Before we get into testing, there are also a couple of things that pictures simply can’t show that I’d like to mention. This is a quiet unit which is always a good thing but with 580W of power I did expect a higher fan speed level to keep it cool. Hiper mark the PSU as inaudible but not having any sound measuring equipment I can’t give you exact figures. I can tell you that I have heard many a hard drive louder than the Hiper Type-R. So does that mean that the temperature of the unit suffers as a compromise to the quiet running of the fans? Not at all, it is infact one of the cooler PSU’s I’ve tested, no doubt due to its mesh like construction. Of course the downside here is that some of the warm air has got to escape into the case but we’ll see what kind of effect that has to case temperatures during testing. The other thing that the pictures don’t show is that the rear fan is on a relay, so that when the unit is powered down the rear fan stays on for a few minutes to properly cool the interior. I don’t personally know of any desktop branded PSU’s that do this other than the Hiper Type-R and while it is debatable as to how useful this feature might be, it should in theory prolong the life of the internals.

One thing that strikes me overall when looking at this package is that the quality seem high in contradiction to the price tag. There has been the odd corner here and there that has been ‘shaved’ a little to reduce costs (1 PCIe connector, Steel instead of Aluminium) but they are far from being real issues of any kind and if it saves money that is passed onto the customer without effecting quality, this can only be a good thing. I'm still a little worried by the small heatsinks inside but let's move on to testing and see what we come up with.

Testing

Test Setup: Intel 955X, Pentium 540 (3.2GHz) with XSPC watercooling, 2x512 Kingston HyperX PC2-5300, Albatron Trinity PC6600GT Graphics, 2x Maxtor SATA150 80GB, 1x Maxtor PATA 160GB, 1x IBM 60GB Deskstar, 1x AOpen 52x CDRW, 1x Pioneer 8x DVD+/-RW, 1x Floppy Drive

Other power using devices: 2x CCFL’s and 2x 120mm Fans (via Nexus fan controller), 2x CCFL’s via dual inverter, 4 port USB Hub, USB Modem, USB Mouse, USB Keyboard, USB Scanner, USB Webcam, TV Tuner Card

Estimated Maximum total watts of all devices – 400w Combined, 230w System + 170w devices Split

The idea of using all these devices (or as many as possible) all at once is to put as much power load on the system as possible so a Messenger window using the Webcam was opened, Folding@Home to load the CPU, fans to full speed, all CCFL’s on, a document scanned at a high resolution repeatedly, defragging of the hard drives, looping timedemo in Quake III Arena (windowed), charging of an MP3 player via a USB port, burning a CD at 48x and attempting to watch TV while all that was going on. Operating temperatures can also affect the PSU, with higher temperatures reducing the overall efficiency, so we also turned up the heat in the house, removed the fans from the case (but left them plugged in for load testing) and took readings of the current case temperatures and PSU internal temperatures via a probe. As comparisons we are using the Ultra Products 500w PSU (single 12v rail) and the Tagan ‘2Force’ TGA480-U22 480w PSU in Split mode (dual 12v rails).

 

Final Words

This is a unit with features that excel many of the more expensive and lower powered brands. Since overall wattage is usually not the main issue when creating a stable system, it is good to see that we have Dual 12V Rails to split the load between the main system and the devices. Of course, it isn’t a slouch in the overall power output department either with 580W at the ready (630W peak). I’d be surprised if any enthusiast PSU on the market these days didn’t have features such as Active PFC, Over Current/Short Circuit Protection and Output Voltage Protection and of course the Hiper Type-R does have them. I’m of two minds about the Type-R moniker, but it is something different from an Ultra Hyper Xtreme Dual Laser Velocity Turbo 10,000 or some other over used marketing gab.

We have a modular cabling system, which unlike others I have seen on the market can securely attach the cables to the PSU itself and gives you a rather cool retro style aviator appearance. All of the sleeving is braided, and while this does have the side effect of drawing the cables tighter together and shortening the overall length, the Hiper is not alone in this respect and I had no trouble with all my devices in my Antec P160 case; it should only be the largest of cases that you might have a problem with. We have EZ Grip Molex connectors and while this is not a feature that is new to us, it isn’t a market wide one and is certainly welcome. The unit is quiet; both the 80mm exhaust and 120mm chrome bladed fans barely make more noise than a hard drive. Despite the lower speed and silent nature of the fans, this is one of the cooler running PSU’s I’ve used personally no doubt due to the mesh like body. This of course does mean that some of the warmer air will be vented into your case, but the temperature change in a case is comparable with other PSU’s under load. The main body is constructed from Steel and not Aluminium, but it is Japanese Steel, and with its lightweight nature and reflective, polished titanium gloss coating, I dare anyone to tell the difference at a glance.

We have support for various form factors and revisions in use currently, including BTX although you will still need an adaptor for EPS12V 8 pin connectors. We also have a singular PCIe plug, but I would have liked to have seen this support two PCIe plugs for SLI support. Even the box it comes in is a cut above the rest, with Hiper supplying the Type-R Modular 580W PSU in a plastic utility box, which can be used for many conceivable purposes such as a fishing tackle box, a mini tool box, the mother-in-law mentioned it would make a good sewing box (I quickly retreated and hid it) …

Of course all of this visual appearance and quality is worth nothing if it’s just a pretty brick, but the performance has also been good during our testing. Our multi-meter found the numbers to be spot on or better, and the variations in voltage during use were small and well within the 5% range of ATX specifications during a high heat load. Temperatures during normal load were low, and while it did raise the case temperature for slightly longer than the others, it was acceptable. I was a bit worried by the heatsinks inside the unit but it would seem to not be a problem as temperatures inside the PSU remained quite low.

Of course the one thing that is impossible to test (until it’s too late for anyone to care anyway) is long term reliability, but you do get a 3 year RTB warranty which is quite reassuring and the 80mm exhaust fan stays on to cool the PSU interior after you power down your PC, helping to prolong the units life.

Ok, I keep mentioning the price but without quoting a number, so if you’ve not looked at the top of the review already, this unit is retailing in the UK at the £70 (Inc VAT) and up mark. I’m not going to mention names/brands, but looking for a comparable competitors PSU, the closest I could find in price was at the £80 range (and at a slightly lower wattage) or higher. I do have to say that I did find it more difficult to get a price on the Type-R (without asking Hiper that is) than I have other items; there doesn’t seem to be many folks selling them (at time of writing), but if you are looking for a modular PSU and want to save some cash, ignore the ‘cheap and therefore nasty’ pricing and put this on your list.

Pros: Modular design – cables screw to PSU body, EZ-Grip connectors, 4 Dedicated SATA plugs, Dedicated PCIe plug, Titanium gloss finish, Voltages and Temperatures good, Very quiet, Rear fan remains on for up to 5 minutes after system power down, Sleeved cabling, Matching colouring, Nice utility box, Split 12v rails, 580w, Probably one of the cheapest high power modular PSU's on the market

Cons: Only one PCIe – not SLI ready (Editors Note - Since writing this review, Hiper's next shipment of HPU-4K580 will be SLi ready; there will be an extra PCI-E connector bundled with the PSU), P4 cable – not EPS12V/ ‘P8’ ready

Bottom Line: Hiper have a winner on there hands with the Type-R Modular 580W PSU. It performs well, is quiet and cool, looks good, features a unique modular design and doesn't cost too much. It will be staying in my main system thats for sure.

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