By: Jonathan Kwan
July 26, 2013
What exactly is a kilowatt? The textbook definition tells us a watt is a measurement of the rate of energy conversion or transfer. Since energy conversion or transfer is measured in joules, a kilowatt would then be defined as one thousand joule per second. This brings up the question, what exactly is a joule? Well, a joule describes work with relation to force and distance. Of course, unless you are still in high school, you probably have forgotten everything your physics teacher said already. So to put it in perspective, let's say you have a five pound brick. How far can you lift it up in one second with one thousand watts of power? Assuming gravity is 9.81m/s^2, the normal force of the brick is equal to the force of gravity. Converting everything to metric, plug in the numbers, and you will get 22.3N. Substituting force times distance into power equals to work over time, a quick calculation shows us that 1000W will get that five pound brick a whopping 44.8m in the air in one second. In other words, at that rate, in a little bit less than four minutes, you would have hurled the brick into the earth's stratosphere. But scratch that, who needs to hurl bricks that high into the sky? After all, if you keep sending five pound objects more than 30,000 feet into the air, it may get you into more legal trouble than you think. What else can you do with 1000W of power? For the geeks among us, it is probably much safer to keep the power under the hood... in our computers. Here at APH Networks, we have yet another kilowatt-grade PSU for our review today. Is it as powerful as it sounds? We cracked open Cooler Master's latest V1000 1000W to see what is under the hood.
As always, our review unit of Cooler Master's V1000 1000W power supply came in a large, brown corrugated cardboard box via UPS Standard. It was a relatively large box, but the V1000 was not the only item inside. Traveling the usual 2,000 km trip from California, USA to us here in Calgary, Alberta, Canada, everything arrived in excellent condition for our review today. Cooler Master included tons of packing material inside to ensure this $200 PSU travels safely across the border, and I have absolutely no complaints.
Since the V series PSU is a new line of products from Cooler Master, it should not serve as a surprise to see its retail packaging design bears no resemblance to any of the Silent Pro series. And why should it? Actually, it carries forward a familiar color scheme used by the company; the Cooler Master purple makes no mistakes. Using a macro shot of the V1000's rear modular socket connectors to form its sophisticated looking black background; they sure know how to make a good first impression. Cooler Master's logo can be seen at the top left corner, while an 80 Plus Gold certification badge can be seen at the top right corner. The model name -- which doubles as the wattage rating -- is big and bold across the bottom. Meanwhile, a short list highlights its fully modular design, 135mm silent fan, and 100% Japanese capacitor build.
Before we move on, let's take a look at the specifications of the Cooler Master V1000 1000W power supply, as obtained from the manufacturer's website:
Model: RS-A00-AFBA-G1
Type: Intel Form Factor ATX 12V V2.31
Dimension (W x H x D): 150 x 170 x 86mm / 5.9 x 6.7 x 3.4 inch
Input Voltage: 90-264Vac (Auto Range)
Input Current: 12 - 6A
Input Frequency Range: 60 - 50Hz
PFC: Active PFC (>0.9)
Power Good Signal: 100-500ms
Hold Up Time: >17ms
Efficiency: 90% Typically
MTBF: >100,000 Hours
Protection: OVP/UVP/OPP/OTP/SCP
Output Capacity: 1000W
Operation Temperature: 0~40°C
Regulatory: CE/TUV/TUV-SUDNRTL/FCC/GOST/CCC/BSMI/C-tick/KCC
Fan: Silent FDB 135mm
Certifications: 80 Plus Gold
Connector: M/B 20+4 Pin Connector x 1; CPU 4+4 Pin x 2; PCI-e 6+2 Pin x 8; SATA x 9; 4 Pin Peripheral x 4; 4 Pin Floppy x 1
Out of the box, Cooler Master includes a humble yet generous bundle with the V1000 1000W power supply. It is humble, as in there is nothing extravagant -- there is not a whole lot of 'wow' factor of amazing luxury items you know will never use, but still drop your jaws at. However, it is generous, as in no one will ever mistake the 'V' in the V series for 'value'. Out of the box, clipped inside two Styrofoam brackets, is the PSU itself secured inside a drawstring bag. The modular cables are separately packaged in a large Velcro enclosed nylon bag. Four installation screws are included, as well as a power cable and installation poster. As you can see, there is nothing excessive, but it is certainly not cheap either. I like the way Cooler Master presents the V1000.
Page Index
1. Introduction, Packaging, Specifications
2. Physical Look - Outside
3. Physical Look - Inside
4. Minor Tests and Conclusion
