NZXT HALE90 Modular Power Supply

Instalation:

Test Rig:

MotherBoard: Jetway HI06
CPU: Intel i5-750
GPU: Nvidia 9800GTX+
Cooling: Thermaltake Frio
Ram: Patriot Sector 5 Viper II DDR3

Installation of a power supply is very straightforward, there were no hiccups. And as promised the 550mm ATX cable allowed for significantly easier cable management than previous power supplies have.

As I did note before this power supply does have some size to it. It was no problem to place in my Thermaltake V3 mid tower case, however, I believe this could easily pose a problem if this were a smaller rig.

Testing:

The grading scale used to rate these power supplies is awarded by 80plus.org. Of the over 2300 power supplies rated by this organization, less than 300 are Gold plus certified, there is only one Power supply with a higher rating, and it appears to be server grade. This is a prestigious level to attain. Essentially the certification means that the power supply is at least 87% efficient all load capacities. In fact at 50% capacity these power supplies are 90% efficient. By comparison some cellphone chargers don’t reach 15% efficiency.

To test this power supply I used a Kill-A-Watt to compare the kilowatts per hour in comparison with my previous power supply an OCZ mod Xstream-Pro 700 watt. Thus we will be able to see the real benefit (if any) of a 80+ gold certified power supply over a standard 80 Plus model.

kw-per-h

Well the numbers don’t lie. There is a noticeable difference over simply an hours time between the two power supplies. I was surprised, its also important to note that my power requirements are quite meager by comparison to some systems with the new 400 series nVidia cards. I have been using the power supply for approximately four days and I have observed that my system temperature is two degrees cooler than it was previous. NZXT’s promise of a cooler, more efficient design holds up.

Here are two graphs from NZXT’s page detailing their results in the test environment. This power supply seems practically silent, I have had power supplies in the past that contributed significantly to the “wind tunnel” effect some people complain about on their rigs.

Conclusion:

When you look at the whole package, its hard to deny. The prospect of Having a unique, more power efficient power supply doesn’t have any drawbacks. Even excluding the increased power efficiency of this power supply, they have still included longer cabling for increased compatibility and airflow, a unique appearance, and a rock solid 5 year warranty. I am hard pressed to find drawbacks to this PSU. I frequently leave my system running, to perform any number of tasks I may not want to wait around for, while the power savings are seemingly marginal by comparison, they add up over time. Those savings alone probably won’t warrant everyone rushing out and replacing their existing 80plus; however with a power range from 550 to 1000 watts, you should defiantly consider NZXT’s HALE 90 line up for your power supply.