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- Date:
- Wednesday, December 12, 2007
- Author:
- Paul Johnson
- Editor:
- Kyle Bennett
- Google +1
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.
Overview
The first thing we are going to look at with the ABS/Tagan BZ800 800w power supply is its packaging, accessories, and documentation. While none of these items is a real 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 cases where a manufacturer can include useful accessories to make installation, routing and use more efficient.
As we saw with the ITZ1300 the black and blue ABS/Tagan BZ800 800w packaging is mostly branded Tagan with just the “Certified by ABS Gaming Labs” seal on it. Also like we have previously seen Tagan lists this particular product on their website so don’t be surprised if you see this unit tipping up at other etailers as well. Unlike the ITZ1300 this units packaging actually does contain a bit of information on its Borg cube-esque exterior. On one side we find the power label which is detailed below, and a number of marketing points including 13.5cm fan, something called PipeRock Cable Management (which even after reviewing this unit this name still doesn’t make sense as it refers to the modular cables but how PipeRock fits with that is beyond me), Colorful Cable Definition, +12v Turbo mode, 80% Plus Efficiency, and Low Noise for Display. The unit’s Colorful Cable Definition is certainly an interesting marketing point which we will look at in the build section while the 80% efficiency and Low Noise for Display are things we will definitely be able to render a judgment on from our load testing data. However, the last Tagan unit we evaluated ran into trouble in this category as its ripple/noise values exceeded the ATX12v specification when it was asked to produce its full rated value.
If we spin the box around we see on the back of the unit some of the same marketing bullets as were found on the previous side, however this side adds Tagan Silence Control Technology for “Super Low Noise” again, and details the +12v Turbo mode some more. The +12v Turbo Mode again refers to the same respin of Topower’s “Rail Fusion” marketing gimmick that we saw on the ITZ1300. Though the way it is marketed and the concept in general on this packaging is odd to say the least. For instance the box says:
“Turbo Mode” offers higher power to heavy-loading devices and “Normal Mode” for stable DC output.
Six rails of 12v rails for independent devices demands.
From this we are left to assume if you want a stable power supply you set the unit to “Normal Mode” and if you have heavy-loading devices you set it to “Turbo Mode.” I am not sure that is the way to market this, as if I have "heavy loading devices" I know I certainly want stable DC output too. As it is the whole thing is irrelevant as there are few components on the market that draw 240w’s to be able to hit the “individual rails" cap on the rails supplying the connectors that will generally host the highest draw items and the unit still runs if you load a single rail with more than 20A even when set to Normal Mode. In the end this “technology” doesn’t really do anything special for you the consumer and the bottom line is this is a single rail power supply with some "interesting" marketing.
Moving on the last items on the box are the cables counts which we will break down below. Included with this is the advertisement for REMI on the PCI-Express connectors. To date we have seen this feature on a few power supplies and so far they have proven to be anything from just an additional bulk on the cable to "lipstick on a pig", however they do at least give the impression that Topower/Tagan are trying to produce clean DC output with little noise/interference. Finally, like the ITZ1300 the warranty is not mentioned anywhere on the box or in the literature and like the ITZ1300 the BZ800 carries a 3 year warranty which is certainly on the shorter end that we have come to see from premium power supply offerings.
*8 pin PCI-Express Connectors are the modified 8 pin PCI-Express Connectors
The power label for the BZ800 is certainly fleshed out well but there are a few points of note. The first is while the unit is labeled as having "6" 12v rails that are each capped at 20A with a total capacity of 64A the unit really has a single 64A 12v rail. The next is that the unit is labeled as having an operating range of 115v-230v with a 10% tolerance. This would give the unit a low end tolerance of 103.5v while we test units at 100v. It will be interesting to see how the unit handles the extra 3.5v drop in AC input. The unit does come equipped with four PCI Express connectors that are either 6-pin or the modified 8-pin variety. While the inclusion of four PCIe connectors is certainly good and matches other high end units, the modified 8 pin connectors are not as good an option as true 8 pin PCI-Express connectors. Additionally the unit comes appointed with six Molex and eight SATA connectors for your peripherals. This break down is about what we would expect to see in a high end power supply in this range and as such is a welcome sight from ABS/Tagan.
Once we open the ABS/Tagan BZ800 we find a zippered pouch that contains the modular cables, the power cord, screws, rubber gasket, some gloves (seriously) and some zip ties. Underneath that is the power supply itself while the manual rests on top of everything. The manual is similar to and different from the ITZ1300 manual. The manual is interesting in that it gives the connector count for a wide array of models from the BZ600 to BZ1300. Also of interest the BZ manual flips from what we saw with the ITZ and comes printed in 3 languages. The manual goes on to include the pinouts for each connector type and the wiring diagram for each model as well. While this is all information that is great to have and all too often overlooked, nowhere in the manual is there any warranty information other than to say “If you have any question about repair or return, please call Service Hotline: 800.876.8088.” Also following in the footsteps of the ITZ1300 manual there are none of the usual electrical/DC output specifications in the manual. Again as we noted with theITZ1300 with the manual listing the wiring harness and pinouts the power table was somehow omitted? In the end the manual is good, but it is missing key points such we would expect to see included.