![[H]ardOCP](/images/blank.gif){kind=small}
- Date:
- Wednesday, July 02, 2008
- Author:
- Paul Johnson
- Editor:
- Kyle Bennett
- Google +1
Sigma Shark SP-635 Power Supply
Looking for something different when it comes to power supplies with a bit more "coolness" in how it looks? Sigma steps up with a Shark that looks to swim a stealthy path, but does it have the bite to go along with the sharkskin suit?
Build Quality
As we already know the Sigma Shark SP-635 features a dual overhead 80mm fan design. This design is billed as being quieter than a conventional single 80mm fan design and as such is employed in the same vein as the 120mm fan design that has come to be the preferred standard for quiet cooling environments due to the ability to move a larger volume of air at slower speeds than a smaller diameter fan, such as a single high speed 80mm fan favored by some brands. While great for quiet computing environments the key criteria in our evaluation is whether or not the cooling solution is sufficient, not necessary its sound level or form factor.
External Build Quality
The external casing of the Sigma Shark is a very nicely done extruded aluminum housing that features a flat yet subtly reflective black finish. The addition of the “shark fins” is supposed to aide in cooling by, I am guessing, increasing the surface area of the housing. The top of the housing is dominated by the 2 blue LED Sigma branded 80mm fans while the rear has the voltage selector switch and an interesting honeycomb design for airflow. The front of the Shark has the cables all bundled and exiting through one location and features the same unique honeycomb design as the rear.
The unit overall comes in at a 6 ½ inches while the cables reach out to ~19 inches to the first or only connector. The cables on the shark are fully sleeved and generally well done.
Internal Build Quality
Once we open the Sigma Shark (and remove the PCB from the housing) we are left looking at a rather standard ATX power supply with a few interesting twists. The unit features a typical ATX layout but is cooled by a pair of sleeve bearing 80mm fans rated at 0.25A at 12v. However, the fans have a 3 wire design with the blue wires leading back to a pair of plugs that connect to orange leads from the 5v solder point on the secondary. Moving to the back of the PCB we can see the soldering on this unit which in places is just downright sloppy. From the looks of it much of this was done by hand, and poorly at that.
As we swing over to the primary side we see that part of the input filtering not housed on the AC receptacle is housed here along with the bridge rectifier (which gets its own heatsink) along with the primary capacitors, all of which is secured with liberal amounts of caulk. The primary capacitors are provided by Teapo and are rated at 200v 1000uF 85c as the unit does not have APFC.
On the secondary side we again see the frosting effect of caulk in various places as well as more Teapo capacitors in this group regulated design. In the front of the PCB we see the fan controller which has cleverly had it’s wiring doubled in order to power the 2 80mm fans from one header along with the previously mentioned 5v leads. The wiring is all well sleeved back into the housing with it secured in various places using zip ties.
Build Quality Summary
Like the Hiper Type-M 580w, the over build quality of the Sigma Shark SP-635 is mixed. The exterior of the unit is certainly very nicely done in regards to the extruded aluminum housing used with this unit. The cables are also all well sleeved which is a nice point. The internal build quality of the Sigma Shark SP-635 leaves us a little uncertain of this unit’s ability to perform to its rated specifications based on the overall quality. Like the Hiper Type-M 580w this unit lacks APFC with the primary capacitors being a pair of Teapo built units as are the secondary capacitors. Also like we saw on the Hiper Type-M 580w, the soldering on the unit could use some real improvement as it is just downright sloppy at times and a number of capacitors and components on the primary and secondary are not well seated while large amounts of caulk are utilized to anchor components. Further, the cooling scheme for this unit seems a bit questionable with the two 80mm fans being split from one fan controller and the use of very restrictive exhaust vents. So let’s move into testing and see if this Shark sinks or swims.