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Connectors:::...
Despite
there being plenty of length to the cables, the lack
of any braiding for the main ATX power feed gives
the Super Tornado a slightly messy look. It could
be argued that this is the reason for supplying the
Dr. Cable spiral wraps but if that's true than an
additional length should ideally have been included.
Properly organising your cables and wrapping the ATX
cables is a lesson in logistics with just the two
they supply.
Seven
4 pin Molex connectors, while not quite on a par with
the ten you'll find on Tagan's 480 watter, is perfectly
adequate for a 350watt unit and is actually quite
generous. I have a supply here with just four on it!!
Needless to say it lives in a drawer most of the time.
Serial-ATA drives are catered for by way of a single
4pin Molex to S-ATA power adaptor. Two S-ATA adapters
would certainly have been a better option but hey,
it beats none!
An
RPM cable is available to plug into your motherboard
in order to monitor the speed of the internal 120mm
fan if your board supports it, and most do, though
it may need to run to the "system fan" or
"chipset fan" header as few motherboards
feature a dedicated "power supply" header.
Performance:::...
Test
System:
Abit
AI7
P4 2.4 @ 2.4 (idle tests) and @ 3.3 (stress testing)
2x512MB Corsair XMS4400
4x80mm case fans, 3x 60mm HSF fans, 2x 1m lengths
of EL cable with inverter, 4x 12" neon tubes+
inverter (stress testing)
Sapphire Radeon 9800 Pro (GeForceFX 5800 Ultra used
for stress testing).
I
can think of only two words.....rock solid! Granted
I didn't quite pile on the punishment the way I have
with some of the higher capacity power supplies I've
tested but even allowing for that the voltage variations
were minimal.
This
isn't the entire story where power supplies are concerned
but to be able to pull off such a great performance
and maintain 100% stability even when I ran our AI7/2.4c
test rig combination overclocked to 275MHz is a major
achievement.
Conclusion
The
3DVelocity 'Dual Conclusions Concept' Explained: After
discussing this concept with users as well as companies
and vendors we work with, 3DVelocity have decided
that where necessary we shall aim to introduce our
'Dual Conclusions Concept' to sum up our thoughts
and impressions on the hardware we review. As the
needs of the more experienced users and enthusiasts
have increased, it has become more difficult to factor
in all the aspects that such a user would find important,
while also being fair to products that may lack these
high end "bonus" capabilities but which
still represent a very good buy for the more traditional
and more prevalent mainstream user. The two catergories
we've used are:
The
Mainstream User ~ The mainstream user is likely
to put price, stock performance, value for money,
reliability and/or warranty terms ahead of the need
for hardware that operates beyond its design specifications.
The mainstream user may be a PC novice or may be an
experienced user, however their needs are clearly
very different to those of the enthusiast, in that
they want to buy products that operate efficiently
and reliably within their advertised parameters.
The
Enthusiast ~ The enthusiast cares about all
the things that the mainstream user cares about but
is more likely to accept a weakness in one or more
of these things in exchange for some measure of performance
or functionality beyond its design brief. For example,
a high priced motherboard may be tolerated in exchange
for unusually high levels of overclocking ability
or alternatively an unusually large heat sink with
a very poor fixing mechanism may be considered acceptable
if it offers significantly superior cooling in return.
The
Mainstream User ~
What
can I say? A near faultless execution combined with
extremely low operational noise makes the Super Tornado
a superb choice for the regular user. Without going
overboard it offers all the power that the vast majority
of us will ever need and pumps it out cleanly and
constantly. At 80% efficiency it could even pay for
itself!
The
price is perhaps a touch high compared to some units
available but without a doubt you should be prepared
to pay what ever it takes to equip yourself with the
very best available, and the Super Tornado fits into
that category and possible even tops it.
The
Enthusiast ~
As
an enthusiast product just about all the Super Tornado
350 lacks is muscle. If you can happily run off a
350 watt supply then the Super Tornado is probably
as good as anything else you can buy at this time.
It lacks the power and the sophistication of something
like the Tagan
I reviewed a short while back but it makes up for
this with its extremely low noise and stable operation
even when pushed.
With
a street price of around £62.50
the price isn't the most attractive on the market
and I'm sure it could be lowered a bit, but if you
want the benefits of quiet, 120mm cooling and apparently
unmatched current stability then it's a reasonable
price to pay.
Low
ripple, high PF rating and top notch efficiency serve
to make this an impressive unit that does what it
says on the box and in some style. A very nice product!
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