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One of the unique opportunities hardware
reviewers get is the ability to interact directly with manufacturers and
other organizations on a regular basis, which gives us a different view than
most on the quality of a particular organization. Logisys Computer is on the
short list of companies that I genuinely enjoy working with, purely based on
that level of interaction. Logisys has also been very aggressive in getting
unique new products out in to the market, such as the full size Streamline
Keyboard that Miguel looked at earlier this month. This time around, I’ll be
taking a look at Logisys Computer’s 500W Acrylic power supply, which also
features UV connectors and sleeved wiring!
Packaging
and Contents
The sample unit arrived in pristine condition…even the packing box didn’t
have marks on it!
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The
package only contained the unit itself and an AC power cable. The power supply
was also covered in a protective plastic film.
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My
first impressions were almost all positive. The acrylic work is well done, and
although the sleeving stops a little short for my tastes it does look very
sharp. All the connectors are a matching blue, and add to the overall effect.
After adding in a jumper as discussed in our tech tips section, I fired it up
to get a feel for how loud the power supply would be. It is audible, although
just barely. You’ll certainly not hear it through the side of a computer case.
The Dual 80mm blue LED fans add the final touch, and throw out plenty of
light.
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The
back of the Logisys 500W is pretty plain aside from the acrylic. There is only
an AC input and power switch. The actual A/C socket is also clear…a nice
touch.
I’m going to be picky here as I know many of our readers are, and I also
figure if you’re going to spend money on an acrylic power supply the looks
will be very important. First off, on a purely practical perspective there are
not many connectors on this 500W power supply. There are only four standard
Molex connectors, and all of the lines are also pretty short. If you plan on
using this in a full size tower like the Silverstone TJ05 or the A-Top
Z-Alien, you will need some extensions.
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Aside
from the short sleeving job, I also noticed that the sleeves are just zip tied
to the wires on the inside of the unit. I’ll let you decide if you like the
look or not.
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For a
500W power supply, this one is awful light. Both the high quality Cooler
Master 450W and Silverstone fanless 350W units weighed significantly more.
Although it does seem like a simplistic way of grading performance, generally
speaking heavier and more solid units tend to perform better when it comes to
high output. The Logisys 500W power supply is about the middle of the road
when it comes to the weight test. On the bright side, it is much more solid
than the dinky 350W that I got from MGE’s ECO L4 that was unable to power this
particular AMD test system. On the top is a sticker outlining the power output
of the Logisys power supply. One thing I noticed and didn’t like is that
Logisys has only provided the peak output numbers for each rail. There are
some manufacturers that still use this as a kind of marketing hype, which I’m
not fond of. A few power supplies I’ve seen lately have what is known as
“continuity” amperage on this label, which more accurately represents the
amount of steady power the unit can produce. Hopefully Logisys and other
manufacturers will follow that trend in the future.
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