As
I found out a few years ago building a high spec system
is easy .... just go out and buy a good processor
and graphics card then pair it with a well rounded
motherboard and some stable memory and you are pretty
much good to go, well unless you hook it all up to
a £20 power supply (PSU). That £20 PSU
may well boast 500w specs and look pretty
and shiny but the reality is that a decent PSU (or
lack off) can be the difference between your system
running smoothly for years or one which causes you
no end of problems.
We’ve looked at numerous
supplies here in the past and on the whole they
have all been high specification units and those
generally come at an equally high price.
It goes without saying not everyone has a huge budget
to work with, however stability is still an important
factor. So today we are going to look at Enermax’s
mainstream model which comes in at 400w. Enermax
are not a company known for skimping on quality
so we should be in for a treat at a very reasonable
price.
Packaging and Bundle
The Liberty
supply arrives in a box which gives you all the important
information on the unit enclosed. On the bottom right
of the unit you have a shiny sticker showing that
the unit is the 400w model and more surprisingly its
aimed at dual GFX users. Those of you who keep up
with graphics card technology will know that two of
the latest cards in SLI or Crossfire can have a considerable
power drain and so this is great to see in
an entry level system and should mean that it provides
more than ample power to the 12v rail.
Also noted on the front of
the box are a few of the more useful features of the
unit such as being suited for ATX and BTX systems
and the cooling fan used.
On the rear
of the box we get a little more information on the
unit in the form of the power cable spec and we also
get an alternate view of the PSU.
Finally we
have a sticker on the side of the box filling the
blanks with regards to power ratings throught the
various lines and whether the unit can handle the
various dual core CPU’s from AMD and Intel.
(it can). You can also see from the sticker that the
unit is rated at 400w however it can provide up to
440w.
Opening the
box we find something unexpected, a large pouch. Opening
up the pouch everything becomes clear and we see that
this actually contains the cables
for the PSU. Compared to a box of cables this is a
nice touch and adds a feeling of quality to the whole
package.
Also included
in the bundle are the usual four screws to attach
the PSU in the case and the power plug for your region.
An Enermax case sticker is also supplied as is a small
but well written manual which gives you more than
enough information on the PSU and its specifications.
Finally in the bundle we have a pass holder strap.
Once you have
lifted all of the above out of the box the last thing
you find is the supply itself. As the other parts
of the bundle are all packed tightly around the PSU
the unit doesn’t come encased in thick foam
as with some other manufacturers however there is
little room to move in transit and the PSU is also
wrapped in bubble wrap with a thin layer of foam underneath.
Not the best protection when compared to foam but
adequate under most conditions.
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