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CM Real Power Pro 1KW


Date
: 04/23/07 – 10:25:07 PM

Author
:

Category
: Power Supplies

Page 1 : Introduction

Manufacturer
: Cooler Master

Price
: $349 @ Newegg

When Cooler Master first started out, their goal was to provide the best thermal solutions in the industry. However, today Cooler Master has extended their focus to include cases, drive enclosures, and of course power supplies. Today we will be taking a look at Cooler Master's Real Power Pro 1000W.

While Cooler Master isn't exactly a major player in the power supply market, the Real Power Pro might be able to turn that around, at least according to the specifications! This power supply can output a maximum of 1.2kW or a sustained 1kW with an efficiency of around 85%. It is also the world's first
six
+12V rail power supply.

Page 2 : Features and Specifications

Here is what Cooler Master has to say about the Real Power Pro 1000W:

Features:

1.World's first six +12V rails for better power distribution in Quad-SLI and 2 ways server system
2.Four 6-pin PCI-e connectors offer great future upgradeability
3.Two 8-pin PCI-e connectors are compatible with future graphic card upgradeability
4.Compliance with the newest Intel standard ATX 12V V2.2
5.Compliance with the newest SSI standard EPS 12V V2.91
6.Ultra-silent operation with intelligent 135mm fan speed control (<16dBA)
7.Eco-design for energy and money saving by Active PFC (>0.99) / high efficiency (>85%)
8.Higher reliability (MTBF > 100,000 hours)
9.Power Failure Detector will light up when Over-Voltage, Under-Voltage, Over-Temperature, Over-Current, Over-Loading, and Short Circuit occur.

Personally, I would much rather have two rails or maybe even a large single rail.

Of course, with 1000W (or 1kW) of power, one would expect plenty of wires!

If four 6-pin PCI-Express connectors isn't enough, Cooler Master has also thrown in two 8-pin PCI Express connectors to ensure future compatibility with upcoming video cards, which is great because after investing over 300 dollars into this beast of a power supply, the last thing you would want to do is replace it just because it does not have 8-pin PCI-Express connectors!

Besides a plethora of PCI-Express connectors, the Real Power Pro 1000W also comes equipped with eight SATA connectors and six standard 4-pin connectors.

Lastly, unlike the last 1000W unit we looked at, OCZ's ProXStream 1000W, when Cooler Master states ultra-silent, they mean it: the Real Power Pro 1000W is cooled by a single 135mm fan rated at around 16 dBA.

Page 3 : Package and Content

The Real Power Pro 1000W's package breaks away from Cooler Master's traditional purple theme; while there is still a splash of purple to highlight the bottom two edges, the box art is mainly black and white.

The front and side panels are sparse in terms of information in order to maintain the overall minimalistic look, but does provide some key selling points such as high efficiency, 3 year guarantee, ultra silent operation, and the world's first six +12V rail power supply.

Flipping the box over presents an entirely new story; the back is plastered with specifications, features, and various certifications including RoHS compliance. This panel also clearly states the amount of each connector this power supply comes equipped with which is a nice addition.

Opening the box we find an extremely thick power cord, a bag of matte black screws, a keychain of what appears to be a bottle opener and of course the Real Power Pro 1000W!

Taking a closer look at the Real Power Pro 1000W, it is by no means a small power supply!

Placed side by side against the OCZ ProXStream 1000W which has been hailed as the world's smallest 1kW power supply, the Real Power Pro 1000W's size becomes even more evident.

Like most power supplies today, this unit also uses one single large fan which pushes air into the internals of the power supply displacing hot air through perforated holes in the rear of the unit. This design has been proven to not only to be quiet but extremely effective as well.

Next, let's take a look at the wires! What separates this power supply from others is that it comes equipped with 8-pin PCI-Express connectors; of course in order to remain compatible with current video cards, this power supply also has standard 6-pin PCI-Express connectors.

Because this power supply can also be used within servers, it has an 8-pin CPU power connector along with the standard 4-pin and the standard 20+4 pin power connectors as well.

One of the key features, in terms of wires, is that this power supply has a total of
eight
SATA power connectors which is excellent for those who have stacks upon stacks of hard drives!

Lastly, this unit includes six standard 4-pin Molex connectors and two floppy drive connectors.

While having numerous power connectors and a beautiful dark reflective finish is great, how the power supply performs depends on the insides.

Inside is clearly an Enhance built unit as the UL number E166947 suggests. It uses two 470V 220uF Teapo capacitors in the primary side and a large assortment of Teapo capacitors in the secondary side.

Page 4 : Installation

I will be installing this unit into a Lian Li V1100 Plus case. First, we will need to remove the existing power supply.

Due to the size of the Real Power Pro 1000W, it may have trouble fitting into some cases.

Other than the size, installation should be fairly smooth. The only hurdle is the sheer amount of wires!

Page 5 : Testing

In order to simulate system load, we will be using peltiers. The reason for this is because when using an actual computer system there is no way we could accurately measure how much load we are putting on the power supply without some very expensive equipment.

The total load on the 12V rails is approximately 774W while the 3.3V and 5V rails will be loaded with approximately 170W. This totals to 944W which is 94.4% of this power supply's 1000W output capacity.

Prior to any official tests, the unit will run with no load for two weeks or approximately 336 hours at an operation temperature of 21°C (room temperature will vary throughout this period) as a burn-in period. We will be running two sets of tests, a cold and a hot test, but both under loaded conditions. This is to reflect different conditions the power supply could potentially encounter within an enclosed system. Cold tests will run with an exhaust temperature of 21°C and hot tests will be run with an exhaust temperature of 45°C. All temperature and voltage readings will be recorded with two separate digital multimeters.

In both tests, Cooler Master's Real Power Pro 1000W held on fairly well; although there is a noticeable dip in the hot test, the output numbers are still very respectable when considering the amount of load and environmental conditions.

Page 6 : Conclusion

Cooler Master's Real Power Pro 1000W is the second 1kW unit we have had the pleasure of reviewing here at Overclockers Online and while more power is always welcome, it is equally important to take an honest look at your needs and ask yourself if you really need it. If the answer is yes, then by all means, this unit may be the one for you.

The Real Power Pro 1000W incorporates all the features one would expect in a high end power supply: excellent performance, a beautiful finish, sleeved wires, and last but not least, quiet operation. This power supply also includes the new 8-pin PCI-Express connector as a native option rather than supplying an adapter. With big names such as OCZ, Antec, Silverstone, and so on, Cooler Master may not be a name associated with high end performance power supplies, but as we have seen in this review, Cooler Master definitely deserves a place among the long time contenders.

Advantages

Good performance
Lots of power
Beautiful finish
Sleeved wires
Silent operation

Disadvantages

Expensive

Overclockers Online would like to thank Cooler Master for making this review possible.