The Basics:
I have never been a big fan of the mirror finish look, so the paint job on the Real Power 550W was a nice surprise. It is shiny and flawless, however it does not have a mirror finish. If you tend to show off your power supply, then a mirror finish might be important to you.
In this image you can see the 120mm fan. It is positioned behind a standard black fan grill. This is easy to remove and replace should you want a flashier fan grill. However, unless you open the power supply to hold the fan in place, take care doing this as the fan could move and make it more difficult to install a different grill. The fan is a nice blue LED unit, which can also be replaced (although you will void your warranty).
The left image shows off the typical sticker panel found on any power supply, which details the basic specifications, approvals, and so on. If you look closely at the sticker, you will see the 3.3V+ and 5V+ have a combined power output of 191W, which is a sufficient amount of power to these rails. This panel is found on both sides of the power supply. The image on the right shows off the rear of the PSU, where the honey-comb openings allow for nearly unrestricted airflow. This will help the air flow, and help keep all the internal components cool. There is no voltage switch, since this power supply auto regulates the power.
Finally, we have the top of the power supply, which unless you have a clear case, you will most likely never see again (at least until it's time to change cases, or swap power supplies). This area is plain, and again, it has a flawless finish (I caused the little scratch on it when I dropped a screwdriver on it).
As you can see in the below left image,
Cooler Master did not wrap the cables (other than the 24 pin power cable), which for me, is the biggest issue with this power supply. However, they did do a nice job keeping the cables separated, and used many cable ties to keep them secure. The cables are pretty long, and I had no issues routing them, and reaching any location within my Thermaltake Shark full tower case. On the cable with the SATA connections I was able to reach the bottom of the case, with the first SATA connection on the cable, with two connections left.
In the above right image we see the location on the power supply where the cables come out. You may notice that there is nothing to protect the cables. They rub against the metal of the power supply housing. I would like to see some kind of plastic ring to help protect the cables. However, this area is not sharp, and I do not foresee any issue with the cables being cut (at least not through normal use).
