Meridian XClio 450W & 400W Power Supplies

Interior of the XClio 450W Power Supply:

The interior of the XClio 450W & 400W power supplies are almost completely identical. About the only difference I could tell was that each used a slightly different model fan. I didn't take the time to go over each component and compare model numbers between the two, but I have a strong hunch they are really just one in the same with the voltage levels tweaked for different average loads. I did inspect the transformer model #'s and they matched. In the most basic sense, power flows from left to right through this power supply. The design is pretty standard, one group regulation choke with three windings (for +5V, +12V and -12V) and another choke for +3.3V.

Printed on the PCB are the initials CWT, which stands for Channel Well Technologies, a popular PSU OEM manufacturer for several big name power supply companies (including Antec). The UL number E161451 (printed on the PSU label) also is registered to Channel Well.

This PSU claims to be ATX12V v2.0 compliant, after inspecting (and testing) their claim is completely valid and follows the guidelines for 12V1 & 12V2 connectors. The bottom side of the PCB shows two separate 12V outputs coming from a common 12V source (which is perfectly acceptable according to the guidelines). As you can see each 12V output has a lead going to a small PCB (control circuitry) that is mounted vertically on the top of the main PCB. Furthermore, I did a quick test by loading only 12V1 to make sure the PSU would shutdown at acceptable load levels.

For most people split 12V rails is the way to go (mostly because of safety concerns), however SLI (dual video card) setups have such high 12V current requirements that split rails may not be practical nor capable of powering all required devices. Check out this page in our PSU testing methodology guide for a deeper discussion on this topic.