Leads And Connectors
Elan Vital has a unique way of meeting the requirements of the ATX12V 2.01 standard. Instead of a standard 24 pin connector, the device users a proprietary 20 pin connector while the company also furnishes a 24 pin adapter for its motherboard connection. In the future, the company plans to equip the device with a standard 24 pin connector, and provide an adapter for those who want to use the proprietary 20 pin connector.
The device supports up to 7 5.25" peripheral connections, one of which is black and meant for use with a graphics adapter. Next to a single floppy connector you'll also find two SATA connectors (but it would be nice if they offered more). For other kinds of connections, an obligatory P4-connector is also included.
Performance
Nothing is missing from the nameplate on the Greenerger power supply
The device has no problems running in Light Mode (at power loads of 20% of rated maximum power output). When it's running in SSM mode, the device runs silently; even after running for an hour, the fan never turned on. All measurements were within acceptable norms.
At Medium Load levels, silence remained the rule. At power loads of 50% of rated maximum power output, the fan never turned on. At Maximum Load levels, all 500 watts were drawn from the power supply. After a few seconds the fan began to move, but started at a relatively low speed. Even after prolonged use, the fan never became uncomfortably loud. But as long as the maximum output power levels were maintained, the fan kept running. When consumption was backed off, the fan would turn off several minutes later. Better still, even at Maximum Load all measurements remained within acceptable norms.
Efficiency ratings for the Greenerger power supply were uniformly positive. Despite the vendor's claims of 80% operating efficiency, our own measurements showed a respectable 75% at Maximum Load, and 78.7% at Medium Load.
The price of US$130 (139€) is just about right.
