Lets take a closer look at those aircraft style connections.  I am a big fan of this style of modular connection.  Not only does it look pretty sweet, it also help ensure a solid connection helping to eliminate the biggest weakness in a modular power supply.

     The aircraft style modular design is carried out in each of the cables as well.  Simply push the cable into the keyed socket and tighten the screws to firmly seat the plug.  No guess work in the plugs here.

The Install:

          I installed the Mach 1 800 Watt Power Supply into my Super Flower SF-201T three windowed case.   The build includes an Intel Pentium Core Duo 2 6600 cooled by an AeroCool GT-1000, a Connect3D X1900 XT video card cooled by a CoolerMaster Cool Viva Pro, an Auzentech X-Meridian with the X-Tension DIN attached and a 2x 1 GB kit of Crucial Ballistix DDR2-8000 mounted on an ASUS P5W DH Deluxe.  Storage was provided by 2 x WD 74 GB Raptors in a RAID0, a Seagate 750 GB storage drive, a Lite-on DVD burner and a Plextor PX-755SA 16x DVD burner.  The case also uses a combined set of 7 cold cathodes and 4 extra 80 mm fans drawing power from the 12 V runs directly.

     And the finished build!  There is an amazing amount of wiring running in this case but the convenience of modular means I only install the runs I need.  Of course, having three windows means even the smallest addition of cable management goes a long way.

If you have a top window the Mach 1 really stands out.

And with the lights down it will steal the show.

     As you can see, the Mach 1 800 watt is one of the best looking power supplies on the market.  So let see how it performs!

     To test the Mach 1 I ran the system overnight idle before capturing these numbers using the ASUS AI Probe II.  Although the test build isn't exactly power hungry every rail remained stable.

           Next I put each build under load by running Passmark's BurnIn Test and Futuremark's 3DMark06 simultaneously or about 15 minutes in two back to back sessions.

     Here you can see the numbers captured at load.  The Mach 1 has no problem with the system under load.  Our numbers only change slightly from the idle readings and remain rock solid.

     To further test the stability I loaded up Sisoftware's Sandra Version XI Sp4.  Sandra is an industry leader in performance tuning and benchmarking offering one of the more reliable environmental monitors on the market.  As you can see form the graph above, the stability of each rail is confirmed by Sandra.  Only a slight waver in th e+5 Volt rail is detected even during stress testing.

     The stability of the rail voltage remains consistent while idle in the BIOS.  To test the stability I also used my trusty Cen-Tech multi-tester to monitor the +12 V rails during a 2 hour session of World in Conflict.  Not surprisingly,  I never noticed a significant change in voltage on any of the +12 V rails.  Overall I found a average variance of about +/-1 V. Since the specs don't mention if the rails are independent I tried daisy chaining everything possible onto a single +12 V rail.  The Mach 1 handled it with ease.

Conclusion:

      The Mach 1 800 Watt modular power supply is not just another pretty face.  This power supply has been designed to handle today's top builds and still have the flexibility to grow with you into tomorrows technologies.  I just cant say enough about how attractive the finished build looks even with tree windows to show every nook and cranny.  Our test build was unable to put a noticeable dent in any of the rails despite the addition of nearly every accessory in the shop on a single 12 V rail.  The Mach 1 is not the most efficient power supply or even the most powerful but the combination of power and the unique modular design make this power supply stand out from the crowd.

Innovation:	10 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
Value:	9.5 out of 10
Overall Rating 9.5
Project Skill Level (10 being most difficult)	4 out of 10