Neo PC Power Supplies Prove Strength Over Base Models

The Neo HE power supplies are available in 380-watt, 430-watt, 500-watt and 550-watt models. CRN engineers tested the 550-watt version, which has enough power to support high-end desktop systems housing power-hungry graphics cards and multiple hard disk and optical drives. All Neo power supplies feature a universal input with active power factor correction, so they can be used anywhere in the world regardless of the input voltage.

The dual PCI-Express graphics card power connectors make it easy to build high-end graphically oriented systems with twin PCI-Express graphics cards. The Neo HE 550 is ATX12V v2.2 and EPS12V compliant and backward compatible with all ATX12V v2.01 motherboards. It includes connectors for a floppy drive and SATA connectors for Serial ATA hard drives.

One of the power supply&'s neatest features, both literally and figuratively, is its advanced cable management system, in which the peripheral power leads are not permanently attached to the power supply but instead are plugged individually into connectors on the supply, allowing system builders to use only the number of power leads they need.

The power supply has a high-efficiency design that consumes up to 20 percent less energy than standard designs, thereby generating less heat. As a result, a single slow-spinning 80mm fan can cool the unit while producing less than 18dBA of noise. The Neo HE 550 power supply has a three-year warranty and an estimated street price of $149.