| ENERMAX Noisetaker 600w EG701AX-VE(W) Review |
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| Reviews - Power Supplies | |||
Introduction
 
Before we start, here is the huge feature list for the 600w Noisetaker:
The Noisetaker arrived in a very appealing glossy colour box with
features, figures and support stickers plastered all over it. If I were
to see this on the shelf in a store I would certainly want to take a
look at it.  
Upon opening the box I was yet again pleasantly surprised. Everything
was very neatly packaged, and there’s even a box containing all of the
extras (UK mains power lead, 4x fixing screws, and a nice little
Enermax case sticker), and while this box of extras may only seem like
minor things, many manufacturers still fail to supply them, so well
done Enermax. The manual is fairly standard, but does have a glossy
cover and explains all of the features in 7 different languages.   Unpacking & Installation The cable arrangement is longer than most other PSU’s and will quite happily power everything in a full-tower case with length to spare for tidying wires away behind drive bays. The assortment of connectors is more than sufficient for any configuration you’re ever likely to use. The unit comes with dual fans, an 80mm exhaust fan on the rear, and a 90mm intake fan on the underside, both of which are manually and automatically controlled with a dial on the rear, minimizing noise whilst providing sufficient cooling.   OK, so on to the actual installation. I had previously removed the existing PSU from my computer, so all I had to do was screw the unit to the case chassis with the supplied fixing screws and connect up the motherboard and my drives. Easy as that. One thing to note is that with the generous provision of all of the connectors and the long wires you may struggle to find somewhere to route and/or hide them all if you use a smaller case, although it is far better to have this issue than not enough. Most of the connectors are actually labelled, so you shouldn’t ever have trouble locating the right plug, which I found to be a nice touch, appealing to the less computer literate out there.
Testing The idle state was just with the computer turned on with Windows XP Pro booted up, and two 80mm and one 120mm fans spinning on 5V. The load state is as idle, but with the fans at 12V, and a continuous sequence of Pioneer DVD reading, SONY DVD-R writing, 40Gb (assorted sizes) files copying from Seagate 80Gb SATA HDD to 200Gb Seagate SATA HDD, and SANDRA2004 burn-in wizard running continuously. This is not the most scientific method of testing, but does provide a real world scenario that you may just experience once or twice, that puts a lot of stress on the entire system.  From what I could gather the voltages remained extremely stable, and although they did fluctuate very slightly, they remained well within the recommended limits and are amongst the best I’ve ever seen. This minimalization in fluctuation is exactly what you need for powering today’s increasingly more sensitive components. Voltages do appear quite high at 0.2V above 5V and 12V although this is perfectly acceptable – It is always better to be slightly higher than lower anyway. The PSU remained quiet (still audible though) throughout testing, and whilst it isn’t the quietest unit I’ve heard, it is quieter than most, and is acceptable to work with even if your case is on your desktop. I did try different settings for the fans, although not a great deal of difference can be noticed, as it is mainly auto controlled by the PSU itself, so I ended up just leaving it on the lowest setting. Another pretty unique feature that the Noisetaker has is its Smart Fan. This keeps the fans running at low speed after you turn off your computer until the unit has cooled to below 40oC. This can take anywhere from 3 mins to 7mins. This clever feature actively prolongs the life of the power supply.  
Conclusion Everything you need is in the box, there are generously long wires, and more than enough connectors for most. The metallic paint finish is truly beautiful, and the performance is second to none. One addition I would like to see with this power supply would be to have ALL of the cables individually mesh covered. Though this is purely for aesthetic reasons, it would help in tidying up the massive wiring loom, and would greatly complement the paint job.
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