14 DAY TRIAL // At one time, performance was the main interest of hardware makers and consumers alike. When the recession struck, however, men and women started to pay more attention to the cost/performance ratio, as well as the ultimate impact that a certain purchase would have on the power bill. This, in turn, prompted companies to actually come up with newer and better ways of reducing the environment footprint by increasing energy efficiency.
The power supply is one of the product types that most emphasize electrical efficiency. There are multiple certifications that such a PSU must earn before truly being considered green. The most relevant is the 80Plus, which deals directly with the energy efficiency of the unit. That being said, even getting the lowest certification, 80Plus Bronze, is an achievement. Chieftec knows this, which is why it has brought forth the Nitro series.
The Nitro series is made up of ten models. First off, there are six modular solutions, with output of 550W, 650W, 750W, 850W, 950W and 1,200W, respectively. Secondly, there are four non-modular models, of 350W, 400W, 450W and 500W. They all meet the ATX 2.3 standard, have a pair of 12V rails, nylon sleeves on cables and 140mm (modular) and 120mm (non-modular) fans. All spinners feature automatic speed adjustment, aided by a thermostat. As for the energy efficiency itself, all products surpass 85% and boast 80Plus bronze rating except for the 1,200W, which has 80Plus Silver rating (90.1% efficiency).
The modular units are noteworthy not just for their cable management benefits, but also for the fact that each boasts up to six 8-pin PCI Express 2.0 power connectors, as well as ten SATA connectors. Basically, these newcomers should handle most multi-GPU setups and high-end CPUs. Finally, European stores should be able to receive Chieftec's fresh creations starting with the week of January 26, 2011.