Inadequate and Deceptive Product Labeling: Comparison of 21 Power Supplies

Inadequate Documentation

Many of the power supplies came with very sketchy documentation, but Antec and Enermax were ahead of the curve with their more complete documentation. Most of the manuals were strangely reticent on the subject of the combined output load, and many manufacturers apparently think that providing brief technical details on the model identification sticker is adequate information. If you want to avoid overloading your power supply, you must have accurate information on the output available at each voltage. Manufacturers really need to improve their act with the documentation (or lack thereof) that they currently provide.

Short Glossary

Active Fan Speed Adjustment

With the help of a thermistor, the fan speed is automatically altered to suit the ambient air temperature. This provides the lowest possible noise levels while maintaining efficient cooling.

ATX/12V - Important For P4 Systems

Pentium 4 systems need an ATX/12 V connector to power the CPU. Minimum requirement here is compliance at least with the ATX 2.03 standard. You will find more details on this under Form factors.

PFC = Power Factor Correction

Since the beginning of 2001, the 61000-3-2 Standard has specified maximum limits for the harmonic current emissions of power supplies. This is achieved in practice by smoothing out the power supply’s short, high-magnitude pulses using active or passive PFC.

Technical Specs & Results