The stability of a PC is contingent on several things. Quality of components, cooling and maintenance. Unfortunately, many of us often overlook one component that is the most important of all, the power supply. If you are using a power supply that came with your case, or that you got from a bargain bin for five dollars and you have noticed system instability and random reboots, there should be alarm bells going off. Not only can a low-quality power supply cause instability, it can cause damage to components over time, namely hard drives, which can be killed by a severe voltage spike.

Recently we were sent a power supply for evaluation from a company I had not previously heard of, known as Coolmax. After a brief visit to their , I found out some information about the company. Coolmax was founded in 1992 and manufactures fans, power supplies and portable USB enclosures. I haven't seen their PSU's at any retailers yet, although has informed me that they are carrying Coolmax PSU's now.

Features

-Tri light LED Fan on the back panel (Blue, Red, Green)
-Triple ball-bearing fans design, long life, noiseless and fastest cooling time.
-Fan speed control adjustable function. (Auto, Middle and Lower Speed)
-Fan speed monitor function for new M/B.
-High quality gold-coated fan guard & connectors
-Tube-tide design and tidy your wires.
-Over voltage protection, short circuit protection on all output levels.
-+5V stand by 3A, the largest current in the market.
-Fully support all Intel & AMD series demand

1. SCOPE:
This specification defines the performance and characteristic for model of CT-470 P4 Power Supply.
2. DIMENSION:
(DxWxH) 6.4"x5.9"x3.3" / 163x150x86(mm)
3. AC INPUT:
3-1. AC Input:
95~132 VAC or 190~264 VAC select switch,88~264VAC w/active PFCversion(optional)
3-2. Frequency: 47HZ to 63HZ
3-3. Input Current:
12A maximum (RMS) at 115VAC, 6A maximum (RMS) at 230VAC
3-4. Inrush Current:
35A maximum at 115VAC, 70A maximum at 230VAC
4. DC OUTPUT:
4-1. DC Output: Voltage Min.
Current Max.
Current Peak Current Ripple
( + 5V and +3.3V combined output 235W )
( + 5V and +3.3V and +12V combined output 450W )
(Peak Current is limited to total duration of 60 seconds)
4-2. Output Regulation:
+ 3.3V +/- 5% Max.
+ 5V +/- 5% Max.
+ 12V +/-5% Max.(Normal Condition)
-5V +/- 10% Max.
-12V +/- 10% Max.
+ 5VSB +/- 5% Max.
4-3. Line Regulation: +/- 1% maximum at full load
4-4. Overshoot And Undershoot:
The output voltage has no overshoot or undershoot during turn-on or turn-off the power supply
4-5. Overload And Short Protection:
All DC outputs are protected from overload circuit and short circuit condition
4-6. Overvoltage protection:
All DC outputs will be reduced to zero if the output voltage threshold is exceeded.
The overvoltage threshold of +5V output is between 5.8V to 6.3V
The overvoltage threshold of +12V output is between 14V to 17V
The overvoltage threshold of +3.3V output is between 3.6V to 4.2V
5. GENERAL SPECIFICATION:
5-1. Efficiency: 70% minimum at 115VAC , 470W output
5-2. Operation Temperature: 0 ~ 50 degree C
5-3. Storage temperature: -25 ~ 85 degree C
5-4. Humidity:
Operating: 20% To 80% RH, Storage: 10% To 90% RH
5-5. Hold Up Time:
All output voltages will stay within regulation for at least 16.6ms after an AC line voltage failure is detected at nominal line (115 VAC or 230 VAC) under full load condition.
5-6. Withstand Voltage:
2200VDC between input and ground for 1 minute
Power -down Warning

From the start, I was impressed with the unit. It was packaged in a box with an outer space theme, which I don't really care for nor dislike. It is what was inside the package that impressed me. The unit is very flashy and is covered with stickers, but not so many that it looks tacky. The unit is also fairly light, but not to the point of feeling "flimsy" or "fragile."

The first feature that caught my attention is the triple-fan design. While most power supplies feature only one or two fans, the Coolmax is one of the very few units that uses a tri-fan mechanism. This design keeps the unit cool and ensures a longer lifetime and better overall stability. The rear fan was a model that had built-in LED's, which I don't really care too much for. There is a switch on the rear of the unit which allows you to adjust the fan speed, and LED brightness, in three levels. The 'low' setting was the most tolerable, and I could barely hear the fans in action. At 'medium' the unit pushes a lot of air, and while this was the highest fan speed setting, the unit remained very quiet. You can set the fans to 'automatic' which will make the fans rotate faster or slower, based on how hot the unit is getting.

The power supply does have one small issue that will effect users with tall cases. The cords are shorter than those on other units, which I actually appreciate. Long cords are harder to manage, and when you are trying to make your wiring as clean as possible, this can be a real nuisance. As with many other high-quality power supplies, the main ATX cable has been fitted with a black sheathing.

Click to Enlarge

Now that we have discussed the aesthetics, let's look at what really counts, the power rating. The Coolmax 470 Watt PSU pushes more amps on the 5+, 3.3+ and 12+ lines than I have seen from any other unit. The amps that are being pushed across each line are actually more important than any other feature. Often times people will buy a power supply based on a high rating. This unit is pushing 47 Amps on the 5 volt line, which should be way more than accurate. The 3.3 volt line is pushing 28 Amps, which is also very high, with the 12 volt line pushing 18 Amps. As you can see, this unit certainly didn't skimp when it came to pushing amperage.

Let's get to some testing.

TESTING

Testing a power supply is a fairly simple practice. We will be using MSI PC Alert 3.0 to monitor voltage fluctuations. We would normally use a multimeter to test the systems "unstressed" performance, but for some reason it broke. Oh, never mind, it is a Radio Shack multimeter, I know the reason now.

Test System:
MSI K7D Master-L Mainboard
2x Athlon XP 1700+ Processors
ATI Radeon 7500
2x 512 MB Corsair DDR
2x Maxtor 40GB HDD's
6x 60 MM Panaflo fans
1x Blue Cold Cathode
1x Lite on 48x12x48 CD-RW

MSI PC Alert is a very accurate tool for monitoring voltages and temperatures, as well as fan speed. Let's take a look at how well the power supply performs according to PC Alert.

As you can see, all of the voltages were near dead-on. The unit never undervolted too the point where the system rebooted.

CONCLUSION

For some of you 470 Watts will be overkill. For modders, gamers and users who have a bunch of drives and components, a 470 Watt power supply is just right. The Coolmax PSU reviewed today excelled in every area. The tri-fan design kept the unit cool, while remaining virtually silent. The unit also delivered accurate voltages during monitoring, and it never seemed to trip up the system or spike at any time.

The only criticisms are the cords may not be long enough if you have a large full tower. The LED fan is nice, but you really don't need it, especially since it's going to be in the back of your case. It is quiet though...

This power supply is priced to sell, at just $99. That's pretty cheap for this much power.

I would like to thank for sending me this unit for testing.

PROS
Tri-Fan Design is near-silent
Unit pushes more than enough amps on each line
Looks very nice
Short cords allow for cleaner wiring

CONS
LED-fan is an unnecesary gimmick
Short cords may annoy those with tall cases

BOTTOM LINE
The Coolmax Taurus belongs on your wish list if you are looking for a new power supply. Quite frankly, at this price, nothing comes close to the Coolmax Taurus PSU.

If you have any comments, be sure to hit us up in our forums.

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