Introduction

Designing a computer system these days is an adventure all of its own. There's a lot more choice on the market for both the budget minded and for those where cost is irrelevant compared to quality. Most of the items from reputable manufacturers are pretty much standard affair, but more and more we are seeing differences in the original design premise. Take Power Supplies for example. Lets face it, originally they were nothing more than there name suggested, a supply of power for your system. Now they have fancy extra's, such as cooling fans for both the PSU and your system in general. Aesthetics are playing a big part in PSU design as well, as there is a growing group of end users with windows in there cases. Not to mention the increase in peripherals requiring power. What about safety concerns? Let's take a look at our review piece today, which as you may have guessed is a Power Supply, pushing 470watts of power. Thanks go to for supplying the review sample.

Specifications

Technology wise there are a lot of protections and optimizations to ensure the unit performs at peak efficiency in a safe manner. I've listed the main ones below.

General Description
VAN-470A is a switching power supply, 470W self-contained, AC to DC power source supply suitable for mounting in PC, Server Tower and IPC Chassis.
Power Factor Correction (PFC) - Optional
VAN-470A (w/PFC) version is facilitated with the universal input
88VAC ~ 264VAC active PFC with the PF value . 0.960
115V (Nominal) Operation
PFC reaches 96.0% at 115V, 60Hz, under full output loading in
accordance with the EN 61000-3-2, class D standards.
230V (Nominal) Operation
PFC reaches 96.0% at 230V, 50Hz, under full output loading in
accordance with the EN 61000-3-2, class D standards.

Input Overcurrent Protection
The power supply is equipped with a non-reset-able fuse on the AC input to limit power consumption on a failure within the power supply module.
Input Fuse Rating:
Voltage 250 V
Current 12 A
De-activation time 200 ms

Power Sequencing
All outputs, regardless of loading, turn on within 50ms of each other. The 5VSB output is in regulation for a minimum of 10ms prior to the other output rails reaching regulation.

Overshoot at Turn-on / Turn-off
Any overshoot at turn on or turn off is under 10% of the nominal DC output voltage with further stipulation that all DC outputs are within their specified DC voltage ranges before the generation of the power good signal. Additionally, no voltage may undershoot or overshoot once the power good signal has been asserted.

Output Protection
Each DC output is protected from over voltage, over current and short circuit.

Over Current Protection
The power supply DC outputs are protected from supplying output current above the maximum ratings when output power is between 110%~150%.

Over Voltage Protection
The overvoltage sense circuitry and reference reside in packages that are separate and distinct from the regulator control circuitry and reference. No single point fault is able to cause a sustained overvoltage condition on any or all outputs. The power supply provides latch-mode overvoltage protection defined as:
+5V output is between 5.8V to 6.3V
+12V output is between 14.0V to 17.0V
+3.3V output is between 3.6V to 4.2V

Short Circuit Protection
The power supply DC outputs are protected from damage due to faults, when any output shorts to ground. In the event of a short circuit on any output, all outputs shall be disabled and remain disable until the power supply is powered off and back on.

Reliability / MTBF
The power supply reliability is based on the calculation with the Part-Stress Analysis method of MIL-HDBK-217F using the quality factors listed in MIL-HDBK-217F. The power supply MTBF is 140,000 hours under the following conditions:
- Full-rated load
- 120VAC input
- Ground begin
- 25°C ambient

EMI
The power supply is complied with CISPR 22, Class B. Tests are performed at 110VAC 50Hz, 120VAC 60Hz, and 220VAC 50 Hz power. The VAN-470A (w/PFC) version meets the requirement of EN 61000-3-2 Class D, and EN 61000-3-3, and the Guidelines for the Suppression of Harmonics in Appliances and General Use Equipment Class D for harmonic line current content at full-rated power.

You can read all about the full specs of this unit .

A Closer Look

Like a good meal, presentation and first impressions last. Even before opening the box there's a feeling of quality and a serious amount of weight! This is one heavy box, and whilst I didn't take the time to weigh the unit it feels almost twice as heavy as my Enermax 350w. The packaging is nicely decorated with pertinent information and doesn't look cheap or tacky. Ok, enough about the packaging lets open it up and get to the goods.

Inside the PSU is carefully wrapped in bubble wrap with the extras bagged and packaged neatly. The extras include the very detailed manual, the power lead, a 24 to 20 pin adaptor cable and 4 screws for mounting purposes. After unwrapping the bubble wrap you're presented with a matt black, brushed aluminium unit. Three clear bladed fans are inset in the unit, one at the rear, one at the front and one below. Each fan is protected by a stainless steel grill which provides a nice contrast to the all black casing.

At the left hand side of the unit we have the units specifications adorned on a sticker. The sticker provides details for the three different units in the Stealth line-up. At the front we have the first of the fans and the outing for the power leads. Unlike standard PSU's the power leads exit the unit on the left hand side rather than the right, I assume to make sure that the fan is in the correct position (the right hand side) to provide the most efficient use.

There is a nice black sheath around the main motherboard power connector to help contain all the separate wires in the loom and unlike some I have seen it isn't loose fitting but just tight. The motherboard connector is of the 20+4 variety, with an adaptor cable included with the extras to take it back down to a 20 pin. We also have wires for 4 pin ATX and 8 Pin ATX as well as 6 pin AUX. This makes it possible to power a very wide range of systems right out of the box. There are a total of ten 4 pin Molex connectors as well as two 4 pin FDD connectors.

All of the leads are VERY long; I doubt very much that any system would be so big as to not be reached by these wires. This a 2 edged sword though, as all the extra length can make for a difficult time in hiding any wiring that isn't in use or is overly long for your purposes, especially in mid towers (or smaller).

Moving round to the rear of the unit we have the third 80mm fan on the right, again protected by a grill. To the centre of the unit is a little red switch which I'll come back to in a moment. Top left there is a power output* to power any external devices such as perhaps a printer, or maybe a water-cooling pump. Just below that is the ON/OFF switch and finally bottom left has the power input socket.

*The power outlet on this unit, despite the unit being from the UK is of the American variety. I can personally live without using this but since it's there it would be nice to use it, and I know some people will be interested in this PSU to be able to use this outlet. So I've asked my man Pete at about this, and this is what he came back with.

They will be supplied in future to the UK with mains adapter.
Vantec say 'Since our standard AC outlet is American type we normally supply customers with AC outlet plug adapters (see attached) to fit the AC outlet used in your region....'

So there you have it. From now on the adaptors will be supplied for your region.*

Ok, going back to the centre red switch, this is for fan control. The switch has three positions, Low, Medium and Automatic. When in the Low position the unit is very quiet indeed, barely above a whisper. At Medium setting, the fan speeds increase as does the noise, but again it's not overly loud, with my GF 4 fan being about the same level. The Automatic setting is supposed to adjust the fans speed according to temperature between 1000 and 2500 rpm, but I've yet to see/hear any drop from the max 2500rpm during my use of this unit. This does make the unit quite noisy but I would have to say that the majority of users running air-cooling and other loud components will hear those above the noise generated by the PSU's fans. From my personal perspective, setting it to low permanently is fine.

The flow of air created by the 3 fans is pretty good from a case cooling perspective. The bottom and front fan draw the interior case air into the unit, and with the odds being that your PSU will be towards the top of your case, that front fan should do well in preventing a hot spot at the top of your case. The rear fan exhausts all the hot air collected out of the case and PSU.

Bad points &.. Well that temperature adjusting is either not working for me or I simply have too hot a system for it to lower the fan speed automatically. Having the wire loom exit the front of the PSU from the left hand side is & I'm not sure. It looks a bit unsightly in my windowed case but maybe that's just because I'm not used to it? At the end of the day you would still see it even if it was on the right hand side, just it would be further away from the window. I don't know, that's something you would have to make your own mind up about. I would have prefered to see a proper UK standard outlet on the PSU rather than having to use an adaptor, or at the very least having the adaptor colour coded to match the unit. So far, these are the only bad points I can make. Let's see how it actually performs.

Testing

The Test rig is as follows:-

Skyhawk Mid Tower Case
Abit AT7 Max
Athlon XP1900 @ XP2000 (166 FSB) 1.75v core ()
512MB Crucial DDR (default Voltage)
1x Floppy Drive, 1x 24speed CDRW, 1x 10speed DVD Rom, 1x 60gig IBM HD, 1x 80gig WD HD in a Vantec EZ-Swap bay, 3x 80mm system fans, 1x120mm fan on Water-cooling rad, USB Keyboard, USB Mouse, USB Modem, USB Scanner, USB Webcam/DigitalCam, PCI TV Tuner Card

I'm going to be testing the PSU's case cooling abilities as well as looking at both idle and load voltages. Motherboard Monitor 5 was used to read the Windows results and room temperature was maintained at 26C. All the results where averaged out via 3 different reading sessions over a 48 hour period.

Converters:

Compared to my Enermax 350w, the cooling ability of this PSU is just as noticeable. There's a 2C drop from Low to Automatic, regardless of system fans in use or not. The temperatures are very scaled with a 1 degree change going from one setting to another. It's nice to see an actual change, rather than the fans being a gimmick. Of course mileage is going to vary on something like this from system to system, but I'm happy with the results.

Ok, let's take a look at the Voltages. I've listed Bios, Idle and Load voltages. Bios is self explanatory, with readings just taken from the Bios. Idle readings were taken after Windows had booted up and been left for 15 minutes. Load readings were taken after switching all the fans in my system to maximum, Folding @ Home running in the background, Quake III Arena running a looped timedemo in the background, a speed test of my USB modem, my Webcam running, and my USB scanner being used at the same time. Basically trying to use anything that would require power all at once. (And yes the system was next to useless during all this :p )

The voltages are pretty good across the board. The 3.3 is nice and high, as is the 5v in both load and idle. The 12v doesn't ever reach the 12v mark, but still remains high enough to not be a worry. All the voltages, despite the system drawing as much power as it can remain nice and high throughout

Final Words

At time of writing this, the Radeon 9700 Pro is the king of the hill in regards to graphics cards. The VAN-470 Stealth PSU is to other power supplies as the Radeon 9700 Pro is to other graphics cards. It simply is outstanding in its features, performance, aesthetics and versatility. There's a broad array of safety features from over voltage, to surge, to shorting protections which will all go towards protecting both your components and your self from unwanted electrical damage.

The unit pumps out 470w which should be plenty for today's power users, and should provide enough juice to utilise the power output for external devices such as printers or maybe water-cooling pumps. As its name suggests, it is very quiet in operation, and at the low fan setting you can barely hear its three 80mm fans. The black aluminium is going to appeal to many with case windows, with the fan grills providing a nice offset to the matt black finish of the rest of the unit and the clear blades on the fans don't detract from the "Stealth" appearance but rather enhance it. Having to use a beige adaptoor if your a non-American is a bit of a let down for the looks though.

The amount and type of connections available from the unit present a very versatile system allowing for an extensive platform usage, from servers to home PC's. I've no idea if it's just me but I've not been able to get any kind of automatic adjustment of fan speed, but to be honest I'm not that personally bothered as I enjoy the near silence of the low setting. I'm still not too sure about the wiring loom exiting from the front left hand side rather than the front right hand side but since you would still see it regardless it's something that would be more down to an individual's opinion.

It's kind of strange from my reviewers perspective to be as impressed as I am over something as simple as a Power Supply (I mean it's only a PSU &. What more is there to get excited over?) But in all honestly I am very impressed. To coin a phrase, "it's cool".

Pros
Brushed aluminium black exterior
3 clear bladed fans for both system and PSU cooling
470watts of juice
Output for external devices such as printers
Clean and lengthy wiring
Assortment of safety features
Very quiet on Low fan setting

Cons

Having to use a biege adaptor in non-American countries for the outlet
Auto Fan setting didn't seem to do much?
Left side front exit wiring loom &.. Maybe?
Could be a pain to hide the extra/lengthy wiring in small cases

Bottom Line
If you're looking for a new PSU, get this one. It's as simple as that. For our European based readers, you can pick up this fine PSU .

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

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