Soyo Raptor SY-PS400 Adjustable Switching Power Supply

Reviews: Hardware

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Kurtis Kronk
Brian
Soyo
Aug. 1, 2004

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A Closer Look

The first thing you'll notice is that the Raptor comes in an unusually large box for a power supply. This is due to the bay device. When you open the box you will find a User's Guide, the bay device with black and white faceplates, power cord, USB cables, screws, and of course, the power supply.

With its cool color, 120mm fan with silver grill, and the red power switch in the back, the Raptor is pretty darn spiffy looking. Not that style is the most important thing in the power supply arena, but good looks never hurt! The bottom of the power supply is where the only fan, which happens to be a 120mm, is located. This effectively sucks warm air away from your CPU and sends it out of the case through the mesh on the back of the power supply. Of course, on the back of the power supply is where you will find the aforementioned power switch and the other usuals.

Trailing from the power supply you will find the following connections: (1) ATX power, (1) 12V motherboard connector, (5) 4-pin peripheral power, (2) floppy power, (2) SATA power, and (1) AUX power. Also worth noting is that the ATX power cable is sleeved, which is always good.

The bay device that comes with the Raptor allows you to monitor and control the 3.3V and 5.0V rails. In addition, it also has two USB ports on it. The USB cables that were included with the power supply will plug into the back of the bay device, and the other end of the cable will plug directly into your motherboard. This method gives you two additional USB ports rather than simply extending two current USB ports. Also included in the package is an additional faceplate for the bay device. You can choose between black and white. Unfortunately, the bay device is not optional, it is must be connected to the power supply via two sets of wires. If you don't have an extra 5.25" bay, you'll need to evict one of your 5.25" devices or come up with some other devious plan.

The bay device is extremely easy to use, as it is clearly labeled. Both of the adjustable rails are clearly labeled 3.3V and 5.0V, and each have an "Over Voltage Warning" LED, a 3-digit LCD display, and a control knob. One thing to note about the control knob, you will need a small screwdriver to adjust it. This is to ensure that you don't accidentally bump into it and screw everything up. We'll talk a bit more about the bay device in the testing section.

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Page 1: Introduction
Page 2: A Closer Look & Internals
Page 3: Internals
Page 4: Testing
Page 5: Conclusion

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1 User Comment

1 - Posted by Brian on August 2, 2004 - 11:57 pm

I have this power supply in my computer temporarily. Works great but a little loud for my tastes. The Voltage display is nice, and the bay doesn't really bother me since I have plenty of room for it right now. However, the computer I am using right now is just a temp while I work on my mod. Then I'm switching over to a 400W Zalman.

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