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     Power supplies have often in the past, and still today, been one of the most overlooked components in your computer. While usually the first component to fail in a computer, it can also be the first thing to check for when having system stability issues. With that in mind, it is important that a quality PSU be purchased with tight regulation, strong rails, low ripple (which I will explain further down in the review), and high-grade production materials. Today we will be looking at CoolMax’s Silent 450watt PSU provided by the great folks over at CrazyPC!

     Upon receiving the package from USPS, I was surprised at the weight of the box. I thought for sure I had received someone else’s order instead of the review item. I opened the box, and lo and behold, the CoolMAX PSU, and weighing in at just under four pounds!

     The power supply, as you can clearly see, is painted with high-gloss black paint similar to that of the PC Power & Cooling Deluxe series. There are 1 SATA connector, 1 P14 connector, 1 12V motherboard connector, 1 ATX 20pin to 24pin adapter, 1 Square 4pin 12V to 6pin 12V adapter, 6 standard Molex connectors, and 2 floppy connectors. The main ATX power cable is sleeved. This is a common feature of just about any PSU, and still a well welcomed one at that. Before going any further, I would like to list and discuss the features as claimed by Coolmax.

Features:

• Serial ATA Ready

• 3 Speed Fan Control Switch

• 120mm ball bearing fan design, long life, noiseless and fastest cooling time.

• Universal Connector Fits Most of Branded Motherboards

• Fully supports all Intel and AMD series demand.

• High quality gold-coated fan guard & connectors are good for conduction.

• Tube-tide design to tidy the wires.

• Over voltage protection, short circuit protection on all output levels

• All DC output wires have 450mm length

     I have a few notes on the features, and though slightly deceptive, more or less represent the true features. For starters, the mention of SATA ready, would make you think 2 or more connectors, or so I was inclined to believe.

     I hope that I wasn’t the only one to notice gold-coated fan guard is good for conduction- I didn’t realize that the fan guard transferred heat or power, but I’m picky. The gold-coating itself on the connectors doesn’t actually help conduction, but it does help prevent corrosion which in the future could lead to decreased electrical transfer. Why gold? Gold doesn’t corrode (oxidize) under any circumstances except when mixed with a concentrated solution of hydrochloric acid and nitric acid (little chemistry lesson for you guys and gals).

     My last nitpick was with calling the cables, “tube-tide design.” Again, I was led to believe different from actual results. Only one connector is wrapped up, and that is the main ATX motherboard connector.

      The PSU features a 3 stage adjustable switch to control fan speed. Under all 3 different settings, the PSU was virtually silent. The max setting was moving a good deal of air. I was unable to find the CFM rating, but if I had to guess, 20-30cfm at the max setting judging from feel.

     A quick shot of the ratings on the PSU sticker, and I’ll move along to the numbers you guys actually care about.

Test System

• AMD Athlon 64 3200+ CG Clawhammer @ 2.0GHz

• Gigabyte K8NNXP Motherboard

• BFG 6800 OC @ 400MHz/800MHz NV5 Cooler 16pipes/6vs

• 512MB Micron PC3200 3-3-3-8 @ 3-2-2-8 2.85V

• Western Digital 80GB 8MB PATA

• Western Digital 80GB 8MB SATA

• Maxtor 80GB 8MB PATA

• Lite-On 8x DVD-+R/-+RW CD-R/CD-RW

• Linksys 802.11b Wireless PCI Card

• ATi TV Wonder Pro 2^nd Gen.

• 2x Vantec 80mm Tornado’s

• 1x 80mm standard quad LED fan

• 2x UV cold cathodes

     Reason for listing EVERYTHING in my system was to give an idea of what kind of load that was put on the PSU. I used Futuremark's 3DMark05 for load testing, utilizing the demo. I chose 3dmark05 due to it being one of the most taxing system-wide utilities currently available (even though scoring doesn’t depict so). The demo was chosen instead of the actual benchmark itself due to it using all of the resources that the system has to offer- making good use of sound, video, and the rest of the system as far as the demo goes. Obviously, the hard drives aren’t doing anything except for the main boot drive, but nevertheless, the power draw is there.

     I measure voltage and ripple under load and at idle for the 3.3V, +5V, -5V, +12V, and -12V. Ripple, I'm sure, you haven’t seen in a PSU review before. For this reason, my guess is that many people do not have the funds for a nice Fluke O-scope or multi-meter. Today, I will be using a Fluke 87 Series True RMS multi-meter for testing. All voltages where measured from the motherboard ATX connector at idle and at load.

     Before I begin, I would like to take the time to explain ripple and why it is important. As a general statement, ripple is AC voltage that has been carried on the DC line after the AC to DC transformation process. The closer the ripple number is to 0, the cleaner the line is. This is also a good way to tell the quality of the components within the PSU.  There is a certain amount of acceptable ripple to be left in DC voltages after going through a transformer. The acceptable amount- I am unable to find. I am currently in contact with PC Power and Cooling to learn about these limits.

     Just for some sort of reference, I compared the CoolMAX against my current Demon 580w. Now, on with the numbers!

Conclusion

     The PSU, as you can clearly see, performed well in all tests.  The rails never fell out of tolerable limits during benchmarking.

     While this may not be the PSU for super enthusiasts, as the 12v rail is lacking a little on amperage, overall, the PSU is of high quality and performance. No LED’s or adjustable pots on this PSU, but the name of the game is silence. Overclocking video yielded higher results on this PSU than the demon, by 12MHz core and 56MHz ram. I would like to thank CrazyPC for sending over the CoolMAX, and I look forward to reviewing more quality products available from the guys over at CrazyPC. ClubOC Recommended!

Available at CrazyPC!