Introduction

So you go out and buy the best CPU, Hard Drive, Memory and Video card out there but have you ever wondered what makes all these devices work at its optimum levels? Well if you hadn’t given it much thought, it’s your power supply. That’s right, that measly looking metal case which powers your whole system has a lot to do with how your system performs end of the day when you require hardcore performance out of your PC. A power supply can make or break how well your system performs, so choosing the right one is as important as other system components to ensure a good stable system.

Power supplies have come a long way considering what used to be offered in the past. Today you will see many power supplies that come with the statement SLI certified or Cross Fire certified. This means that nVidia and ATI respectively have tested these power supplies on their test beds and have certified them to be of standard. However don’t consider this as gospel for a good PSU but consider it as an added benefit.

(Update 25th May 2007): We recevied the following document from Nanopoint which shows the AMD crossfire certification and their testing procedures used. Click here)

Today we bring to you one goliath of a power supply by Nanopoint the TAGAN 2-Force II 900W Power supply (TG900-U33 (900W)). This PSU has enough power up its sleeve to power the most powerful systems you can get your hands on in today’s market.  

TAGAN PSU units have gained much popularity in the recent months for their outstanding performance so we can’t wait to see how their newest model the 2 Force II series performs. If you haven’t heard of Nanopoint, the manufacturer of TAGAN PSU’s here’s a blurb off their website.

“NanoPoint Taiwan was founded in April 2004, a subsidiary of MaxPoint GmbH in Germany. The principal products are data storage, power supply units, radiator of coolings, ventilators, the thermal products, mobile racks, computer chassises & modings, and other peripherals. We mainly focus on computer pheripherial invention and research. Meanwhile,the relationship between joint-venture with factory, the products manufactured from NanoPoint Taiwan are not only made by shelf-own mold tooling but requests quality control in order and more serious, which keeps them more competent and met to demand from the market!”

Let me go through the specifications of this beast before going onto more details. The packaging we received the TAGAN TG900-U33 (900W) wasn’t in their retail packaging nevertheless expect to see something flashy when its in stores.

Specifications

*Specs taken direct from Nanopoint website

One 4+4 pin CPU power connector is provided to power a Dual socket CPU setup or a quad core single socket setup. So which ever setup you got, the TAGAN TG900-U33 is able to handle it.

A single 4pin CPU power connector is provided as well in addition to the above.

4 x PCI-E power cables are provided of which two of them are the 6PIN PCI-E standard and two of the 8pin standard, so you’re covered for the latest and greatest of video cards. This is very impressive as not many manufactures really think about this amount of flexibility and add-ons in one single solution. ATI recommends the 8pin connectors if you’re planning on overclocking your system. These provide around 75-100W each so quite adequate for today’s needs.

Furthermore the PCI-E cables are Copper shielded to reduce ripple and noise. Ripple is the AC component superimposed over DC voltage, i.e. it’s the AC component that arises from a DC power supply from sources within the PSU. With the Copper shielding and patented REMI technology this PSU has reduced ripple and noise generated thus enhancing performance on graphic cards. 

The TAGAN 2-Force II also comes with Internal OVP (Over Voltage Protection) and OCP (Over Current Protection) functions. These are features you wouldn’t see on normal PSU’s but are standard features on industrial grade PSU’s such as this one. OCP kicks in when the current in amps is greater than the rated current of the equipment it passes through, which can result in an overload or short circuit. With OCP if a situation as above occurs it’ll automatically cutoff the current protecting the components within.

In addition to this the TAGAN 900-U33 comes with APFC (Active Power Factor Correction) a feature you’d expect to see in higher grade PSUs. APFC automatically corrects for AC input voltage, is capable of a full range of input voltage, and diminishes total harmonics making the power supply more efficient under normal load. The TAGAN 900-U33 900W also boasts an efficiency rating of 80% which is good. On any PSU efficiency goes down with heat buildup, however an 80% efficiency rating is currently the most you can expect from high end units.

APFC is a complex power factor correction method so ultimately it’s more expensive to produce resulting in a more expensive PSU. However if you’re an enthusiast we do recommend going for a PSU with this feature. 

As you can see from the pictures the TAGAN TG900 comes with two 80mm fans on either side of the unit. When most other manufactures use a single 120mm fan on top to cool the PSU, this model differs from the norm providing greater airflow. With two 80mm fans on either side we were expecting to hear quite a lot of noise from this device, but surprisingly you could hardly hear them working. Mind you the fans are thermally controlled so we waited to see if the fans would increase in noise when the PSU was under full load, yet remarkably they’re noise free. Using one of their patented technologies TSCT (Tagan Silence Control Technology) it keeps these fans under 30dBa even on full load which is very impressive.

The outer casing is all metal with a black painted finish. Nothing very flashy to talk about here; it’s also got a water proof switch to turn the unit on and off if required for added safety.

Unfortunately the TAGAN TG900-U33 isn’t a modular setup so all cables are already connected to the PSU. I wish Nanopoint actually made this as a modular setup as it comes with a ton of cables standard and if you won’t really use all of them it just gets in the way. The good thing however is all the cables are shielded in a black mesh with copper shielding so that it won’t be an obstruction for airflow. The mesh does not make the cables rigid and they are very easy to handle and give a very heavy duty feel to them. Also provided are Velcro cable ties to keep everything together. 

While on the subject of cables the TAGAN TG900-U33 offers a plethora of expansion options. Here’s a run down of what’s available:

1 x 20+4pin motherboard connector
1 x 4pin CPU connector
1 x 4+4pin CPU connector
2 x 8pin PCI-E connectors
2 x 6pin PCI-E connectors
2 x SATA cables capable of handling 8 drives. (4 on each cable)
6 x 4pin Molex connectors and
2 x 4pin Floppy drive connectors

I can’t see anyone who’d really use all these cables provided, yet considering the strange things I have seen in the past it’s not impossible to see someone requiring this amount of expansion. Nevertheless kudos on Nanopoint for providing this level of flexibility.

As you can see from the picture above the TAGAN TG900-U33 has a max output current of 26A on the +3.3v and +5v rails, and 20A on the six +12v rails giving them a total maximum output current of 70A. The maximum combined power for the +3.3v and +5v is 170W and 840W for the +12V rails. The -12v and +5Vsb have a max output of 0.8A and 3.0A respectively and a combined power output of 20W. (9.6W, 15W)

Testin:

To test the system we hooked up the TG900-U33 onto one of our gaming systems. Here are the specs:

Our testing procedure consisted of first getting voltage readings at system idle and then while on full load using a multimeter. Getting readings off software that often come with motherboards will not give you accurate results, so if you plan to test your PSU you’ll need to use a multimeter.

A thing to note is that most high powered power supplies become more efficient as more power is drained off them. Of course you’ll never really reach the full power output this PSU provides in real life unless you put it on some electronic load simulator; nevertheless we believe the above rig should be adequate to produce a real life scenario which everyone can relate to.

Max load was obtained by overclocking the system slightly and using benchmark tools such as 3D mark, PRIME and a few games for a couple of hours. So here are the results. 

The Wattage used on idle was 305W and on Full load 563W. Ambient Temperature at the time was around 22C and the PSU temperature on idle was 26C and on Full load was 31.6C.

As the results show the TAGAN TG900-U33 900W Power supply performs extremely well and within specifications of +/- 3%. On full load the system is still very stable and we didn’t have any problems at all. These results were taken after an hour of continuous stress testing. 

Conclusion:

Having used this power supply for over a week now I must admit it certainly is a great performer. It certainly got what it takes to be a kick-ass power supply for the hardcore user. TAGAN power supplies have received profound respect and end user acceptance due to its industrial strength performance.

The only real drawback of this PSU is Nanopoint didn’t adopt a modular design which would have been good, other than that, I simply cannot find any fault with this unit. It’s got a lot of expansion options and enough power to handle even the highest rated quad core CPU setup. We got word from Nanopoint they're coming out with a new modular design with the same features as the U33; it's the U88 which will be coming out in July. So keep an eye out for that if you really want to go with such a setup.

In addition it comes with Active PFC, over voltage and over current protection and an efficiency rating of 80%, making the TAGAN TG900-U33 one of the best mainstream power supplies in the market right now.

If you’re in Australia head down to Actiontec as they’re the main distributor for these units. Everyone else visit Nanopoint and check out where you could purchase one of these units. We’re very confident of this product and it receives our “recommended” award.

Pros:

    * Active PFC
    * Silent operation
    * Fully sleeved cables
    * OCP and OVP protection
    * Excellent performance
    * High efficiency rating

Cons:

    * No modular setup