Enermax EG475AX-VE(W) Noisetaker

A First Look at the Power Supply:

These days as computers get more and more power-hungry and advanced, it takes a seriously powerful power supply to keep up. The level of quality and range of features in a power supply can make or break an overclock or limit the amount or type of accessories in a system. With big names like Fortron, PC Cooling and Power, and TTGI, it takes a special breed of power supply to compete in today's market. I have a feeling that this power supply is just the thing to meet the challenge.

The power supply arrived to me in very attractive retail-style packaging with an extensive list of features and specifications on the outside.

Inside I find: the PSU wrapped in bubble-wrap, a user's guide, a power cord, a set of mounting screws, and 2 cool little Enermax case badges (nice bonus). My first impression upon seeing the power supply is "WOW!," this thing has this really beautiful but subtle dark blue paint with metal flake (it is very hard to capture with a camera). It sparkles in the light and just looks amazing. Also, the motherboard connectors are both sleeved with a very cool braided metal sleeving, and the other wires are sleeved into one bundle halfway down their length. This absolutely eliminates the huge mess of tangled wires that usually exit a power supply. On the other hand, having all the cables sleeved into one bundle limits a lot of wire management options as you can't tuck individual cables away should you need to. There are: 1 main ATX connector, 1 +12V power connector, 1 AUX power connector, 2 Serial ATA (SATA) connector's, 2 floppy connectors, 1 3-pin fan sense connector, and  6 4-pin standard connectors (one is independent of the others). I'd like to see more 4-pin standard connectors on a high-end PSU, but I have some splitters so it isn't too big a deal.

A closer look shows a few more interesting features: an adjustable fan speed knob on the rear, and a fan speed sense/control wire to connect to the motherboard. Also the intake fan is clear, so the high quality components inside are visible from the outside. The PSU has 2 fans and one side opposite the exhaust fan is a full grill pattern for high airflow. This line also sports a great new feature that runs the PSU fans after the computer is turned off until the PSU temp. drops below 40C.

After having a look inside the PSU I see it's built from the ground up with very high quality components and is quite heavy. Everything inside is arranged very neatly and for maximum airflow. there is a straight clear shot form the grilled side, over the large heatsink, and out the rear exhaust.