Power to the people

Advantages: Very cheap, 2 fans
Disadvantages: None

...Arguably the most important component inside your PC is its power supply, the power supply unit (PSU) provides the power to every other component inside your computer ie: Motherboard, hard drive, processor, graphics card etc etc... and all these components require a powerful and extremely stable PSU in order to operate as intended. 14 months ago i built my current PC and opted to use the Q-tec 550 watt dual fan gold as its power supply unit, most modern day PC power supplies average around 350 watt and they are predominantly fine for most PC's but as you add extra components to your PC like extra hard drives, or a faster processor or faster graphics card then you may get close to reaching the limit of your particular power supply which can result in either the PSU not functioning properly (causing serious system instability) or in...

Rabid 04.04.2004 · Read review
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Review of Q-Tec Dual Fan Gold power supply - 550 Watt

Hiper Type R HPU-4R580 Power Supply Unit

Advantages: Modular power connectors, good design, solid build, designed in the UK.
Disadvantages: Large

...for the power supply[1]. ATX 2.2 includes changes to the main power connector (20pin to 24pin), removed auxiliary power connector and includes a need for a 3.3v tolerance. Effectively ATX2.2 is a a new standard variant based on older designs looking to power newer technologies but also to provide increased power modulation and better tolerances to power deviation. Intel BTX, another form factor standard that talks about heat sinks, finalised about a year ago. From the point of view of the consumer it makes it harder to have a very small case that complies to all specifications however it should also improve tolerance to heat substantially. From the point of view of the manufacturer it is difficult as it means doing some simple redesigns. SLi (Scalable Link interface), this is the interesting specification that's going to take some time to...

Jon_Farrimond 05.06.2006 · Read review
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Review of Hiper Type-R HPU-4R580 - power supply - 580 Watt

Antec 550W server class psu

Advantages: Compatible with newer 24pin motherboards and EPS12v Server boards, High wattage, Silent fan operation
Disadvantages: Needs adapter to use with 20pin motherboards,

...Upon upgrading my computer to an athlon MP system, i thought it would be a good idea to change my power supply for something a bit more powerful. When i looked up the specifications for this power supply at antec`s website, there was nothing i could fault. Looking into it further, i found that i would need a 24pin to 20pin adapter to use this on my motherboard. The handy thing is that although this isnt an ATX2.0 power supply, the 24pin pinout for the EPS12v ATX connector is 100% identical to the ATX2.0 24pin pinout. Another reason why i decided on this powersupply (so when i upgrade to dual opterons - this powersupply will be ample and will already provide the correct connectors). You can always tell the quality of a power supply by its weight, and these ones are heavy! Comparing it to my old Q-tec 400w power supply you would...

positivereflect 20.11.2005 (21.11.2005) · Read review
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Review of Antec TruePower 550 EPS12V - power supply - 550 Watt

Real Power!

Advantages: Modular cables!
Disadvantages: None for me.

...I had to purchase this more out of necessity than want. My old Enermax PSU decided one day that it wasn't going to turn on my PC. I then subsequently went all out and got a complete upgrade. I wanted something that would handle easily what i was going to throw at it. I also wanted a power supply that was 80 Plus compliant (80% efficient) details can be found if you look for the Coolermaster RS-620-ASAA-A1 on 80plus.org. It has one large fan which is quiet and unobtrusive, to be expected it fitted perfectly in my Coolermaster CM690 case. Being a modular PSU is an absolute godsend, why manufacturers never though of it sooner is beyond me. Modularity makes cable management and much easier and airflow much better. You get 2 sockets for graphics card power which can handle 2 x 6 pin and 1 x 8 pin plug very handy if you run an SLi rig...

hairyheppers 07.11.2008 · Read review
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Review of CoolerMaster Real Power M620 Modular PSU - power supply - 620 Watt

Canon PowerShot A550 is The real power of my dream camera

Advantages: simple, easy to use and carry,9 mode can be selected
Disadvantages: little too much on using AA battery, too much button

...-able recommended and stock about 2 - 4 pieces for 2 days in daily use, but depends on frequent use). it has LCD but if you want to use like the old way, we can change it mode to analog (LCD off and you see through the lens above the LCD). when I buy it, I got a manual, Driver CD, cable connection, 1 GB MMC, a pair AA recharge-able batteries with the recharge tool, AV cable (to connect it with the TV). Oh ya, if you want to connect your Canon PowerShot A550 with the cable, you can do it with the 'jack' covered by rubber top in the left side of the canon (when LCD is facing to you). Open it from bottom to up side gently. Just remind you of the battery use, do not forget to recharge it or bring a spare, you do not want to lost a moment to capture. ^^...

dragonex09 19.03.2009 · Read review
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Review of Canon PowerShot A550

Supply teaching

Advantages: Well paid, can work when you want, no planning
Disadvantages: Behaviour, unpaid holidays, lack of social side

...I have been doing supply teaching for over a year now. I thought I?d write about my experiences and give some advice to those who might be thinking of supply work. BACKGROUND: I trained to be a teacher in 2006-7. I had never wanted to be a teacher, it was never something I always dreamed of being. I had always planned to be a lawyer. However, after studying History at university I knew that I wanted to work with the subject. I went on to do a Masters in museum studies and thought seriously about working in that field but the money was really bad and there were a lot of people trying to get very few jobs. I took a year out to think and to earn some money. The ex-Mr Tart wanted to go into teaching (he was also a historian) and I thought that seeing as I wanted to work in History there were worse things I could do. Not...

tartlette83 06.11.2009 · Read review
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Review of Supply Teaching

I've got the power

Advantages: clear natural looking pictures
Disadvantages: not pocket size

...Canon PowerShot A550 I have had my digital camera for about three months now, it was bought as a present for me and costs around £100 - £80 depending on where you buy it, on Amazon you can pay £74 now, so the prices vary. Compared to other digital camera prices this is quite reasonable as cameras are getting more popular the prices are coming down all the time. The camera is a silver colour and has a thicker end on the right for easy grip. Although it is a light weight camera it isn?t small enough to fit in your pocket, but comes with a small leather camera case. It takes two AA batteries for the flash and these will take about 140 shots It also comes with a 16mb memory card and is a 7.1 mega pixel which is quite good for taking clear pictures. The pictures it takes are clear and sharp, the colours look natural and the inside...

Sunnysmiles 23.06.2009 · Read review
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Review of Canon PowerShot A550

Pretty standard high quality quiet modular PSU

Advantages: Modular so there's no mess with cables, made by CoolerMaster
Disadvantages: The sheathing around the cables can make them hard to handle

...into tight gaps or go through small spaces. If you're looking for a good quality, quiet stable power supply at a decent price then you can't go wrong with this one. It's also great for a system where minimal noise levels are a requirement. THe only reason this didn't get 5 stars is because although 520 watts is more than enough power for a normal computer system, more powerful (although not necessarily the same quality) PSU's are available for a similar price....

Closeratio 26.04.2008 · Read review
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Review of CoolerMaster Real Power M520 Modular PSU - power supply - 520 Watt

My Dream Machine PSU

Advantages: Dual fan, 400W
Disadvantages: No seperate power out for monitor

...the output fan and the second fan has no use, other than pushing the air towards the output fan. But if we assume that they are connected by an airtight seal (which is evidently not the case) and both operating at the same speed, you would have exactly the same airflow as the output fan, on it?s own, with the second fan taken out. So I can conclude that the purpose of the second fan is not to push air out of the computer, but to circulate it within the computer. Any airflow is good, because you?re moving the heat away from components and into the ambient temperature, which doesn?t matter too much. However, this air has now passed over the very hot unit which supplies power. So it?s actually increasing the internal temperature of the computer. This is what I draw from it anyway, obviously it works or the company wouldn?t have built it...

C_W_Monkey 04.06.2004 · Read review
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Review of Q-Tec Dual Fan Gold power supply - 400 Watt

You don't get any better than this

Advantages: Stable, cool and quiet, modular cabling, overall quality, more powerful than official rating
Disadvantages: cables a little stiff

...marketting jingo, either. This PSU really is as solid as a rock - stable under the most extreme contexts. What I mean by this is that though it's only rated to 620 watts, in reality the 620 can take a draw of more like 800 watts. It will easily power two 8800GTX's or Ultras, an incredible feat for a supposedly 620 watt supply. But it's not just that which makes me lable the power supply 'rock solid'; when I say extreme contexts, I'm talking about the reviews that have put this thing in a room with an ambient temperature of 50 degrees celcius and then drawn it's maximum load. Not only does the 620 still function perfectly well at these insane ambient temps, it's actually gives more power than it's rated too. This is why a 620 watt power supply can drive a quad core + SLI 8800GTX rig without breaking a sweat. And to top it all off, it's 80...

ClockworkUniverse42 04.06.2008 · Read review
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Review of Corsair HX620W - power supply - 620 Watt