If you’re not interested in spending triple digits on a power supply (Antec, Enermax, et al.), but aren’t quite confident enough with your luck to leave it up to a no-name brand’s rickety concoction, then you would be looking at a power supply somewhere in between the two - like this here CWT 450BD.
The CWT-450BD actually came pre-installed in a case which Maxtop sent me, but I felt it deserved its own review as it doesn’t come standard with the case. Due to shipping concerns, the PSU box was flat-packed. Although only a power cord and four screws were provided, it’s all you really need anyways. The box is pretty standard fare, generic with dot-stickers indicating wattage and features. More importantly, the PSU itself:
This PSU will be compared with an Antec TruePower 430w, as they are both nearly identical in specifications, with the CWT leading slightly in wattage and +5v ampere rating.
Features:
- 450w output
- Dual Fan
- Tachometer function on rear 80mm fan
- Mesh sleeved ATX cord
- Gold-coloured fan grills
- Tested to comply with FCC standard for home and office use.
- High tech circuitry designing and clean PCB layout
- Excellent performance on efficiency and reliability
- Energy power with Low ripple and noiseless
- Short circuit & overload protection on all outputs
- Thermal control function optional
- Optional active PFC solution
The CWT-450BD looks surprisingly like the TruePower 430. From a distance, you could probably only tell them apart by the plain-looking specs sticker. Up close however, the 450BD is noticeably “cheaper”. The mesh is made of cheaper plastic, the wires seem to be of a lower grade, and the connectors seem to be made of a cheaper plastic as well. This is only to be expected, as the 450BD *is* cheaper - ringing in at 2/3 the price of a comparable Antec or Enermax PSU.
