Friday, August 20, 2004

More better PC power!
If there was one area of your PC that you could change for the better, what would it be? All right, let's cut to the chase --it's the power supply. Why? Because aside from becoming a bit more stable and a bit more powerful over the years, the average PC power supply remains a metal box with a whole bunch of wires sticking out of it. A plethora of a whole bunch of wires that get everywhere, half of which you may not even need, and some of which may contain more of the wrong type of connectors than the ones you do need.

Antec may have solved all of those issues in one swell foop with its NeoPower 480 power supply. It's tres upscale. Heavy, you wouldn't want to carry it around longer than necessary, but let's start with 480 watts. That's no big deal, 480 watt power supplies have been around for a while. Auto power sensing (100v - 240v AC) isn't even really a new deal. Even the voltage feedback circuitry isn't that rare any more.

But look Ma, no wires!!! Okay, that's an overstatement. The power cabling needed for the motherboard is securely attached to the power supply. Every thing else attaches to the NeoPower via molex connectors in the case. Don't need some of the cabling? Don't plug it in. No need to worry about tucking it out of the way somewhere. There's a special molex connector for fans only --and not just because only the 12v lines are brought out. The PS' internal 120mm fan runs at a variable speed, based on temperature sensing. Connected to the fan power outlet, your case fans will also vary. Can you say, "Why'd it suddenly get so quiet in here?"

There are perks too, like a special PCI Express graphics card power connector. And since it's ATX12V v2.0 compliant it can reduce power consumption by as much as 25% below what that's rat's nest of an old power supply you're using eats up. Are you opposed to saving money? Don't be afraid to check it out.
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