EVGA expands the SuperNOVA G2 PSU series

As users are becoming more and more aware of how PSUs operate and what the real energy requirements of their systems are, sales of high wattage units decrease in relevance to middle range units. Many manufacturers realize that and they began marketing high performance products of reasonable power output and pricing instead of focusing their efforts on high output units. In that light, EVGA expanded their very popular G2 PSU series downwards, adding 550W and 650W models to it.

EVGA’s G2 series is synonymous with the excellent balance between cost, quality and performance. We have seen their capabilities in our review of the 850W version. After all, there is good reason why the Super Flower Leadex platform is so popular. The new 550W and 650W models are physically smaller but share the same features, so it is very likely that they are based on a Super Flower platform as well.

According to EVGA, the main features of the new 550 G2 and 650 G2 PSUs are:

• 80 PLUS Gold certified, with 90% (115VAC) / 92% (220VAC~240VAC) efficiency or higher under typical loads
• Highest quality Japanese brand capacitors ensure long-term reliability
• Fully Modular to reduce clutter and improve airflow
• NVIDIA SLI & AMD Crossfire Ready
• Heavy-duty protections, including OVP (Over Voltage Protection), UVP (Under Voltage Protection), OCP (Over Current Protection), OPP (Over Power Protection), and SCP (Short Circuit Protection)
• Ultra Quiet Fan with ECO Intelligent Thermal Control Fan system (Zero Fan Noise < 45°C)
• Unbeatable 7 Year Warranty and unparalleled EVGA Customer Support.

We should note that both units are rated at 50°C and have a ridiculous number of connectors for their power output. Even the 550W version has three PCI Express connectors (two 8 pin and one 6 pin) and nine SATA connectors. Apparently, EVGA is very confident about the capabilities of their new units – or of their OCP, at least. Nevertheless, the 550W version should be able to easily power any system with a single CPU and a single GPU, with the possible exception that the extreme combination of an AMD FX-9590 and an R9 295X2.

The new G2 series units are available as of the 12^th of June.

Phanteks Computex 2015 Booth Tour

Phanteks had its new Enthoo EVOLV series cases in both mini-ITX and full ATX form factors on display in its suite at Computex. The mini-ITX version is made out of steel and available in two color schemes (white-black & red-black). There’s a single 200mm fan installed in the front with room for two 120/140mm fans at the top and one at the back. It can take a 330mm GPU and a 200mm CPU cooler, so you can build a fairly powerful system. One of the more special aspects of Phanteks’ cases is the PSU cover, which essentially hides the PSU cables to create the clean look that many desire.

The ATX version is fully made out of 3mm thick aluminum (despite the side window). For some reason the design and overall build remind me of the original Mac Pro, which isn’t a bad thing at all. 

One of the unique aspects in the case are fully modular hard drive bays. I have to say I really like the concept because typically many ATX cases easily have +5 irremovable bays, but in reality most users probably won’t use more than one or two. Phanteks includes three with the case, but obviously the user can buy extra ones if needed. 

There are actually two hard drive bays and SSD brackets behind the main chamber, so in most cases the user won’t even need the modular HDD bays and can thus maximize airflow by not having anything between the fans and motherboard. 

Phanteks also had a prototype of a dual-system case that can take a full ATX motherboard and a mini-ITX one. The interesting part is that Phanteks is working on a power splitter, so the two systems could be powered by a single PSU to save on space and cost. As you can see, the concept isn’t really final yet because Phanteks needs to some custom cabling in order to be able to close the case since right now the cables come off too much. It’s a niche product for sure, but the idea of running two full systems inside a decent size case is definitely alluring. See the gallery for more shots of the prototype and other cases Phanteks had to show!

Gallery: Phanteks Computex 2015 Booth Tour

Lian Li Computex 2015 Booth Tour

Lian Li had close to a dozen new or prototype-level cases on display at Computex. I’ve added most in the gallery at the end of this post, but I’ll go through a few of the highlights here as well.

The first one is the PC-V33A, which is a box-like case in which the motherboard is mounted horizontally. The top cover is made out of single piece of aluminum, but it opens up for easy installation. 

The case above is more of a conceptual prototype where Lian Li is playing around with a taller case design. Instead of having hard drive bays next to the motherboard, there’s room for four hard drives in the top chamber, which allows for better airflow in the main chamber. 

One of the more down to earth designs is the PC-K621, which is also Lian Li’s first non-aluminum case. Traditionally Lian Li has kept the Lancool brand for value cases, but it seems that the company is trying to consolidate everything under a single brand now. The PC-K621 is made out of steel and plastic, but it does feel very sturdy and despite the fact that the front panel is made out of plastic, it has a metal-like look in it. Pricing will be about $70, so while it’s not exactly a value case it’s still considerably cheaper than the rest of the Lian Li cases.

One minor change Lian Li has made to its cases is changing the power button material from plastic to aluminum. The company received many complaints of the power button not having the same feel as the rest of the case, so as any respectable company Lian Li listened to its customers and made the change. 

And obviously no Lian Li booth tour is complete without the computer desk case. Lian Li has modified the design a bit so that one can now easily sit with legs under the table, which was one of the issues the earlier cases had (note: that’s Kip Hartwell, Lian Li’s marketing rep, in the photo, not me). The desk is still expensive, though, and Lian Li doesn’t really have any plans of making a value model, but it’s a relatively small niche anyway.

Gallery: Lian Li Computex 2015 Booth Tour

Check out the gallery above if you’re interested in seeing what else Lian Li had to offer!