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XClio Stable Power 460W and 850W


Date
: 03/11/07 – 11:35:10 PM

Author
:

Category
: Power Supplies

Page 1 : Introduction

Manufacturer:
XClio

Price:
$269 @ Newegg

Price:
$49.99 @ Newegg

Although most of us probably have not heard of XClio, they have been around for quite a while. XClio has grown up and witnessed the ever-changing needs of consumers. While XClio has evolved in order to better cater to consumers, they still firmly hold onto their core values: simplicity and practicality.

Whether you are building a high end gaming computer or a more modest daily usage computer, a reliable power supply is a must. Today we are going to take a look at two of XClio's newest power supplies: the Stable Power 460W and the Stable Power 850W, both equipped with dual 12V rails, a 14 cm fan, active PFC and SLI ready.

Page 2 : Packages

Before we go any further, lets first take a look at their packages. We will start with the Stable Power 460W.

The Stable Power 460W is packed inside a fairly plain black box, oddly enough there are no product specifications printed anywhere on the box!

Included with the power supply is a power cord, instruction manual, screws and various wire ties.

Next, lets take a look at the Stable Power 850W package. Like the Stable Power 460W's box, this box also lacks crucial information for potential buyers. Again, there is no indication of technical specifications.

Opening up the Stable Power 850W package we find a thick power cable, a manual, various screws, zip ties and of course, the Stable Power 850W power supply.

While packaging in no way influences how a product performs, one would think manufacturers would at least mention technical specifications! The lack of this crucial information can and will drive away potential buyers.

Page 3 : Specifications

XClio's Stable Power line comes in four varieties, 460W/500W and 850W/1000W. The 460W/500W models feature:

While the Stable Power 460W/500W power supplies are slightly lacking in terms of features, the 850W/1000W units are a different story!

Page 4 : Package Content

Aesthetically, both these units are fairly identical and finished in matte black. Both of these units are partially sleeved- only the motherboard power cables are sleeved on the Stable Power 460W and the Stable Power 850W is sleeved up until the first molex connector.

Like the majority of power supplies we have been taking a look at here at Overclockers Online, these come with 140mm fans which are excellent for pushing large amounts of air and remaining quiet.

While some would call these power supplies plain, especially in comparison to some other manufacturers, the matte black with black sleeving conveys a very professional feel. To complete the look, fully sleeved wires would have been a nice addition. Next, lets take a look at the insides!

Both of these units are built by Enhance but their interiors are vastly different. The 460W resembles your typical power supply whereas the 850W is packed with quite a number of daughter boards and beefier components. We will start by taking a look at the Stable Power 460W

The Stable Power 460W uses Teapo capacitors for both the primary and secondary stage. Teapo capacitors have a fairly good reputation for being reliable. The layout is fairly clean and with the use of such large heatsinks the 140mm fan should have no problem cooling this unit down even under the worst conditions.

Next up is the XClio Stable Power 850W!

Taking a look from the top, between the masses of wire, gigantic Nippon Chemi-Con capacitor, various Teapo/Su'Scon capacitors, numerous coils, chokes, transformers and so on, one would wonder if there was even a PCB!

Page 5 : Installation and Performance

Both of these units are fairly typical sized power supplies so they should have no trouble fitting into standard cases.

With the power supply in place, mount with the included screws and you are ready to go!

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 maximum output of both 12V rails combined is 330W, we will be using a load of 279.6W or approximately 85% (16A, 7.3A). The 5V and 3.3V rails will be loaded with a 120 peltiers drawing a total of 8A each.

12V1 will be attached to a 310W pelt and 12V2 will be attached to a 350W pelt totaling 528W out of the power supply's maximum of 670W. The combined maximum output of the 5V and 3.3V rail is 160W so the 5V rail will be loaded with a 21A peltier and the 3.3V rail will be loaded with a 16A peltier resulting in a total draw of 157.8W. The combined total load of each rail is 685.8W or 80.7% of 850W.

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.

Now, lets get on with the results!

Both 12V rails dipped slightly during the hot tests, but still performed very well. The 5V and 3.3V rails held solid throughout both tests.

Similar to the Stable Power 850W, the 12V rails dipped down to the mid 11.8V range, however these numbers are still very respectable.

Throughout all tests both Stable Power units remained very quiet. Thanks to the 140mm fans, at most they created a slight hum.

Page 6 : Conclusion

XClio has done a great job with these two power supplies. While these two units target vastly different markets, they both perform extremely well!

XClio's Stable Power 460W's main strength is in its price. For $50 USD, this unit is among one of the lowest priced power supplies on the market. But, affordable pricing does not always mean poor product, in fact in this situation this power supply is priced affordably and just as well as other much more expensive power supplies! The good news doesn't end here, the Stable Power 460W also comes partially sleeved and is extremely quiet under all operating conditions due to the massive 140mm fan.

Advantages

Excellent performance
Affordable pricing
High quality finish
Quiet

Disadvantages

Only partially sleeved

Next up is the XClio Stable Power 850W, like its sibling, this unit also performs very well and can also output an enormous amount of power. Surprisingly, like the 460W, this unit was also extremely quiet even under load. Unfortunately, performance does come at a price. While a $260 USD price tag may appear to be expensive, relative to other 850W or above power supplies on the market, the XClio Stable power 850W is priced fairly competitively.

Advantages

Excellent performance
High quality finish
Quiet

Disadvantages

Only partially sleeved
Somewhat expensive

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