Modular PSUs are all the rage now, so it was only going to be so long until Enermax released their own particular variant. The Liberty range of power supplies has been available for some time now, and we have had a chance to evaluate a unit over a number of weeks. The Liberty is available in a number of sizes depending on your power requirements. These include 400W, 500W and 620W. For the vast majority of users the first two sizes will be more than enough, but for the most powerful Crossfire and 7900GTX SLI systems, you might want to step up to a 620W model.
The version we have in the labs today is the entry level 400W model. It provides 26A on the +3.3V rail, 28A on the +5V rail and two 20A dual rails for the 12V. As has become customary with Enermax power supplies, this is a compact unit that strictly follows the ATX dimensions to a tee. It measures 150x86x140mm meaning it will definitely fit in any standard ATX chassis. All of the Liberty range come with the same collection of modular cables, which are provided inside a smart nylon wallet.
The main variety of modular cable that Enermax has supplied is called “Eternity cable”, and each features two SATA and two standard Molex cables. With this 400W model you get 3 of these leads, which would allow you to install a total of six SATA hard drives and six conventional Molex drives. One of these Eternity cables also has a floppy disk drive power connector on it. This will be fine for most users, but for those where an extra is required (for example if you have an Audigy sound card with external box, or a 9700 Pro video card) an adaptor would be required. As you would expect for a modern PSU, the Liberty has socket for 20/24 pin main connectors as well as either 4/8 auxiliary connectors.
Those of you running a dual-video card setup will appreciate the dual individual PCI-E cables. These are helpfully colour coded so you don’t try and force them into the wrong socket on the PSU. All of the PSUs in the Liberty range feature individually braided cables that look very attractive, and have a gloss black painted finish that will definitely look the part in a windowed case.
In testing, the 400W Liberty exceeded our expectations. Not only was it rock solid when powering a standard desktop PC, it was also flawless when running the highest-drain test rig we currently use, an SLI system consisting of an FX60, an Asus A8N32-SLI deluxe and two 6800 Ultras. Whilst the 7800 and 7900 series cards are out, neither require as much power as a dual 6800 Ultra SLI setup. We used Asus probe to record the ripple on the PSU lines.
As you can see, all three rails are rock solid, even with such a huge load. This makes the 400W Libery the perfect choice for a PSU that looks the part, seems capable of powering systems well out of its punching weight and comes at a bargain price of just £49 from www.chillblast.com in the UK. Highly recommended and an easy Editor's Choice.
Click for an explanation of our awards.
Pros:
- Superb cable attachment mechanism is simple and fast, yet secure
- Braided cables look the part
- Support for a huge number of hard drives
- Small and compact means 100% ATX compatibility.
- Powers systems requiring a lot more than a 400W supply with ease
Cons:
- Only a single floppy power connection may be troublesome for a small number of users.
Check out our other reviews from the Power supplies category:
