Review: Hiper Type-R Series 480W Power Supply

by David Ross on 12 December 2004, 00:00

Tags: Hiper

Quick Link: HEXUS.net/qa4z

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Hiper Type-R Series 480W Power Supply

As the title suggests, all three of the power supplies we're looking at here today are of the 480W variety, although the peak load reported on the PSU itself is actually 530W.
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Looking at the rear of the power supply (we're looking at the silver model here, but the basic design of all three models are identical), we see relatively standard fare - The unit is preset to the standard voltage range for the country of sale, rather than being adjustable, and also features a simple I/O rocker switch to turn the unit on and off. As you can probably see, the unit features no fan at the back, but is designed to give itself plenty of ventilation.
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Looking at the underside of the unit, we find the fan that cools the PSU as well as drawing air out of the case. The silver and black variants of the unit don't incorporate an LED into the fan, but the red version has (as the name would suggest) a red LED. You can see what this looks like in action below.

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The power supply arrives with all of the cables neatly tied together thanks to a cable tie. As you can see, all of the lines are braided together, keeping everything nice and manageable. The silver package also uses a plastic sheath over this metal braiding, which personally I found to be more of a hindrance than a help. The end connectors are all red coloured on the black and red variants of the PSU, whereas the silver version offers black end connectors instead. All three varieties utilise gold-plated end connectors to avoid rust and for better conductivity. You can also see the 'EZ-Grip' Molex connectors used here, to make for an easier removal of power connectors from devices. This works well, with one small exception - For ATI-based video cards which have an inset four-pin Molex connector on the board (Radeon 9800s and X800s for example), these plugs are something of a nightmare to insert firmly due to the extra thickness of the connectors. It isn't impossible, but makes for some extra hassle.

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Thus far, a very neat and effective looking design.