Cables and Connectors:::...

As I mentioned earlier one of the first impressions is of the sheer volume of cable that comes spewing forth from the Tagan. The main ATX power cables are neatly braided while the others are twisted and tied at regular intervals.

Unlike some PSU's that comply with the 24 pin option straight out of the box, the Tagan comes as standard with a 24 pin ATX plug and you must then use the supplied 24 pin to 20 pin adaptor for use with most regular motherboards.

The 24 pin power connector by the way, which some companies have taken to calling a "universal" ATX power connector, was actually adopted for some mission critical server boards such as the Intel SE7500CW2 so although it's a pain to have to use a converter you might be glad of those extra four pins some day. You can actually plug a 20 pin connector into a 24 pin board and run it provided you align pin 1 on both but it kind of defeats the object.

As you can see below, cable lengths are generous at a minimum 500mm to the first connector on each line and a further 150mm to each additional connector thereafter.

Nor should you be running short of connectors any time soon as there are ten (yes ten) four pin Molex drive connectors, a pair of 4 pin floppy connectors, two Serial-ATA power connectors, a 4 pin P4 auxiliary power connector and an 8 pin auxiliary power connector which is used as a companion to the 24 pin ATX connector on server platform boards.

Testing:::...

Loaded System Setup:

AMD Athlon64 3400+
MSI K8T Neo Motherboard
512MB Corsair XMS3700
Connect3D Radeon 9800 Pro
3x Hard Drive (spindown deactivated)
2x Optical Drive (CD-RW was burning at 2x during load testing).
4x 80mm case fan
Asetek Water Chill water cooling kit

Noise Levels:::...

Even with the case fans shut down it was difficult to complain about the noise levels from the Tagan. I'm not sure I ever really got the fans spinning at full tilt but even so operation was as silent as anything I've tested to date.

The large heat sinks no doubt help to passively radiate heat at times when airflow is low and this in turn delays the point at which the fan speeds need to increase.

An impressive performance considering both fans are 80mm units.

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 ~

More than likely you'll never get close to needing nearly half a kilowatt of power for your PC, but then again more than likely you'll never come close to listening to your hi-fi at the 300watts RMS it's able to pump out or driving your car at the 130MPH it has on the speedo!

I say you'll never need this much power but of course I'm basing that assumption on today's power requirements. Who knows what components you'll be running in a couple of years' time, and who knows how hungry for power they'll be. PCI Express is just around the corner and its power demands are already prompting new standards for power circuitry designs, all of which this PSU should cope easily with by the way.

The 36 month warranty is a welcome sight in a time when most manufacturers are trimming back their warranties and to me says a lot about Tagan's faith in their product.

This is an excellent power supply with some genuinely impressive features and if that's what it takes to get you to bin that no-name half empty PSU that came with your £20 case than I'm happy to suggest you all run out and buy a Tagan, and if the idea of 480 watts is more than you can stomach then take a look at the 330 watt and 380 watt versions.

These power supplies are difficult to find in the UK at the moment, though this will no doubt improve over the next few months as stocks begin to seep through.

The Enthusiast ~

480 watts of clean, low ripple voltage and a 48Amp +5V line make the Tagan a real contender for the high end market. The ability to handle a full 240 watts on the +3.3V and +5V combined lines is also better than many similar units can boast.

Nothing I was able to plug into this power supply caused it break a sweat, and that included a few Peltiers I had in a drawer, several water pumps and more. And with ten Molexes at your disposal the wiring combinations are almost endless even for the most peripheral-stuffed rigs. Twisted cables, gold plated connectors, high efficiency, neat and tidy internal layout, full range AC input, active PFC, ESD protection, the Tagan is very much about innovation without gimmick.

Both inside and out this is one of the finest power supplies I've looked at to date and it deserves your serious consideration. Watch your backs Antec and Enermax, there's a new kid in town and he's gunning for you!

** Tagan power supplies will be distributed in the UK by NanoPoint, we will publish more details on availability here as soon as we have them.**

UPDATE: Available from Gladiator Computers HERE

A Closer Look

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