A+GPB 450W Triple Ceramic Fan Power Supply Review

 

The power supply of a computer is often the most overlooked component of a system. A power supply is a component which powers up all of the things inside a system. Stability is maintained if the power supply can give off stable volt-rails. Some serious forms of fluctuation gives a signal that a better power supply is needed. I have experienced many problems where random restarts with a computer and other problems were fixed with a better power supply unit. Today’s high performing computers require lots of power and A+GPB Inc. hopes that this can be achieved with their brand new power supply line. Offering great price, aluminum housing, and ceramic fan cooling, we will see if this has the guts to perform.

First Impressions

The moment I laid eyes on the presentation (the box) I thought to myself: “This is quality”. The presentation is very well done.

Opening the box brings you to the unit itself. The unit was constructed out of aluminum housing yet was heavy. The heavier a power supply is, the better indication of quality from my experience. Aluminum also dissipates heat quicker than steel. It comes with the following:

• 450W Power Supply unit
• Screws
• Power cable

The power supplies finish is kickass quality.  The aluminum housing has a marble type look and is smooth, shiny and reflective.  It makes the product look even more sexier.

Kickass for any cases with a window 

The A+GPB 450W Triple Ceramic Fan Power Supply utilizes three fans. One is situated in the rear, underneath and on the other side like the one shown above. Only the fan underneath fan is a LED fan, which gives off a bright rainbow light. The fans are ARX CeraDyna Fans.

The A+GPB 450W Triple Ceramic Fan Power Supply has 8 molex, 4 FDD connectors, 1 ATX, 1 Aux and 1 P4 which use gold plated connectors. The wires are long and fit in a full tower case perfectly. The ATX connector is cable sleeved yet the actual power connectors are not just like other power supplies.  The power supply is also approved by Intel and AMD.

Ceramic fan you ask? Yeah, I was wondering the same thing. A+GPB claims that they are the first ones to ever use ceramic fans for their power supply cooling. They are sleeved bearing fans, and sleeve bearing fans are more quiet than ball-bearing ones.  Update: A+GPB informed me more about the ceramic fan.  Here is what they said, "We are the first power supply manufacturer which put a ceramic fan into the products. The type of ceramic fan is sleeve which means no noise. The material of fan shift (asile) is made by ceramic which means no heating problem. Usually, the problem is caused by fan when a power supply dead".  You make the conclusion...I think they mean the fan blades are made out of ceramic.

Update: A reader mentioned to me that ceramic is what one would make a bearing or "bushing" out of.  He also states that ceramic is also used to shield against heat sources...so even if a fan blade shaft spinning at 4000rpm's, it wont get hot and it won't wear down.  Thanks to this reader for pointing it out!

Ceramic fan

Here is the logo that says ceramic fan cooling.  It is the green colored sticker.

The rear of the unit is very unique.  First off there is an additional AC outlet for any other devices you may have.  This is a great feature because some of us have household outlets that are filled and with this power supply, you can plug it in here. 

Secondly, there is a fan speed control switch.  There are three options, that include Auto, Low, and High.  When on Auto mode, the power supply automatically speeds up the fan when temperatures reach over 30 degrees and spins at approximately 1500 RPM.  It continues to rise as the temperatures rise at a maximum of 3000RPM's at over 80 degrees.

Gold is the color throughout fan grills and connectors.  3rd fan.

Installed

I wanted to see the internal workings of this power supply and where all the weight came from.  I opened the 450W power supply and was surprised to see the great quality components used.  There were big blocks of aluminum and other capacitors present.  It was quite tight inside but it works.

Inside

One of the few CapXon heavy duty capacitors inside

Features

Sound

The box of the power supply claims that the power supply is noise free.  Upon starting it up for the first time without it connected to a computer I hit a problem.  The power supply would start making a cutting noise like it was hitting something.  I decided to open the power supply and figure out the problem of the matter.  I found out that the fan underneath was cutting along the fan wire of another fan.  I re-routed the fan wire to prevent it from touching anymore.  I hope this is only a matter of this power supply but I will say I question the factory workers who make these power supplies, try to use common sense when plugging in wires and such.

• Here is a movie of the problem.  (WMP 9 required for best playback) It shifts between Auto, Low, and Medium
• Here is a movie of the problem solved.  (WMP 9 required for best playback) It shifts between Auto, Low, and Medium.  This movie may sound louder because it was placed nearer to the PSU than the first one.  I think you will get the idea. 

After fixing the problem here is a movie of how quiet the power supply is.  It is barely heard when you leave it on Auto.  I have no hesitation telling you can use this if you want a high performance power supply for a quiet computer. 

As you can see, the power supply unit packs quite a punch with great ratings on voltages. This PSU should easily work for everyone’s needs. The maximum output for this particular power supply is 478W, well over the 450W specifications.

Testing

Testing will consist of showing you the temperatures inside the computer with the help of Soltek Hardware Monitor on an Soltek SL-FRN2-L motherboard. Since this is our first power supply test within the new motherboard, there will be no comparison.  Our system setup is as follows:

System

Cooling:

More information can be found in our system setup page.

The second test will be looking into voltages on idle and on load. The system was on idle for 30 minutes with no idling software. The Load results were taken from one hour of UT 2003.

Results

Idle (30 mins)	Load (Toast 5 mins)
12V = 11.80V	12V = 11.75
5V = 4.99V	5V = 4.99
-12V = -12.29	-12V = -12.35
-5V = -5.09	-5V = -5.04

We encountered no stability problems throughout testing.

Conclusion

This power supply is great.  This power supply performs very well and voltages were very good.  With visual flair, power and almost no noise, the A+GPB 450W Triple Ceramic Fan Power Supply is a great power supply to have. As today’s high speed computers require more power, I advise that if you are on the market for a great power supply and cost that is cheap in price, please pick up the A+GPB 450W Triple Ceramic Fan Power Supply.  It is kickass with a cheap price tag.  It's a steal.

I rate the A+GPB 450W Triple Ceramic Fan Power Supply a...

9/10!

Pros & Cons

+ Power dude
+ Sexy
+ Plenty of Molex connectors
+ ATX cable is sleeved
+ Stable
+ Aluminum construction
+ Price-performance-cooling ratio + 3 year warranty!
+ Quiet
- Fan wire problem. I question factory workers.

Let me thank A+GPB Inc. for making this review possible.

Alternative Pricing:

• Newegg: $59.99U.S. - 2nd last one near the end of the page
• BostonBestPC: $58U.S.

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