Apevia Iceberg ATX-IB680W Green PSU

Sagittaria - 2006-11-09 23:51:03 in Power Supplies
Category: Power Supplies
Reviewed by: Sagittaria   
Reviewed on: October 20, 2006
: Apevia

Introduction

This PSU (Power Supply Unit) is certainly an iceberg, weighing in at 680 watts with dazzling beauty. It features UV reactive sleeves and connectors with a clear window showing all the beautiful guts of the beast. It also includes adjustable color fans (three different colors) and a fan controller.

Well this is all good and everything, but who is Apevia? Apevia, formally known as Aspire, is a very well known case and fan manufacturer that was established in 1999. Chances are that you’ve heard of these guys before, though they aren’t as well known in the power supply market. Let’s see if she lives up to Apevia’s reputation.

Closer Look

The Iceberg comes in a stout little box with a clear side panel showing off the windowed interior of the PSU. The Iceberg was covered with plastic-cling wrap, with a mirror polish underneath. As you can see, it has adjustable tri-color fans and it is advertised as 680 watts. Inside, it includes a short manual, thumbscrews (thanks Apevia), and of course, a power cable.

   

As for the PSU itself, the connectors and sleeves are UV reactive green (there are other colored models). It has two 80mm fans in a push-pull configuration, expelling air outside the case, along with a fire retardant transparent casing. It comes with eight Molex connectors - four to a cable - with a floppy connector on the end of each. There are 20/24 and 4/8 pin separable connectors which may or may not be used depending on your motherboard/setup. Finally, it also offers 4xSATA, 2xPCI-E power connectors. If you hadn’t noticed, the Molex connectors have a squeeze tab, so you can squeeze and it will loosen up the hold on the connector. Pretty handy Apevia!

  

The back of the unit has a fan controller (Knob) that allows you to adjust the fan speed from 80% to 100%. So rest assure that you won’t kill the unit by turning the fans too low. The obscure button toggles the fan colors between blue, green, red and completely off. The usual switch and connector are very shiny I should add. The sides and bottom are ribbed for style and the back is pretty plain, but who looks there anyway. The bottom has the specification readout with some impressive information; dual 12v rails (which is usually more stable than a single large rail) and some very high amps on everything. Hmmm, seems as though the green switch and AC connector look like they will glow too?
   

  

Nope, the back connectors do not glow, but I had some other spectacular results after powering the bugger up. The fans inside the PSU are very silent even at 100% as I could not tell the difference between low and high speeds. Both settings move a good amount of air. Lights, lights, lights! These are truly wonderful which add a lot of ooos and ahs to the beauty. A must for any windowed case geek!

  

   




Let’s hurry and move her into her new home!

Installation

Installing a PSU is easy, right? Well, this is one is a little different. Apevia recommends you install the Iceberg upside down if you have a windowed case, otherwise you’ll be hiding the beautiful interior and lights. This is pretty easy, just flip it over, screw in, and there you are. Although the text on the back will be upside down, it’s no biggie.
   

Setting it all up was a breeze. The cables were a decent length and reached my RAID array of five hard drives, my video card, and the rest of my various accessories. I must say that the squeeze tabs I mentioned earlier are very handy. Pulling apart connectors can be a pain and potentially dangerous to not only your hardware but also yourself. The UV sleeves and connectors are really a spectacle under UV light. The pictures just don’t do it justice!

A minor annoyance, but every time you start the power supply, it will default to the blue fan color. So you will have to physically change the color back to whatever setting it was on before you turned off the PSU.

Is it all just looks? Let’s move onto testing!

Specifications

Brand APEVIA (ASPIRE)
Model ATX-IB680W-GN
Type ATX12V/ EPS12V, SLI READY
Maximum Power 680W
Fans 2
PFC No
Main Connector 20+4 pin
Dual +12V Yes
SLI Support Yes
Power Good Signal 100-500ms
Hold-up Time >10ms at full load
Efficiency < 70%
Over Voltage Protection YES
Overload Protection YES
Input Voltage 115/230 V
Input Frequency Range 50/60Hz
Input Current 10A @ 115V, 5A @ 230V
Output +3.3V@38A, +5V@40A, +12V1@22A, +12V2@24A, [email protected], [email protected], +5VSB@2A
MTBF 100,000 Hours at full load
Approvals CB IEC 950/ TUV EN 60950/ UL 1950/ CSA 950
Connectors 1 x Main Connector (20+4 pin)
1 x 12V P4 / P8 (4/8 pin)
8 x Peripheral
4 x SATA
2 x Floppy
2 x PCI Express
Features High-tech aluminum casting with fire-resistant acrylic cover
LED light switch - Fan LED lights can be switched to blue, green or red
Multi-color coated components & PC board
Excellent Ventilation Design: 2 x 80 mm crystal LED fans
User-adjustable fan speed controller optimizing balance between noise reduction and necessary cooling
Cable Management: all cables are sleeved to avoid clutter and to improve airflow
UV Sensitive On/Off Power Switch, Power Plug and connectors
Short circuit / over voltage / over current protection
Dimension 170mm x 150mm x 85mm / 6.7" x 5.9" x 3.4" (L x W x H)
Weight 5 lbs

Testing

Testing Setup Testing Methods

I will test Idle (Nothing Running) and Load (Using Maximum Programs to use 100% of System Recourses). I record voltages by using software, Asus Probe, and a digital multi-meter plugged into a Molex connector to confirm the validity of the tests. I will be comparing the Iceberg to an older Ultra X-Connect 500w.
Software Idle Voltages
Rail Tested Ultra X-Connect 500W Apevia Iceberg 680W
3.3V Rail 3.3V 3.3V
5V Rail 5.2V 5.1V
12V Rail 12.4V 12.2V
Multi-Meter Idle Voltages
Rail Tested Ultra X-Connect 500W Apevia Iceberg 680W
3.3V Rail 3.3V 3.3V
5V Rail 5.2V 5.2V
12V Rail 12.3V 12.2V
Software Load Voltages
Rail Tested Ultra X-Connect 500W Apevia Iceberg 680W
3.3V Rail 3.2V 3.3V
5V Rail 4.9V 5.1V
12V Rail 11.7V 12.1V
Multi-Meter Load Voltages
Rail Tested Ultra X-Connect 500W Apevia Iceberg 680W
3.3V Rail 3.3V 3.3V
5V Rail 5.0V 5.1V
12V Rail 11.8V 12.1V

Decent rails under load with little fluctuation, unlike the Ultra.  It stabilized my overclocks under heavy load as well.  My entire system ran under heavy load without failing like it did with my previous Ultra PSU!

Conclusion

Pretty and powerful! Now this is what I call a power supply! It ran all of my heavily overclocked and power hungry gear and even stabilized my system. It runs cool, quiet and best of all, it is one of the most beautiful power supplies I have ever seen! The clear case is a definite plus and the tri-color fans and UV sleeves/connectors all contribute. The squeeze connectors also saved me a lot of time…and blood.

Why, Apevia? You spoiled such a good PSU with such a small annoyance. I absolutely disliked the fact that I had to reach behind my case every time I booted up to turn the blue back to red! All in all, one of the best combinations of beauty and power that I have ever used in a long, long time!

Pros

Cons