A+GPB 480W Titanium Power Supply Review

 

Today we look at another offering from A+GPB.  We look at the big brother of the Titanium line, the 480W solution. Will this be the big bad brother of all power supplies?  Well it has a good chance, let's check it out!

The A+GPB 480W Titanium Power Supply arrived to us in the same corrugated box as the 420W model came in. There was no damage to the power supply because of Styrofoam bits protecting both power supplies from damage.

The front of the box had a nice shot of the power supply and information on the box. The words “Magic Color Power” are boldly displayed.

Reflective and great quality as usual

The power supply comes in the same reflective Titanium coating, as it’s younger sibling. It’s very attractive, and has quality written all over it. This triple fan power supply has a LED fan present and you will see more of this later on. The LED fan transitions into different colors every four seconds. You have two fans (Globe fans) on the rear and parallel to the rear, and the LED fan on the top helping to suck air out of the case. Triple fans as usually relatively loud and this is no exception.  A 120mm unit such as the Seasonic or SiverStone would be better at cooling and have less noise.  The top of the PSU has a small appliqué of a Japanese writing character. The unit is heavy as usual with A+GPB models. Throughout testing A+GPB power supplies, they always use high quality components.

What you get with this power supply are the following:

  • The 480W power supply
  • Mounting screws
  • Power cord

Specifications

  • Magic Color LED Fan Technology Inside
  • Triple Fan Cooling
  • Fan Speed Control S/W
  • Extended Output Connector
  • Case Fan Controlling Connector
  • With Serial ATA HD Connector
  • Fold Plated connector Pin
  • Electric-Shock-Free Protection
  • OVP (Over Voltage Protection)
  • OCP (Over Current Protection)
  • OTP (Over Temperature Protection)
  • SCP (Short Circuit Protection)
  • Scan-Disc-Free Protection(PS_Off #>2ms)
  • Stable Regulation for +5V, +3.3V, +12V, at +/- 5%
+3.3V
+5V
-5V
+12V
-12V
+5VSB
30A
54A
0.5A
30A
0.5A
2.0A

+3.3V and +5V max Output 245W, Peak Surge Max Output 508W

One thing that I notice is that this probably the best specs in a power supply we have tested second to the 500W model.  You have a big +5V rail and +12V rail.  You have generous amounts of power to your disposal with a maximum output of 508W, if you actually take all that power up.  You also have the sensor that tells the fans to speed up when the temperatures are hot and spin down when temperatures are cooler.  You have all the protection and the features that A+GPB has ever implemented.

The fan connectors

The 480W Titanium model comes with 1 ATX connector, 1 P4 connector, 1 AUX connection, 8 Molex connectors (1 for SATA connector), 2 Floppies, and 3 connectors for your fans. The ATX wire is sleeved as usual and you have the introduction of a SATA connector, however one is only supplied. Two SATA connectors wouldn’t hurt. You also have your unique Molex connectors specifically for your fans. As usual, A+GPB has the gold color theme going on. The connectors throughout the power supply are gold plated and the PSU has gold fan grills for great looks.

The LED that transits to another color every four seconds

Inside of the 480W unit was fairly tight with room for air to flow outwards. The layout was very clean with two aluminum blocks helping to dissipate heat. I suggest you not open this power supply because you will unplug the LED connection for the fan. I had to connect the yellow wire myself because it came off. It was not an easy thing to put back though. 

The rear of the power supply is typical A+GPB style.  It implements the fan speed switch which has the Auto, Low and Medium settings to control how fast your fans spin. You also have the extra outlet plug generously built-in. You can plug anything to it and it acts as another plug outlet.

Testing

Testing consisted of running the 480W unit for two days and after jotting down the results from the SOLTEK Hardware Monitor. The test system remains the same with no modifications.

Results

Idle (30 mins)
Load (Toast 5 mins)
+12V = 11.85
+12V = 11.73
+5V = 5.08
+5V = 5.00
-12V = -12.44
-12V = -12.30
-5V = -5.08
-5V = -5.14

 

The 480W unit provided excellent results both in idle and load.  Better yet, if you keep the power supply in the system for a long time your rails will get better when it is used to the system.  There were no problems to report on during testing.

The unit is relatively quiet in Auto mode and in Medium it's a bit louder.  As long as you keep it on Auto, you will be fine.

Conclusion

The bigger brother of the Titanium series performs very well with great rails and has the power to serve any needs. If you buy this unit, you can be sure you are getting a strong power supply. We would have liked to see at least two SATA cables for people who do RAID and price wise, the unit is a bit on the higher side but if Newegg ever sells it, you can be sure it would be competitively priced against the 450W unit.  We would expect retailers like Newegg to sell these.  As this is a relatively new PSU, it may take some time. This is where I can recommend buying this power supply.  It surpasses the 450W model in voltage specs and has great rails in idle and load situations. Better yet, it will continue to get better as time progresses.  This PSU will be replacing the 450W in our test system.  That's how good it is.

I rate the A+GPB 480W Titanium power supply a…

8/10!

Pros and Cons

+ Sexy
+ Great performer with voltage rails that "wow"
+ Relatively quiet on Auto for a triple fan model
- Pricing
- 2 SATA connectors wouldn’t hurt

Alternative Pricing (Will be updated when more retailers sell the PSU):

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