XG Magnum 500W

Performance:

Although we tested the XG Magnum 500W in one of our open-air systems, we also had installed it in an Antec SLK3700AMB enclosure. When doing so, we encountered no installation problems with the fan-less power supply. The test system we utilized consisted of the following components:

The Venice was overclocked to 2.7GHz (300 X 9) at 1.7 volts. The RAM was run on a 166/200 divider, which resulted in a frequency of 250MHz. The load voltages were taken while running CPU Burn-In v1.00 (Linux) and Doom 3 for 30 minutes. The idle voltages on the other hand were taken while no processes were running on the system. The voltages were all measured using a Craftsman Digital Multimeter. Also for this Magnum power supply, there were wattage and temperature readings in the back of the unit. During our testing, the unit temperature most often read 46°C, while the reported idle wattage was 114W and the load wattage was a respectable 180W.

Conclusion:

As you can see in the results, the performance of this unit was impressive. While gaming, the rails barely fluctuate at all. In addition, the unit was virtually silent. There is a very faint buzzing sound that can be heard if you put your ear on the unit, but otherwise it can't be heard and inside of a computer case, the noise will practically not exist. Also, for a "passive" unit, this power supply runs very cool and should not add significant heat to your system. If you are looking for a powerful, stable PSU that doesn't add any noise to your current system, then we have no problems recommending this product. Of course thanks goes out to XG for sending us this sample.