5 Power Supplies Get the Full Juice Treatment

Test Candidates In Detail

CoolerMaster Real Power RS-550-ACLY

We included a beta version of the RealPower 550 Watt power supply in our live stress test last year. In those tests, this unit shut down quickly when run under heavy load. The manufacturer investigated these findings and fixed its problems in this final production version. The RealPower 550 model we tested this time around made it through our test regimen without a single glitch.

CoolerMaster even paid attention to our remarks that the unit was pictured upside-down on the retail box. The new unit arrived at our door in a box that showed the unit right side up this time around.

What's unusual about the RealPower power supply is its Total Power Consumption Display, which meters the power consumption of the PSU in real-time. Alas, CoolerMaster has done nothing to improve the display indicator: it's just as hard to read as the earlier model, and its small indicator only imparts its readings at very close range. To us, this makes the display of little practical value or use.

Users can select either a black or silver colored bezel to surround the front-panel display.

CoolerMaster has done nothing to improve the indicator's readability: you can only make it out at very close range.