Enermax 350W Powersupply Overview

Does that old 250W not cut it anymore? Running a few peltiers on that Athlon or CuMine? Looking for something with a little more juice.... then have a look this 350W monster with motherboard fanspeed monitor from Enermax.

350W ATX-E Power Supply 90mm BB intake fan 80mm BB exhaust fan Thermally controlled fans, with visible BB MB Fan speed monitor Noiseless, Long life Meets Intel 2.01 & 2.03 Ver. Real "sleeping mode" PS (fan control) 8 HDD, 1 FDD connectors 115V/230V 1 meter long wire leads Cost: $80 CDN

Probably the first thing anyone who has this powersupply will notice are the clear fan blades which visibly show off the Ball Bearings. I guess Enermax realize a lot of OEM's claim to use ball bearing based fan systems but don't always deliver. We've had one or two experiences with that. Mfg's insisted ball bearings were used, but with closer inspections (ie taking the fan apart) sleeve bearings were what was actually used. Granted it may be a little thing to worry about, but I have several powersupplies that have been junked because the sleeve bearings dried out and seized, therein causing the powersupply to go above its rated operating temp. Nothing like the smell of flux coming from one's computer to get the heart racing...

The EG351P-V we have was put into a mini-server case, an essentially bar fridge sized contraption. The areas which house the motherboard and cards is separated by a wall from the hard drive and another components like the CD-ROM. The powersupply is located in this region, so the wires have to travel a ways to get to the mother board, and any case fans. Enter in the long ATX power connector - about 30", and the three sets of HDD connectors which stretch about 1 meter. Long wires a definite must for a server case, and an added luxury for a full tower.

The only problem we saw with the powersupply had to do with the fan monitoring cable. It worked well enough, but the fan speed was lower because of the sheer size of the fan, and the particular monitoring software we used (AOpen) assumed it was a bad fan, rather then a case fan. Its a great feature to have, so long as the software behind it is good.

Full Specs