Enermax Whisper II 2.0 535W SLI

With the latest NVIDIA PCI Express graphics cards consuming an incredible amount of power, and when two of these GeForce 6 or 7 cards are paired together for SLI (Scalable Link Interface), the strain put upon the power source is harrowing. In an effort to separate the mediocre SLI-compatible power supplies from those that can confidently handle the needs, NVIDIA has their SLI-Ready certification program. Although there is a wealth of graphics cards certified by NVIDIA for SLI compatibility, the PSU certification process is a bit more strenuous with its burn-in phase, diagnostics, and testing. In fact, at the time of publication for this article, there are only 13 power supplies that meet the official criteria for NVIDIA SLI certification. Antec, Enermax, PC Power & Cooling, Seasonic, SilverStone, and Sunbeamtech manufacture these certified PSUs. Although many fail to meet the stringent NVIDIA requirements they continue to market their units with two 6-pin PCI Express connectors for SLI use, however, the power supply we have up for review today is officially supported by the SLI folks over at NVIDIA. This power supply is the Enermax Whisper II (EG565P-VE FMA). We not only will be stressing this 535W with the latest in NVIDIA graphics, but also a power hungry Pentium D dual-core processor.

Features:

· Maximum Power: 535W (support both 24pins and 20pins motherboards)
· Input Voltage: 90V~135V or 90V~265V
· Input Frequency Range: 47Hz~63Hz
· Input Current: 40A/115V and 80A/230V max. during cold start
· Hold up time: 17ms at 115VAC or 230VAC, full load
· Over Voltage Protection: +5V: 5.5V~7.0V; +3.3V:3.76V~4.3V; +12V & +12V2: 13.4V~15.6V
· Over Load Protection: 110~160% of max load
· Over Current Protection: +3.3V : 55A (max); +5V: 48A (max); +12V1 & +12V2: 20A (max)
· Over Temperature Protection: Operating Ambient 10ºC~40ºC, Storage Ambient -40ºC~70ºC
· Humidity: Operating: to 85% relative humidity, non condensing at 25ºC; Storage: to 95% relative humidity, non condensing at 50ºC
· MTBF: Greater than 100K hours at 70% of full rated load; 230VAC / 50Hz input; 25ºC ambient
· EMC: EN55022 Class B, EN61000-4-2 Class B, EN61000-4-3 Class A, EN61000-4-4 Class B, EN61000-4-5 Class B, EN61000-4-6 Class A, EN61000-4-8 Class A, EN61000-4-11 Class B, FCC Part 15 & Part 2, CNS 13438 Class B
· Safety: Approval UL, cUL, TÜV, CB
· Dimension: W150 x H86 x D140 (mm)

Contents:

With the six manufacturers offering thirteen distinct PSUs, Enermax holds the lead with offering the largest quantity of SLI approved models with a total of four that consist of the EG565P-VE, EG651AX-VH EPS12V 550W, EG851AX-VH EPS12V 660W, and EG701AX Noisetaker 600W. Receiving the EG565P-VE 535W we were quite mesmerized by the PSUs incredibly large size, however, included with the SLI-certified PSU is a bonus item. After glancing over the wealth of information prominently displayed on all sides of the packaging, we opened up the package and found the actual 535W SLI PSU, Enermax case badge sticker, 8-pin to 4-pin P4 motherboard connector, US power cable, mounting screws, and user's manual. The gifts included with the power supply were an Enermax lanyard and an odd-looking Enermax bag. This high quality bag, although we're unsure on its intended purpose, offers a shoulder strap and pockets inside with enough room to handle a power supply and perhaps some accessories. It may simply serve as a useful bag for LAN party attendees to carry a few of their belongings. Protecting the power supply was bubble wrap as all of the components were fit together in the cardboard casing quite tightly. We would like to point out, our first Enermax Whisper II 535W unit was actually dead on arrival, however, there simply cannot be a 100% manufacturing success rate and the folks at Maxpoint/Enermax USA quickly shipped out a replacement unit.