Page 2 - Physical Look - Outside
Anyone who has seen the original FSP AURUM Gold and the subsequent AURUM CM Gold is happy to know the company took the effort to actually design their flagship line of power supplies. Being the latest and greatest to the AURUM family, the FSP AURUM Pro 1000W is very close in appearance to its lower powered counterparts. Rather than your run-of-the-mill matte black box with cables sticking out the back, the 'volcano rock' inspired casing is rather interesting to look at. I will let my photos speak for itself. Admittedly, when I first saw the photos of the original AURUM Gold, I was kind of confused as to what the shell is made out of. It kind of looked like foam to me for some reason, but anyone who has ever handled a power supply before would know this is highly unlikely. Rest be assured, however, because the AURUM Pro is just fancy textured metal like the original. Residing behind the unconventional diamond shaped five-ring fan grille -- designed for minimal air resistance while providing adequate protection -- is the primary and only cooling fan installed. The 135mm fan is a size up from the previous generation's 120mm specification, and creates airflow by drawing air from the bottom of the power supply over its internal components to keep the temperatures in check. Exhaust heat is allowed to leave at the back of the power supply through the large mesh opening.
Measuring in at 18.0cm in length, the FSP AURUM Pro 1000W is one the longest power supplies I have used. The extra length is needed to accommodate its modular connector board at the back, as well as a plethora of internal components to obtain maximum performance. We will take a look inside the PSU on the next page. For most ATX or eATX chassis, the additional centimeters over a 'short' 14cm power supply like the FSP AURUM CM Gold 650W should not be much of a problem. However, if you have a mATX case that takes standard power supplies, be sure to measure out everything accordingly so there will be no surprises during installation. Meanwhile, six screws on both sides of the FSP AURUM Pro secure the power supply case together. The warranty seal... is not found anywhere. In other words, you can easily crack open this power supply without voiding your warranty; not saying you should mess around with the electronics inside, but at least you can clean the dust out without waiting five years.
Starting from the back part of the power supply, the rear mesh design is similar to most PSUs with bottom mounted fans; except this one comes with a unique pattern originally found on the AURUM Gold and AURUM CM Gold PSUs. The on/off switch located below the male connector for power input near the left side of the unit. Notice that the male connector is a C20 plug -- I really don't see normal consumers having an extra cable kicking around too frequently. I can see why, as the included AC power cable is a fat 14 AWG unit to ensure you won't be using some cheap generic $1 replacement, but I don't think this is necessary at all. If you end up losing the cable, you will be out of luck.
Anyway, the low resistance arrowhead mesh design is implemented to maximize heat exhaust and minimize air resistance. This is done as heat needs to leave the power supply as easily and efficiently as possible, because the FSP AURUM Pro 1000W incorporates only one 135mm fan at the bottom, with no auxiliary fans. It is also implemented in a reasonably efficient manner, but these components do take a little more than I would like in an ideal case. As with most new power supplies, the AURUM Pro has an automatic full range (100V-240V) AC line voltage selection, so the user does not have to worry about manually selecting input voltage.
Like many modular power supplies in the market today, the FSP AURUM Pro 1000W is not a 100% modular power supply. This means most cables are detachable from the main unit, but cables such as the ATX 24-pin, ATX/EPS 4+4-pin, and two PCI Express 6+2 pins are permanently fixed. I personally do not have a problem with this, but having a permanently fixed duo of PCI Express connectors is a unique choice. It is unlikely this will not be used, but how far can we go before we can consider a power supply not modular? The advantage is you will suffer from lower electrical loss at the contacts, but the disadvantage is you will need to deal with a little inconvenience during your initial build, and for those who don't have a dedicated graphics card, then you are out of luck. While I do not have a problem with fixed motherboard cables, the permanent PCI Express connector is definitely one of my concerns for a modular PSU.
The rear cable connection panel is done quite nicely. This time around, it is labeled really well, too. The Molex and SATA cables share the same output sockets, while the PCI Express cables are adjacent to this array on the left. The PCI Express and Molex/SATA sockets are physically incompatible with each other, so there is absolutely no worry about plugging in the wrong thing. On the very right are two headers for a specialized low voltage fan-only output. This array of available connectors in conjunction with the provided cables should be more than sufficient for casual users and power enthusiasts alike.
The external build quality of FSP's AURUM Pro 1000W power supply is also excellent -- a good indication the company is serious about the product they are selling. The company has always done a great job with their AURUM series PSUs in this regard, and this one is no exception. We will take it apart in just a moment. Fit is done well with minimal panel gaps, and all edges are nicely finished off. As aforementioned, we will crack open the power supply to see what's inside in the following section.
The voltage specification label at the top of the FSP AURUM Pro 1000W. There are two main virtual rails. Up to 25A can be delivered via the +3.3V rail for a total of 82.5W; while 25A on the +5V rail brings the output to 125W in this area. The total combined output for the +3.3V and +5V rail is 160W. In other words, your power allocation combination must fall within the limits of the listed specifications. Meanwhile, a single powerful +12V rail delivers up to 83A (996W) to reduce operating overhead compared to multiple +12V rails. Overall, the combined power output for the whole AURUM Pro is... well, 1000W haha. Again, your power distribution in your system must fall within the limits provided -- it must not exceed 82.5W on the +3.3V rail, 125W on the +5V rail and 160W combined for both, 996W on the +12V rail, and 1000W combined between the +12V and +3.3/+5V rails. It does sound a bit confusing to understand how this works at first, but generally speaking this configuration allows very flexible power demands and should be sufficient to accommodate most users. On the other hand, I have seen lower wattage PSUs with more power on the +5V rail, so I would actually expect a little more in this area for a 1000W power supply unit.
The FSP AURUM Pro 1000W is 80 Plus Gold certified, as its name suggests. This means that it is certified to be at least 87%, 90%, 87% efficient at 20%, 50%, and 100% load, respectively. The only higher certification available is 80 Plus Platinum.
A total of eight modular cables are included out of the box, if you don't count the fan-only connectors. All modular cables are flat and easy to bend, making them extremely easy to work with. After using the AURUM CM Gold 650W last year, I have grown to be a big fan of the flat cables, and personally, I think they are quite a bit easier to work with than conventional sleeved units. 16 AWG wires are found on the ATX 24-pin and 4+4-pin bundles. Everything else is 18 AWG, which is standard, and to be expected.
The following non-modular cables are permanently attached to the power supply:
- 1x ATX 24-pin, ~55cm
- 1x ATX 4+4-pin, ~65cm
- 1x PCIe 6+2 pin, 2 connectors, ~55cm to first connector, ~10cm spacing thereafter
The following modular cables are included out of the box:
- 1x EPS 8-pin, ~65cm
- 3x PCIe 6+2 pin, 2 connectors each, ~55cm to first connector, ~10cm spacing thereafter
- 1x SATA, 4 connectors, ~55cm to first connector, ~15cm spacing thereafter
- 2x SATA/Molex, 2 SATA and 2 Molex each, ~55cm to first connector, ~15cm spacing thereafter
- 1x SATA/Molex/Floppy, 2 SATA, 2 Molex, and 1 Floppy, ~55cm to first connector, ~15cm spacing thereafter, Floppy 4-pin attached to the end of the daisy chain
These are just quick rough measurements, but should be reasonably accurate measured from end to end. The two fan-only cables are 55cm long to the Molex, and are spaced 15cm to the 2-pin header. Most users should have no problems with FSP's AURUM Pro 1000W, even if your case has a bottom power supply mount. 50cm is the general standard, but if you have a larger case, the ATX 4+4-pin or EPS 8-pin cable may require an extension to reach the upper left corner of your motherboard.
Page Index
1. Introduction, Packaging, Specifications
2. Physical Look - Outside
3. Physical Look - Inside
4. Minor Tests and Conclusion
