Kingwin Mach 1 Power Supply

Modular power supply – Joe

SUMMARY: Attractive package with good cooling.

Power supplies used to come in a “plain jane” wrapper – basically so many watts with a cooling fan in a grey metal box. As cases started to ship with windows, components started to dress up. The good guys at Kingwin were nice enough to send a sample of their MACH 1 POWER ABT-600MA1W to look over – this is a 600 watt unit in an attractive black case with two windows illuminated by two blue LED fans.

Key Features:

• Maximum power: 600 Watts
• One dual PCI express cables, two dual SATA cables, two triple HD pin / one floppy pin cable, one triple HD pin cable
  
• Rear blue LED 80 mm fan, bottom blue LED 120 mm fan, temperature controlled
  
• Dual windows, aircraft style cable connectors
• 70% efficiency minimum at full-load
• MTBF 100,000 hours @ full-rated load, 120 V AC input, 25ºC ambient.
• 6 3/8″(161 mm) L x 5 7/8″(150 mm) W x 3 3/8″(85 mm) H, weight 6 pounds
• Support EPS & Intel 945/955 chipset, Complies with Intel ATX/BTX standard, ATX 12V Ver.2.2

One of the more notable features are the plug-in, wrapped cables – a real plus for keeping case clutter down. The cables use screw-in connectors:

The HD plugs features “easy-off” connectors:

Rear view shows the 80 mm fan – this unit is selectable for 115 – 230 volts:

The bottom view shows the 120 mm fan:

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The business side shows the output plugs – the top row is for standard HD plug cables:

Cables are screwed in – as many or as few that you need:

In use, only the plugged connectors light up:

The motherboard power plug accommodates 20 and 24 pin connectors, 4 pin and 8 pin +12v connectors:

Opening the case (NOT RECOMMENDED and VOIDS WARRANTY) shows the large caps, 80 mm fan (the 120 mm fan is connected to the case cover), heat sinks and other components:

The fans are controlled by a small PCB attached to the heatsink to monitor temps:

I decided to use the P4 Motherboard Test Platform with a Prescott 3.2E SL7E5 to give Kingwin’s Mach 1 a trial. Firing it up, I found it a bit “busy”, attributable to the two fans. (I should note that I use this setup caseless on my desktop – this puts the power supply at desktop level and about two feet from my ears; a power supply in a case at floor level will not be as noticeable.)

I decided to mod it by opening it up and removing the 80 mm fan from the power supply, figuring the 120 mm fan should suffice. (NOTE: Opening a power supply is NOT RECOMMENDED!) Firing it up, I found it very quiet. I ran this rig with Prime 95 running with the following results:

Under Prime 95, the Mach 1’s 2.4ºC rise is minimal. Removing the 80 mm fan does not seem to have compromised cooling to any real degree. I monitored voltage levels with Prime 95 using Motherboard Monitor with the following results:

12 volt rail: 12.15 – 12.20 volts
5 volt rail: 5.12 – 5.15 volts
3.3 volt rail: 3.28 – 3.30 volts

At idle, I measured a temperature delta of 2.1ºC with voltages of 12.26, 5.17 and 3.32 volts – not substantially different from what I found under stress.

A very attractive package, Kingwin’s Mach 1 can be a good addition to any case, especially with the ability to tailor the cabling to only those that are needed, a plus for enhancing case air flow. The blue LEDs and windows add a nice touch.

Email Joe