Conclusion:
Overall, the
Xclio Stable Power 500W Power Supply is a decent unit. It has a few faults, but nothing that should stop you from considering this power supply for purchase. It offers the connections you need for a modern system, quiet operation, and as the name implies it does provide fairly 'stable power'.
After completing the evaluation of this unit, it was installed into a home theater system of a friend that was complaining that his power supply was just too loud. With the
Xclio Stable Power 500W Power Supply installed he agreed with me that it is near impossible to pinpoint the power supply noise, and in fact he now hears his CPU cooler and video fans, and has new noise reduction projects to work on!
I found only one significant point of concern on this power supply, and that is with the amount of hot air coming out of the back. While this can be attributed to a high performance fan blowing out more warm system air, it seems more likely that the heat is being generated within the power supply. I am concerned about the increased room temperature, and whether this unit's efficiency is the culprit.
The other issues I found are more of a personal preference and do not take away from the power supply. These issues include the lack of cable wrapping (which does help to keep a tidy interior), the lack of an 8-pin auxiliary power connector, and that the single SATA lead can obviously create installation issues for those with drives located in different areas of their case.
A search of
PriceGrabber did not return any exact matches for the Xclio Stable Power 500W, but a broader search of the Internet finds it at online retailers such as
Newegg.com. With a price tage of $69.99 it costs about what I would expect, and is a reasonable amount to pay for a 500W power supply of this quality.
Pros:
» 14cm fan
» Active PFC
» Quiet
Cons:
» Cables not wrapped
» No 8-Pin auxiliary power
» Significant hot air exhaust
» No potentiometer for voltage rail adjustment
» One SATA lead with 4 connectors can be difficult to use
Special thanks to
Xclio for providing the Xclio Stable Power 500W Power Supply to Bigbruin.com for review!
