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- Date:
- Monday , August 04, 2008
- Author:
- Paul Johnson
- Editor:
- Kyle Bennett
- Google +1
FSP Everest 1010w Power Supply
If a company is ballsy enough to send a 1 kilowatt + computer power supply into HardOCP it must be just that good. Or is it? We show you again the reason for knowing what you are buying when it comes to PSUs.
Build Quality
As we already know the Everest 1010w features a single 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. While great for quiet computing environments the key criteria in our evaluation is whether or not the cooling solution is sufficient, rather than its sound level or form factor.
External Build Quality
The Everest 1010w is dressed in a slightly textured blue offset by a frosted 120mm fan. The unit is by no means flashy but it does look good while being scratch resistant. On the label we see next to the 1010w figure, in small print, the rating of 75A for the combined 12v output like on the GameXStream 1010w. The rear of the Everest 1010w lacks a voltages selector switch; instead it sports a white sticker indicating the unit is full range. Also on the back we see the wire guard used to protect the wires as they exit the power supply housing a small inexpensive piece of insurance to add but one that is skipped by many companies.
The Everest 1010w comes in at ~6 1/2 inches while the cables are ~20 inches long to the first or only connector. All the cables are sheathed in black mesh and protected by a plastic guard as they exit the power supply housing.
Internal Build Quality
Once the screws securing the fan to the rest of the housing are released we are greeted by what looks like the typically sparse interior of a FSP Epsilon based power supply, however the PCB proclaims this unit to be an “Everest.” No matter the actual series, this unit shares many features with the Epsilon platform we have seen before as it is still group regulated, has a very similar PCB, similar layout, and similar components as we shall see coming up (with the exception of the transformer which we cannot identify since there is no part number on this one). The 120mm fan used to cool this particular FSP is a Protechnic Electric rated at 0.68A at 12v that is identical to the one in the OCZ GameXStream 1010w. The fan is mated with the same 3 heatsinks, two of which are ridged while the third is cut into “fingers” and bent to increase the surface area that will come into contact with the air stream being produced by the single overhead 120mm fan, which we saw in the GameXStream as well.
On the primary side there is the same single large CapXon capacitor that is rated at 470uF 420v 85c as was present in the also APFC equipped GameXStream. The remainder of the primary appears to be laid out just like the Epsilon based GameXStream was with the APFC coil and the APFC circuit board tucked in under the fingered heatsink. Additionally, we see that the PCB on the primary side is screened for 800w, 900w, and 1010w models in this product line.
Once we move over to the secondary side we find the Everest 1010w to be filled out much like the GameXStream 1010w as well. The majority of the input filtering is housed on the AC receptacle or on the PCB directly behind the AC receptacle with the fan controller on an add-in PCB immediately behind that but separated by a piece of plastic. Nestled in the wiring of the secondary we see a mix of Teapo and CapXon capacitors that are secured with caulk. The wiring is bundled and zip-tied with sheathing that runs back into the housing through a wire guard. A portion of the wiring is run to the modular interface as the unit has some fixed and some modular cables. The modular interface looks very cleanly constructed though there are two blobs of caulk on the rear 12v termination points for some reason.
Build Quality Summary
Like the many other recent FSP units we have seen the overall build quality of the Everest 1010w is simply “acceptable.” There is nothing outstanding about its build quality, construction, or integration and it does look “undersized” for a 1010w unit. However, as we have seen more of the Epsilon series power supplies, which share many of the same design features as this unit, we have seen the “undersized look” has not always been an issue. The Everest 1010w does, like other FSP built units we have seen of late; feature less than top shelf component selection when it comes to capacitors as the unit is stocked exclusively with Teapo and CapXon. The primary capacitor is a Teapo while the secondary is a mix of Teapo and CapXon. The secondary of this unit is a bit untidy but overall this isn’t a horrible looking group regulated power supply and the modular interface actually looks really well constructed unlike some other examples we have seen. Lastly, the exterior does have a nice blue finish but the mostly sleeved cables could use some work.