Installation & Performance:

By installing a product will I find the fun in any review. It is in part the experience that counts. The cable length ought to be sufficient for the very demanding case design, accordingly it is BTX ready. The power socket location of WinPower 550 is a tad too close to the top in some "cases"; as the one I am using. Other area of concern is the 2x4 Pin connector with wiring not split far enough for the ease of installation; remember the use of 4-pin 12v header you need to separate the 2x4 connector. Otherwise, the installation is pretty straight forward.


Click to enlarge



A little cutting and bending, the mounting screws are secured; how many users will do this before they return the product? Placing the socket about 3mm lower will ensure 100% compatibility as I checked a few cases around me including Lian-Li, Antec, Sunbeam, Chenbro and Codegen.

Another minor point is the fan grill and screws not being recessed; this may prevent smooth installation in cases such as certain Lian-Li or models alike where the PSU must slide in from the back (rear) of the case with very tight fit; requiring the removal of fan grill/screws and reinstallation once the PSU is inside the case.

Lazyman’s Test Setup
Case and Cooling	X-Dreamer II case with fans at 2000rpm: - 2x80mm intake - 2x80mm exhaust - 1x80mm top blower
CPU	AMD Opteron 165 @2.6 Ghz, 1.475vcore
Motherboard	DFI LanParty UT Ultra D (2x40mm fan added over PWM)
Memory	GSKill PC4400 2x512Mb
Other	DVD R/W, DVD CD ROM Geforce 6200 Hitachi 160GB SATA HDD Leadtek XP2000 Deluxe XP Pro SP2 + latest updates

MBM5 and Sears Craftsman Autoranging Digital Multimeter 82028 with temp probe are used to monitor and measure voltage and temperature. Power Angel is used for power consumption comparison. Smart Sensor digital sound meter is used to measure sound level. For comparison, I am putting the WinPower against one of the top performers with similar output and design, the Seasonic S-12 500.

Load measurement is done by running 2xPrime95 and 3DMark01 (3 loops)




WinPower 550 is neck to neck in performance against Seasonic S-12, with 12 volt rail slightly lower at both idle and load while the 3.3 Volt rail is a bit higher than the S-12.



The power efficiency factor clearly shows Seasonic is ahead. As it stands, WinPower has a power efficiency of ~73%.

Sound & Temperature

External temp probe was placed on the heatsink (ambient temp 20°C), idle temp = low, 2XPrime95 and 3 loops of 3Dmark01 = high temp.



Noise level in dBA was taken on bench with 37.8 dBA ambient noise level; Smart sensor digital meter was placed about 4mm from the fan grill. High noise level was obtained by using a heat gun blowing onto the intake fan with temp on the heatsink reached ~ 50°C. Win Power does not provide fan sensor lead. so I could not check the fan’s RPM.



The temp reading should have been done by stressing the power supply to its max, the lack of proper equipment at my end prevent me from conducting the test as such. Please note that the 55 dBA reading using maximum fan speed does not and may not mean the condition exist under maximum load.

Final thought and conclusion ->