![[H]ardOCP](/images/blank.gif){kind=small}
- Date:
- Thursday , July 12, 2007
- Author:
- Paul Johnson
- Editor:
- Kyle Bennett
- Google +1
Cooler Master Real Power Pro 750w
Cooler Master is synonymous with computer cases and has been moving up in reputation when it comes to power supplies to put in those cases. Is a the Real Power Pro 750w worth your hard earned dollars? We give this PSU the HardOCP grind and torture tests.
Overview
The first thing we are going to look at with the Cooler Master Real Power Pro 750w is its packaging, accessories, and documentation. While normally none of these items is a make or break item for a power supply the packaging quite often contains a lot of information about the product we are purchasing. The inclusion of an owner’s manual that provides actual information about our product is also of great help. Accessories are almost unnecessary with a power supply as the unit is self contained, unless it is modular, but there are cases where a manufacturer can include useful accessories to make installation, routing, and use more efficient.
The rear of the Cooler Master Real Power Pro 750w packaging carries much of the information found on the product page including the talking points bulleted on the left side of the box. The power table and connector count will be broken down below but there is a lot more to take away from the packaging. The unit is advertised as being energy efficient with greater than 80% efficiency, though that is unqualified on how this is determined on the box and elsewhere. The manual also doesn’t reference how this efficiency is determined. Furthermore the unit does not appear on the 80Plus website nor does an OEM listing for AcBel Polytech that corresponds to this unit but we will see how the efficiency stands in our testing shortly. At the same time the packaging indicates that the unit is very quiet and lists a rating of 17dBa. While a mighty impressive claim, 17dBA seems highly unlikely at any significant load. We do not evaluate noise levels in quantifiable terms because of the load tester we use but we will provide our impressions of this units noise during testing and see how credible that 17dBa figure appears to the ear.
Also on the packaging is the “Worry Free Power Failure” detector. Think of this feature as an idiot light for a power supply because as it turns out this is simply an LED that lights up whenever a power event occurs that keeps the unit from functioning (not that the whole PSU not working wouldn't have already clued the user in) without providing any other information. While a nice gesture a more functional diagnostic such as the ones included with the Enermax Galaxy DXX or Infiniti 720w would go a lot further as they actually help identify the problem not just tell you there is one. Coupled with the Worry Free Power Failure we also see the advertised Bead Core filters that are supposed to reduce "noises" to the PCI-Express connectors. Since we will be monitoring the DC output quality of all the 12v rails we will be able to compare the rails with the ferrite cores to the ones without and see if there is any appreciable difference. The inclusion of the filters is at the very least an encouraging sight.
Finally, there is a lack of multi-graphics card certifications with the units packaging even though the unit sports a number of PCI-Express connectors including the new 8 pin PCI-Express connectors. A quick check of the SLIZone website finds the Real Power Pro 750w certified for 8800GTS SLI, while a quick check of the CrossFire page yields no results. The exclusion from the ATI CrossFire list shouldn't worry users too much as if the unit is capable of running 8800GTS SLI it is most likely capable of running most CrossFire configurations below HD2900XT as well.
The general layout of this power supply is rather interesting. As the connector count indicates the unit does have 4 PCI-Express connectors, two of each flavor, but these 4 are located on just two cables with each cable having both an 8 pin and a 6 pin connector. Subsequently, each cable is fed by an individual 12v rail capable of pushing 19A's making a total of 38A available to your PCI-Express cards through the connectors.
The remainder of the connector count is good being able to support a number of SATA drives and conventional peripherals with its combined 11 connectors but not the best we have seen in this range and the unit sports a combined 12v rating of 54A or ~86% of its total capacity. Overall, these arrangements should make the unit a very good option for most high-end systems if it performs up to par.
Once we open the packaging of the Cooler Master Real Power Pro 750w we find the typical arrangement of power supply items including the unit itself, some mounting screws, silica, user manual, and power cord. The included user manual is one of the thickest we have seen to date but that could be due to the text being reproduced in 8 different languages with each spanning 8 pages. The good news is in those 8 pages are loads of pertinent information including the warranty length, terms, and contact information. Additionally the user manual includes just about all the electrical specifications of note including the rail distribution, operating parameters, and pinouts. The troubleshooting section though might as well be omitted since it doesn't actually tell the user anything other than to plug in the connectors and flip the on/off switch. Overall the Cooler Master Real Power Pro packaging is good with a detailed user manual that is always a welcome sight for when things go wrong.