Bgears 550 Watt Tarantula Review

Testing:

How will I know if this power supply delivers the watts? I need to test how it performs under load, verifying the voltages and airflow. With that being said, we can finally start testing this beast. To put this power supply through its paces, I will run a series of tests to load the Bgears 550 to simulate heavy gaming usage . The testing procedure will include running Stressprime 2004 Orthos Edition to stress the CPU and memory, HDtune to load the hard drives, and 3DMark06 Professional to stress both video cards. The test system includes five high CFM Silverstone fans to add additional load to the 12volt line. Additionally, I will check the airflow at both idle and load conditions to verify any increase in airflow through the rear of the power supply. Voltage measurements will be taken with my trusty voltmeter, while airflow will be tested using my Kestral 4100 pocket airflow tracker.

Testing Tools:

• Greenlee DM-300 Digital Voltmeter
• Kestral 4100 Pocket Airflow Tracker

Testing Setup:

• CPU:Intel Q6600 Core 2 Quad 450 x 8
• Motherboard: Abit IP35 Pro "Snake"
• Memory: Mushkin HP26400 DDR2 2 x 2GB 5-5-4-12 450fsb
• Video Card(s): 2 x Diamond HD3850 in Crossfire
• Power Supply: BGears 550 watt Tarantula Modular Power supply
• Hard Drive: Western Digital 250GB 16MB cache SATA
• Opticals:Sony DVD-Rom
• O/S: Windows XP Pro Service Pack 2
• Comparison Power Supply: Mushkin 650watt Modular Power supply
• Comparison Power Supply: OCZ GameXstream 700watt
• Comparison Power Supply: Ultra X3 600 watt