to its growing power supply line, OCZ this week announced the immediate availability of its new Z-Series Gold power supply line. Each new model boasts 80+ Gold certification, which means they must remain at least 90 percent efficient at 50 percent load, and never drop below 87 percent efficiency at any load level.

The new models are available in 850W and 1000W in either modular or non-modular form. Taking a page from PC Power & Cooling, which was acquired by OCZ in 2007, the Z-Series sports a single, beefy +12V rail (83A on the 1000W and 71A on the 850W) rather than spreading the amperage through multiple +12V rails.

All the other standard essentials are accounted for, including active PFC, a large cooling fan (135mm),  oodles of SATA connectors, and SLI certification.

The Z-Series is available now for $300 (Z1000M), $290 (Z1000), $240 (Z850M), and $220 (Z850).

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Posted 06/05/09 at 04:59:53 PM by Andy Salisbury

Currently, power supply vendors are rewarded by having power efficiency of 80 percent. But, Enermax is taking this one step forward by boasting efficiency rates of 90 percent and higher.

In today’s PSU market, there are bronze, silver and gold labels for 80-Plus certification, with gold landing anywhere between 87 and 93 percent efficiency. Enermax is suggesting that there be a true 90-Plus certification, so that customers can identify premium power supplies easier. They also plan to take a majority of their power supplies above 90 percent by Q4 of this year.

If you’re interested in one of these 90 percenters, be sure to check out PSUs from Enermax’s Revolution series, which are available now.

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