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- Date:
- Wednesday, October 24, 2007
- Author:
- Paul Johnson
- Editor:
- Kyle Bennett
- Google +1
Kingwin ABT-800MA1S Mach 1 800w PSU
Kingwin is better known for hard drive enclosures and 12v case fans than computer power supplies. Is that coming to an end as it steps into the high end PSU ring with a very flashy unit that brings with it a hopefully stable 800 watts of power?
Overview
The first thing we are going to look at with the Kingwin ABT-800MA1S is its packaging, accessories, and documentation. While normally none of these items is a make or break item for a power supply the packaging quite often contains a lot of information about the product we are purchasing. The inclusion of an owner’s manual that provides actual information about our product is also of great help. Accessories are almost unnecessary with a power supply as the unit is self contained, unless it is modular, but there are cases where a manufacturer can include useful accessories to make installation, routing, and use more efficient.
The Kingwin ABT-800MA1S comes in a rather colorfully decorated box complete with carrying handle. The packaging has a good bit of information on it including the number of connectors, types of connectors, SLI certification sticker, and a lot of marketing points. While the packaging does lack the power table, the one reproduced below comes from the manual and unit itself. It does make a number of claims that we will test and render opinions on today such as being highly efficient, quiet, and the like. The unit doesn’t define its noise level in solid terms as some brands have but it does define the efficiency value in solid terms as 75% or better at typical loads. With many units above 80% throughout their rated capacity these days I would hardly call 75% at typical loads high efficiency anymore, but as yet we haven’t tested that claim so for all we know at this point it could be a conservative rating. Now while the unit carries the SLI logo and is SLI certified for 8800GTS it also has the strange marketing bullet point that reads “Compliance with nVIDIA/ATI SLI specification.” This meant a quick check of the ATI CrossFire page was in order but the Kingwin was nowhere to be found on the list at the time of writing. This could simply mean that the unit has the request power connectors though and not that it has been certified by ATI/AMD for CrossFire since it is not currently on the CrossFire page. Worth noting, there is no “ATI SLI” specification to our knowledge.
The packaging nor the manual references the length of warranty on the Kingwin ABT-800MA1S, but after checking the Kingwin website we find that the warranty terms are this:
All of our products carry a ONE YEAR WARRANTY. However, the retailors are responsible for the first month. The manufacture warranty will take effect one month after your purchasing date.
Only a one year warranty is certainly on the short side for higher end power supplies and is more commonly found on budget oriented offerings like we recently saw in our $50 Roundup.
From the power label above we find the Kingwin ABT-800MA1S has a combined 60A available on its "4" 12v rails for 90% of its capacity available to the 12v outputs. Now of real interest on the power label is that the Kingwin ABT-800MA1S is specified as having a voltage regulation of -5% and +7% which would be outside the +/-5% of the ATX12v specification. Why the unit has this lopsided specification is unknown but specifying a unit for values outside of the commonly accepted ATX12v specifications is not good. We also find that like many newer power supplies the Kingwin ABT-800MA1S does not strictly meet the ATX12v or EPS standard for rail distribution but the rail distribution on this unit is very helpful for users planning on running dual VGA systems as each set of PCI-Express connectors is on its own 12v rail that has a combined 42A available to the PCI-Express connectors. While the Kingwin includes two 6-pin PCI-Express connectors and two 8-pin PCI-Express connectors the 8-Pin PCI-Express connectors are accomplished by using taps off of 2 of the existing grounds as opposed to being straight through 8-pin connectors. Finally, the unit features 6 SATA and 8 Molex connectors that should be sufficient for the vast majority of high end systems.
Once we open the Kingwin ABT-800MA1S packaging we find the usual assortment of power supply items including the power supply itself, the power cord, mounting screws, manual, and since the unit is modular a plastic tray containing all the cables. The manual with this unit is typical of what SuperFlower provides with their branded power supplies and is one of the most thorough on the market, period. There really is no doubt about exactly what your power supply is, or is supposed to do, when you open the manual as it spells out everything a user could want in regards to the unit. The manual is only 4 pages long in English but it includes the pinouts, the housing end modular connector information, all the electrical specifications needed, safety certifications, features, and power tables for all units in this product line. The only thing missing from the manual is the warranty information as discussed previously. Since all of this can easily be done in plain English in a 4 page manual it makes it all that much more curious as to why other companies do not do the same.