Review: Soly-Tech 1000W PSU
Hi all,
This is my first review ever, well I once reviewed a movie and that turned out horribly. But I feel compelled to review this Power supply because there are so many people that are limited by cost when trying to select a decent power supply that will do what they want, and yet not put such a crunch on thier pocket book. And a quick note, my camera was apparently broken by my daughter so at some point in the next few days I will try to locate some stock photos of this unit, I found one on the manufacturers website.
On with it:
SL-X1000EPS
-Input range: 90V~264Vac -Frequency: 47~63Hz -Input Current:1000W 14A/7A@ 115/230Vac -Efficiency: 80% at full load, nominal line
FEATURES
-Ideal for Intel/AMD dual-core CPU
-NVIDIA® SLI™ READY
-80plus certified
-Dual CPU ready
-4 x +12V rails
-ATX12V /EPS12V Ver. 2.91
-Active Power Factor Correction Circuit
-Embedded thermal sensor
-Reliable ultra-silent 140mm ball-bearing fan w/Blue LED
-20+4-pin MB connector
-4 Pin +12V x 2
-8 Pin +12V x 2
-Peripheral power easy plug connector x 6
-Serial ATA connector x 4
-Floppy power connector x 2
-PCI Express connector x 4
-Sleeved cables
-Various safety protection--
OCP(over-current),OVP(over-voltage),SCP(short-circuit),UVP(under-voltage),OPP(over-power)
SPECIFICATIONS
Model SL-X1000EPS
PSU ATX12V / EPS12V Ver. 2.91
Dimension 7" x 6" x 3.75"
(D) x (W) x (H)
Cooling 140mm blue LED fan
MTBF 100,000 Hours
Approval UL, CSA, FCC, TUV, CE
Let it be known that I am no guru in the workings of a power supply and what any of those mumbo jumbo numbers mean. I'm a simple guy who just wants things to work out of the box. That being said this unit does just that, it works out of the box and quite well I might add.
As you can see it has the capabilities to run SLI, and both Intel and AMD chips. It can apparently also run quite a few SATA compatible units, and typical molex driven units, along with your lawn mower, television, and womans massager(edited for clean content).
Being as frugal as I am. I spent weeks scouring the internet looking for the right PSU for my computer. I would get settled on one unit and then find another and then another. Most of these units were in the 600-750 watt range and ranged from OCZ to thermaltake. All were certainly comperable in the price range that my wife was willing to let me....err I mean that I was looking for. I didnt want to pay more then 150.00 for my PSU because I had other things that I wanted to upgrade, but I wanted a PSU that was going to do the job I needed it to do. After a ton of deliberating I finally called my local PC club to see what deals they have, keep in mind that I wanted to overclock some of my stuff but PC club has a strict policy about answering questions where it concerns that area of computing. They just wont. So I had to rephrase my question to something like this:
"Hi, Im looking for a Power supply that will allow me to run SLi(which for the record I dont need because I cant afford a 2nd video card), 15 fans(wtf? the guy must have thought I was insane...well maybe a little), 5 HDD's(haha this is rediculous), and 1 DVD drive. Oh and I dont want to spend more then 150.00" I threw some other things out there but they were too insignificant to remember.
Response: "uhh give me a minute to see what I have on the shelf, although Im pretty sure we dont carry that big of a power supply" a few minutes later he came back and was sort of in shock I suppose. "Sir? I think I found your Power supply. Its not as well known as some of the big boys but we think this will fit your needs. Have you ever heard of Soly-Tech? we have a 1000W PSU here made by Soly-Tech for 149.00."
err what? 1000w PSU for 149? So I did what any good newb would do. I googled the company. Of course soly-tech doesnt show this particular PSU on thier site so I did some more research. I found that the only reviews for the soly-tech PSU's were for thier 600W line. Which by the way looked rather good.
A little background on soly-tech here, they are actually a subdivision or company owned by APEX(*GASP!*) But for the wattage and my inexperience I went ahead and drove the 10 miles and bought this unit. Plus it wound up being 149 out the door because the price of the CPU I bought a few weeks ago dropped enough to where they adjusted it to basically pay the taxes.
Ok so now we are at the point where Im going to give points to this unit based on several factors.
Power: 10/10 points
This thing has enough power to do whatever I need it to do. Should I ever upgrade my mobo/CPU/RAM/SLi/extra HDD's and whatever I should have no problem getting these things to run fairly well.
Cable management: 7/10 points
Here is one of the minor problems with this PSU. The cables are very stiff, which means they are difficult to move around the case, so there is definitely some point loss there. It does however gain a half a point or so in that all the cables are sleeved in a black mesh, which keeps everything seperated. I have to dock this PSU in that while the cables are long some of them probably wont reach where they need to go if theyre routed behind the motherboard.
Not modular: 8/10
Im not going to get into too much as to why it loses points based on modular abilities. Personally Im not a real stickler for modular/non modular units. The reason why I docked points for this section is because it has like 15 SATA plugs(Im overstating totals, but it sure looks like theres that many). The other thing Id like to mention is that a lot of the molex and SATA plugs are spliced together, this isnt really an issue it just sort of makes it difficult to find a decent route for the cables without having to start over because you used the wrong length.
Casing: 9/10
Ok some people are into the asthetic looks of a power supply. This one is pretty decently crafted. It has a 140mm fan with a Blue LED attached to it, which definitely gives it a decent look when the lights are off. The case itself feels pretty sturdy, but its heavy. Really heavy. I had some issues installing this into my rocketfish(lian-li) case because of its weight. And its not really an issue but the screw holes were really only designed for a top mounted PSU, apparently APEX/S-T hasnt gotten on board with the bottom mounted PSU's. Because of the weight theres no way Id want to top mount this. In fact for those who install one on the bottom of your case, I took out the 2 corner screws(diagonally) and it now fits in pretty secure in the bottom of my case. It also has a very nice black finish.
Useability(overclocking): 9/10
Ok Im still new to the world of overclocking, and part of the reason I decided on a new PSU is because with all the BSOD's I was getting, research said 90% of my problem was with my PSU. After upgrading my BSOD's went from 5 times in a OC stability test to 2 times. Thats a considerable difference as far as Im concerned. I did have a problem a few days ago when I was attempting to test some stable clocks. For some reason the system kept shutting itself off after a BSOD occured. After researching I determined that there was an issue with my power output. After testing some ram, checking the cpu for score marks, I determined that it somehow was related to power. Instead of getting angry, I switched out the Power Cable and changed where it was plugged into. After making this change, it started right up and I havent had an issue since. All in all its a pretty decent overclocker. Also of note is that it is 80% at full load.
Total Score: 43/50 points
Conclusion:
For all those looking for an alternative to the overpriced "buy me because I have this name stamped on me" Power supplies. This unit is about as good as you can get. Keep in mind I have an AMD based mobo with a 5000+ BE cpu. Which I know is bottlenecking me in the OC'ing arena. I do have plans to upgrade around my birthdayto an EVGA 750i FTW(who can pass up a board that says For The Win), and a Q6600 CPU, might be going into a 2nd 8800GT as well for SLi. Once that is upgraded I will be able to give a more detailed review of this PSU.
For the price this PSU is a sure winner in wattage to dollar value. And so far that Ive seen it can only be found at PC Club. Oh one thing I should mention is the box it comes in. Its the most elegant box Ive ever seen. Its black, looks like a gift box with a clear sleeve that slides over it with gold writing on it.
Link to units web page: http://www.apextechusa.com/products.asp?pID=162
http://s212.photobucket.com/albums/c...t=1000main.jpg
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