Date:
Wednesday, December 12, 2007
Author:
Paul Johnson
Editor:
Kyle Bennett
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ABS BZ800 800w Power Supply

ABS is back with their second Tagan built power supply. This time a more modest 800w unit that should fit the power profile of most users. And it looks pretty darn cool as well while sporting high end modular connects.

Introduction

Today we look at another new product that is being certified by a company familiar to many HardOCP readers, ABS Computer Technologies, Inc the former parent company (now subsidiary) of perennial favorite etailer Newegg. Previously Newegg has branded power supplies (and a huge range of other peripherals and components) under their house label Rosewill, so the addition of ABS branded power supplies is an intriguing turn of events. ABS as a company has been a system integrator since 1991. (HConsumer covered a few of their fully built computer systems) and it later branched out into parts etail through Newegg.

While we have previously reviewed the ABS/Tagan ITZ1300 and found that unit lacking, ABS has come back with another power supply they have sourced from Tagan looking for a second shot with the ABS/Tagan BZ800 800w (TG800-U88). Given the results of our last experience with an ABS/Tagan power supply and its ensuing response from Tagan representatives we are interested to see if this particular model can do better. An interesting HardForum discussion also followed.

Today’s Tagan power supply (that is branded by ABS Gaming Labs) is actually built by longtime Tagan OEM provider Topower, though Tagan gets the UL certification for the unit. Topower has been a large supplier of PSUs under both their own label and through contract production for other brands since 1986. Topower can be found providing OEM services for a number of brands including various Tagan, BFG, Mushkin, ePower, and Spire products among a number of others. When new higher wattage power supplies start hitting the market Topower can usually be found among them. However, early to market isn't always a blessing and at times Topower units have struggled some and other times (like with P6 platform used by OCZ in the PowerStreams) they have been successes.

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Back in Black

Since the ABS product page for the ABS/Tagan BZ is not up at the time of writing we swung by the Tagan website to see how they were positioning the 800w member of BZ line of power supplies. The Tagan site was certainly more informative than the ABS one but the information is mostly bullet points outlining various features of the unit:

Tagan BZ PSU blows the competiton(sp) away. BZ PSU are made with best components and loaded with various safety implements to protect your expensive components. Tagan PSU is made to last and outperform. Look no further for the best power. The PipeRock modular cable management with colorful housing to avoid wrong connection.

Special Features: Up to Quad Card Support. Patented 20+4 Cable Design. Environmentally Friendly at Over 80% Efficiency. TURBO Mode to combine all Six +12 Rails to one for ultimate stability. Perfect for high end system demands. Gold Plated connectors. Thermal Control Cooling Fan. REMI Technology for EMI Reduction. Extra Ground Wire to Further Reduce Static Noise. Advanced Pull-n-Push Heat Dissipation Architecture for Maximized Cooling and Noise Reduction. 13.5cm LED fan is the best cooling system and keep silence. Low ripple and noise. 100% Hi-Pot Tested. Black Anti-scratch painting chassis.

After reading those lists of catchy marketing speak and really nifty sounding features that ring reminiscent of the ITZ1300 who wouldn’t be sold on the BZ800w? But like the ITZ1300, does any of it really mean anything to the user? And what is PipeRock? Certainly in those lists some very common features get cool names but today we’ll see if those features with cool names deliver as promised.

Moving on let’s see what we can expect when a user purchases the ABS/Tagan BZ 800w supply in retail in terms of documentation, accessories, cable count, rail layout, output characteristics, and general build quality.