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Cooler Master iGreen
Power 430W Power Supply Review
The install:
I installed the iGreen Power
430W into my
XION Gamer II case. The build is based on my ASUS A8N-SLI Deluxe
motherboard and includes an Athlon 64 3000+,
2x 1gig OCZ Gold Edition XTC DDR, the
HDA X-Plosion and a
Gigabyte X1800 XL. The supported drives for this build are two 30
Gig Western Digital drives, a Lite-on DVD Burner,
a Seagate SATA 750 GB drive and a Plextor SATA DVD Burner. The
iGreen 430W also powers three fans and a total of 5 cathode lights
and even the drive lines are running EL wire accents. For a gaming rig,
this is one of the more power hungry boxes in the lab.
First I installed the power supply
and ran power to the motherboard. The ASUS A8N-SLI Deluxe uses the 4
pin power lead and can also use an extra 12 V run for SLI
installations. With the single X1800 card the MB 12 V is not used in
this install.
Next I ran the drive runs and
cleaned everything up with a couple of matching cable ties. The
black mesh sleeves make a great contrast against the green of our Club
Overclocker themed rig. I guess I will have to get the rest of
those cables cleaned up next..
The Tests:
To test the iGreen, I first ran the
system at idle over night. Then using the ASUS PC Probe utility I
captured these numbers. With no lights to go by and a sound level far
below the rest of the system, its hard to even tell if the iGreen is
working. A quick look at the numbers reveals no surprises here.
I double checked the idle numbers
in the BIOS after a 15 minute run. There is a slight variance we can
expect from running a minimal system but everything looks great.
To test the draw at load, I ran the
system for over 30 minutes using
Passmark's Burnin
Test 5.1. This runs the system at peak load to really stress the
components. The above screen shot shows the rails during the last
portion of the test. The only real variance was in the +12V
rails and measured in at a very slight +/- .1W, the rest of the readings
remained smooth as glass through the testing. Not too bad for a
430W power supply. As always, I confirmed the readings were
accurate with my trusty voltmeter. Some small variance is to be
expected in any power supply so these readings look excellent.
Conclusion:
The iGreen Power 430W power supply
is really designed to meet a more casual upgrader's needs. The lack
of SLI support and the missing 8 pin power lead will send most power
users on to the higher end iGreen 500W and 600W units. But for
those looking for an upgrade or replacement power supply, the iGreen
430W should be more than adequate for most PC needs. I can't get
over how quiet the iGreen 430 is when idling and the 85% efficiency
should save you some bucks in the long run. Saving power and
protecting the environment isn't something we usually associate with a
performance PC, fortunately Cooler Master has us taken care of.
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Club
Overclocker Rating |
|
Innovation: |
8.5
out of 10 |
|
Performance: |
9.0 out of 10 |
|
Quality: |
10
out of 10 |
|
Stability: |
9.0
out of 10 |
|
Overclocking: |
N/A |
|
Software/Drivers Pack: |
N/A |
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Value: |
9.0 out of 10 |
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Overall Rating
9.0 |
 |
|
Skill Level |
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Project Skill Level
(10 being hardest) |
4
out of 10 |
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