Rosewill Quark 1000 Power Supply Review

Today we take a look at Rosewill's Quark 1000. In addition to 80 PLUS Platinum efficiency and fully modular cabling, this $200 unit can support multiple GPUs.

By Aris Mpitziopoulos
published

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Packaging, Contents, Exterior And Cabling

Packaging

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On the face of the box we find a nice depiction of the quark, an elementary particle and a fundamental constituent of matter, according to Wikipedia. On the front right-bottom corner, we find two badges depicting 80 PLUS Platinum efficiency and the Quark 1000's five-year warranty. On the back of the box, Rosewill provides a brief features list, along with the power specifications table and a graphical list describing the available connectors.

Contents

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Packing foam protects the PSU inside the box, ensuring that it will reach customers in pristine condition. The bundle includes a pouch for storing the unused modular cables, the user's manual, some zip ties, an AC power cord and the necessary modular cables.

Exterior

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The PSU has a high-quality matte finish. Instead of the classic honeycomb exhaust on the front, the punched fan grill offers a unique look. The large on/off switch is installed below the AC receptacle (with the fan facing upward), while the power specifications label is on the bottom of the PSU.

Around back, we find a fully modular panel and a series of LED indicators, which depict the proper (and improper) operation of all rails. Normally these should be all green; if they're not, something is wrong. The only thing users should keep in mind is that in order to see the LED indicators, a windowed case is required. And even with a windowed case, if the PSU is installed at the bottom with its fan facing down, the LEDs will not be easy to see. Indicators are mostly useful when you use a PSU outside of its case or on a bench table. We're willing to bet that won't be how most folks use this unit, since usually more powerful PSUs are typically found on bench tables. 

Cabling

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Rosewill was rather conservative in its choice of cables, since they're neither flat nor stealth. Since this unit is competing in the high-end 1kW PSU category, the company should have offered better cables. Overall, cable sleeving is decent; however, the main ATX cable is rather short, leaving a significant part of the wiring exposed.

Aris Mpitziopoulos
Aris Mpitziopoulos
Contributing Editor

Aris Mpitziopoulos is a Contributing Editor at Tom's Hardware US, covering PSUs.

9 Comments Comment from the forums
  • ern88
    I don't know of Rosewill is any better then it was a few years ago. I had friends with a rosewill PSU and it baked big time. Maybe they are better now. But I would stick with EVGA or another well known good company!!!
    Reply
  • justaguywithagun
    i wouldnt hesitate to replace my ~7y/o antec TP750 with a nice rosewill capstone unit when the time comes. in fact, thats essentially my plan. would i throw any rosewill unit in my rig/s? no i wouldnt, but every manufacturer i can think of has units that are less than desirable. rosewill has a come a long long way the last few years
    Reply
  • Calculatron
    1000 rules of acquisition?
    Reply
  • Larry Litmanen
    I don't know of Rosewill is any better then it was a few years ago. I had friends with a rosewill PSU and it baked big time. Maybe they are better now. But I would stick with EVGA or another well known good company!!!

    Obviously EVGA has amazing brand name and they deserve it because of their level of service. However as far as i know EVGA does not have any PSU making plants, they simply rebrand a unit made by Seaconic or another OEM. Many companies do that, so you can probably buy exactly the same unit from a different brand.

    I am not sure if Rosewill builds or rebrands, but i had their products and they are not bad, i personally have not had any issues.
    Reply
  • Aris_Mp
    Several Rosewill PSUs are build by Super Flower, the same OEM that also makes most of EVGA's offerings.
    Reply
  • none12345
    "I don't know of Rosewill is any better then it was a few years ago. I had friends with a rosewill PSU and it baked big time. Maybe they are better now. But I would stick with EVGA or another well known good company!!! "

    I duno if their large ones are as good. But ive had a 550 watt running in this computer for 6.5 years now with no problem. This is the first roswell one i had tried. Thats the longest ive ever stayed on the same power supply.(In the past it was either fry, or had to upgrade the size because of ever increasing component power usage)
    Reply
  • tomtom234
    companies that manufacture a Rosewill psu

    http://www.orionpsudb.com/rosewill
    Reply
  • Aris_Mp
    Like every company that wants to do well into this market Rosewill doesn't rely on only one manufacturer. They had strong ties with Super Flower in the past however they decided to go with other OEMs as well, since SF became so popular and cannot meet the demands of all the companies that want their products.
    Reply
  • Shalmaneser
    Does anyone actually do OCP, OVP, OPP / OLP, OTP, UVP, SCP, and
    NLO? (Something of a rhetorical question), short answer from google is no...

    Also, why is the list graphical? I'd like to have a character list to search through...
    Reply