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A
Closer Look:::...
What
I like about this power supply is the number of available
connectors and the way they're implemented. Tagan were (I
believe) the first to offer both a 24-pin and 20-pin ATX
compatibility out of the box, though because it's 24-pin
as standard it means most users need to use the slightly
clumsy supplied adapter for use with regular 20-pin ATX
motherboards.
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Connectors
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This
one takes a different route however in that it has a regular
20-pin ATX connector and a separate 4-pin connector that
you use in conjunction with it if you need to plug in to
a server or other 24-pin motherboard. This is much more
elegant that the bulky adapter used with the 480 watt PSU
we looked at.
There's
also a dedicated, shielded VGA cable which can be converted
for use with PCI-Express cards using the supplied adapter.
If that little industry first doesn't impress, then I can
tell you that Tagan today (9th November 2004) announced
that their latest batch of 420watt PSUs will come with a
native integrated PCI Express connector.
Another
clever touch is the two piece auxiliary connector that instantly
converts from a regular 4-pin to an 8-pin connector just
by coupling them.
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Patented
Connectors
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There's
also a dedicated, shielded power feed for your graphics
card or, if you don't need the extra power there, for your
hard drive. In addition to being a single connector line
to keep power supplied as cleanly as possible, this is shielded
to stop EMI and the associated screen flicker you sometimes
get from fans and the like.
Running
the PSU on the desk gives you an idea how it will look in
place. Tagan have fitted illuminated fans to both ends of
the unit which I rather like but which anyone with a case
lighting scheme in any colour that doesn't go well with
blue will hate.
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Lit
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In
the dark it looks even better, but, and I make no apologies
for stating the obvious, you really won't get any benefit
from the lights unless you have a window in your case's
side panel. You will get a cool, blue glow on any wall that
the back of your case may sit close to but that's about
it.
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Lit
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Initially
I assumed the glow in the round window came from the two
fans, but with the cover off it became apparent that there
are actually a pair of blue LEDs (arrowed) positioned on
either side of the acrylic and held in place with some kind
of nasty looking adhesive. It won't be seen by anyone who
isn't destroying their warranty anyway so it doesn't have
to look pretty....and it doesn't.
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Internal
Window LEDs
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I
also noticed that the Tagan trademark of using rubber washers
between the fan and casing is to help isolate noise (arrowed)
is still being used, though on our supply only one of the
two fans was mounted this way. I'm not sure if that's a
design decision or a quality control glitch, but as operation
was near silent it wasn't much of an issue as it transpired.
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Rubber
Fan Buffers
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