The
2 sides of the PSU are what will be seen the most and as such
show off the insides via the blue acrylic windows. Since some
users have also right hand side windowed panels on there cases,
having the windows put on both sides of the PSU is a good addition
and its nice to see Aerocool have thought of this (not to mention
if your case requires you to install PSUs upside down, you will
still be catered for).
At
the rear we find another of the guarded blue LED fans, the power
connector, an ON/OFF switch and also the Fan controller switch.
Fan control extends to the three 4 pin molex system fans, bringing
the total control from this switch up to 6 fans in total. Fans
can be set to Auto, Low or Medium. The 3 internal fans run under
automatic at 800-2500 rpm’s dependant on a temperature
range from 0C to 60C.
There
is an optional power output for the Aeropower II on some models,
which my sample didn't include but you can see a picture of it
above.
In
use the PSU looks great, and I love the windowed appearance.
There is just something retro in appearance about having proper
windows rather than an acrylic cover. Now I've said before that
I'm not usually one for the pimp-rig side of things but I am
slowly being converted here lately, and this Aeropower II appeals
for its non-OTT looks.
The
blue acrylic mutes the glow from the fans, which isn't a bad
thing, providing a soft blue glow to the interior of the PSU
and the surrounding area; you won't be using this to light your
case. Looks are such a subjective thing, and it's something
you have to make your own mind up about, but I think that this
PSU's looks are gorgeous. They give me a little bit of pimp
without getting in your face about it, which I like ( I don't
like the acrylic covered PSU's for the same reason I'm not a
fan of acrylic cases, too much on display... guess I prefer
to be teased?).
Sound
wise is again another area where the Aeropower II comes out
on top. Even with the fans running at full speed it is virtually
silent. I don't have a dB meter so you'll have to settle for
my description. I use water-cooling in my system along with
a rheobus to control fans speeds, and since this system is in
my bedroom and left on 24hrs a day, I do like it to be quiet.
The
Vantec Stealth accommodated me before and indeed is a quiet
PSU, but even when set to low speed, it cannot match the Aeropower
II for silence with fans at high speed. I've not personally
changed the Aeropower II from the automatic setting for personal
use, and from a system cooling perspective it's putting out
the same numbers as when the Vantec Stealth was installed, but
it is doing this in virtual silence.
I
can hear the air moving (just) but the fans themselves make
no sound at all and this is at full speed. So far so good, the
Aeropower II's statement of "See it without hearing it!"
is holding up to be true. But this is secondary to the PSU's
function which is to deliver a good clean, safe source of power
to your system, so let's check out some numbers.
Test
System
MSI K7N2 Delta ILSR: Barton 2500+ (supplied by Overclock)
@ 11.5x195 (2.24GHz), Corsair TWINX1024-PC4000 TWINX, Gainward
GeForce 4 Ti4600, 80GB WD 8mb Cache drive.
PSU
Powered perephirals: LiteOn 24x CDRW, Pioneer 10x DVD drive, Vantec
NXP-301 Rheobus - 1 x 120mm Evercool fan, 1x Coolermaster NEON
80mm LED Fan, 2 x Coolermaster 80mm fans, 2x CCFLS (blue/red),
Vantec EZ Swap, Hauppage TV Card, Highpoint SATA RAID card, USB
Web camera, Artec USB Scanner.
For
testing we took BIOS, Idle and Load results. BIOS results were
taken from sitting in the BIOS, Idle from sitting in WindowsXP,
and load results were taken whilst using all of the above at the
same time (scanning a document, using the webcam, running a Q3
timedemo, watching TV, all fans set to full speed, CCFLs on, playing
a music CD from the CDRW), the idea being to put as much of a
load on the PSU as possible. MBM 5 was used to record the Idle
and Load numbers as this provides current voltages along with
the average, low and high results.
The
AeroPower II puts out the best numbers I have personally seen.
I'm used to seeing at least the 12v rail being a little under
12v (using Enermax, Vantec and Cheiftec branded PSUs) but this
doesn't happen at all with the Aeropower II.
Even
under load the rails remain pretty much on the button with only
the 3.3v falling to a low of 3.28v under load (as recorded by
MBM 5) and a high of 3.42v. This is great to see, and another
notch in favour of this PSU.
The
lowest recorded 12v under load is 12.04v and the lowest recorded
for the 5v rail under load is 5.08v. The OVP and OCP (Over Volt/Current
Protection) would appear to be doing there things as well with
no sign of too high voltages; everything is within a nice medium.
Final
Words
This
PSU will make a great addition to any system. It looks great without
being over the top, providing a soft blue glow via the LED fans
and blue acrylic windows, and the polished Titanium surround gives
it a mirror finish that you could almost shave in.
It
does make it susceptible to finger prints however, but these polish
out easily enough.
Power
wise, with 520w at your disposal you should have more than enough
to power even the most heavily laden system, and the power is
right on the button across all rails. All of this is also done
in virtual silence too.
Despite
the fact that the fans are running at high-speed, it is still
silent, and system cooling remains the same. It might have been
nice to see a drop in temperatures afforded by the 3 fans the
PSU utilizes but I don't see this as a problem when you trade
it off against the silence.
Connections
are plentiful, and you can even control another 3 system fans
via the included outputs, although you will need fans that use
4 pin Molex connections. The only real gripe I have about the
PSU is a lack of documentation, but honestly, it's a PSU, what
more do you really need to know that isn't included on the box?
It might have been nice to have numbers for the maximum wattage
on the Fan connectors but I can't think of anything really bad
to say about it.
If
you want a good looking PSU you can trust to deliver a good supply
of juice, go get this one. Simple as that. I hate to sound like
an advert but I love this PSU and can't recommend it enough. "See
it without hearing it!", does exactly what it says on the
tin.
Thanks
go to Aerocool-UK
for supplying us with the Aerocool
Aeropower II Titanium 520w PSU.
Pros:
Sexy looking blue windows, Soft blue glow, Silent even at full
speed, Titanium mirror finish, 520w of power, perfect rails even
under load, Power safety precautions, plentiful connections, Fan
control for the PSU and 3 other system fans.
Cons:
Lack of documentation, susceptible to fingerprints.
Bottom
Line: I can say without a doubt this is the best PSU
I have ever used. It looks great, provides safe and almost perfect
power across all rails and does it in silence to boot. Go get
one if you need a new PSU. If you have any questions or comments,
be sure to hit us up in the forums.
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