The Analog Wattage Meter is an accessory included with the Real Power 450W which allows a user to monitor how much power is being drawn from the system. It's a 3.5" device that will fit in any available 3.5" external bay. Installation is simple enough... just slide it into the bay, attach it via two screws and connect it to the power supply. Personally, I would have preferred a digital display as it would have been easier to read accurately, but the dial does give something of a retro feel to it.
In terms of information provided, the dial will tell you how much power is being drawn by your PC at any given moment. For our test system, during heavy load, we often saw it hit the 350W range, while at idle, it hovered in the mid 200s. While this information is nice, I'm not exactly sold on this device as a multimeter would be better for gauging the PSU's performance. On the other hand, if your usage is constantly in the 400s, it can tell you that you may need a PSU upgrade, but I think the dial falls under the category of it's nice to have but not that important.
Test Setup
ASUS P5AD2 925x: Intel Pentium 4 560 (18x200: 3.6GHz and OC'd to 18x222: 4GHz), 2 x 512MB Corsair TWINX DDR2 PC5400, MSI PCX5750-TD128, 120GB SATA Maxtor, 120GB Western Digital SE, MSI DR4 DVD, AOpen CDR5232.
Cooling was provided by a PolarFLO TT LGA kit, paired with a Hydor L30 pump. The chassis is Ultra Product's Blue Dragon case, with 4 Panaflo fans spinning at full capacity.
To load up the system, we run Prime95 run for 20 minutes, with Folding @ Home running in the background, as well as ripping a Hellboy DVD to the Maxtor hard drive. Voltages were monitored with ABRA DM-9700 multimeter. The comparison PSU is an Ultra X-Connect 500W PSU.
Idle PC Performance @ 3.6GHz
| |
Real Power 450
|
Ultra X-Connect 500
|
| +12 |
12.19
|
12.02
|
| +3.3v |
3.36
|
3.18
|
| +5v |
5.12
|
5.07
|
Load PC Performance @ 3.6GHz (Folding and Ripping)
| |
Real Power 450
|
Ultra X-Connect 500
|
| +12 |
12.16
|
11.99
|
| +3.3v |
3.30
|
3.14
|
| +5v |
5.10
|
5.02
|
Idle PC Performance @ 4GHz
| |
Real Power 450
|
Ultra X-Connect 500
|
| +12 |
12.15
|
11.98
|
| +3.3v |
3.33
|
3.17
|
| +5v |
5.09
|
5.01
|
Load PC Performance @ 4GHz (Folding and Ripping)
| |
Real Power 450
|
Ultra X-Connect 500
|
| +12 |
12.12
|
11.91
|
| +3.3v |
3.32
|
3.12
|
| +5v |
5.08
|
4.99
|
As we can see, the Real Power 450W manages to stay within specifications across the board. The voltage drop under load and overclocked is minimal, and easily puts out the best numbers we've seen thus far. For a company who hasn't been making power supplies for that long, Cooler Master looks like they've been doing it for years.
Final Words
Cooler Master put together a great power supply that showed us some of the best numbers we've seen yet. The dual +12v rails will go a long way in building an energy consuming rig, and with the continuous power at full bore, instability will probably not be caused by a lack of power.
The Real Power 450W was certainly designed with the future in mind. Seven four-pin molex connections should be sufficient for most users, and the two SATA power connections was a good idea on Cooler Master's part as SATA replaces IDE in the near future as a standard choice for enthusiasts. As faster Pentium 4 CPUs come to market, the extra four pins on the main ATX connection will definitely come in handy.
Noise, or lack thereof, was a non-issue. Even while under full load, the PSU fan was drowned out by the case fans in the system. Passing my hand where the air was being exhausted through the honey comb assured me it was indeed working, as I sure couldn't hear it. The ultra paranoid may prefer a secondary PSU fan, but given the Real Power 450W's design, I don't think it's necessary.
The Analog Wattage Meter is the lone item I question. It's no replacement for a real power supply tester, and I'm not really sure how useful it will be once you get by the initial "wow" reaction. It looks nice, and it does display useful information, but I'm sure most people don't really need it, and omitting it might shave a few dollars off the price of the PSU.
In the end, it's all about reliable power, and the Real Power 450W delivers in this respect. The glowing LED PSU fan, and shiny black exterior are the window dressing on what is one of the best power supplies we've had a chance to test.
Pros: Excellent rail performance, dual +12v rails, continuous power, quiet.
Cons: Wattage meter is gimmicky.
Bottom Line: Though I don't find the wattage meter necessary, there is nothing I can really fault with the Real Power 450W. It's reliable, provides plenty of juice, and is near silent.
If you have any comments, be sure to hit us up in our forums.
