First look
The PoweRock series are a more affordable line of power supplies from Gigabyte, aimed at providing good value for money. There are three models available in this series – a 300W, a 400W, and a 500W (the latter two of which are 80plus certified), although the 500W model is the only one I could find being sold in Australia. Given that it sells for around $50, it would be a fair assumption that the 400W model we have here would sell for around the $40 mark, meaning that it competes with the power supplies like the In Win IP-S400CQ2-0 and last week’s review product – the Xigmatek X-Calibre 400W. Let’s see if it can at least do better than the latter.
The Box
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As well as the usual pictures and product name, the front of the box contains a few marketing bullet points.
- Complies to Intel +12V V2.2 specification (I assume that means ATX12V V2.2)
- Dual independent 12V rail, capable of more steady output (The number of 12V rails has nothing to do with the performance. It just makes the OCP more sensitive on high capacity units)
- 80% efficiency output (I sure hope so. This is 80plus certified, after all)
- Multiple safety protection features: OCP/OVP/OPP/UVP/SCP (That would be Over Current, Over Voltage, Over Power, Sunder Voltage, and Short Circuit Protection)
- Silent 12cm cooling fan (noise level <22dBA, and <20dBA idle)
- Intelligent auto fan speed control, low in acoustic
- Dual Core CPU ready (I’ll wager it’s quad core CPU ready too)
- RoHS and WEEE Compliant, taking care of our own planet
- CE, CB, TUV, cUL, FCC certified, multi-regional compatible power supply unit
I can’t say there’s too much out of the ordinary there. A lot of power supplies have these features. The right hand side of the box contains a load table and the cable configuration. Interestingly, the model number on this power supply is GE-EIS40A-C2, while the model on Gigabyte’s website is GE-N400A-C2.
The other sides of the box don’t have any more marketing on them. With the marketing out of the way, let’s see what we have inside.
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Inside the box is the power supply itself, a power cable, and a bag of screws. There is no manual included. However, most people can figure out how to install a power supply without the help of a manual.
The Power Supply
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For once, the label is actually right about the unit having two 12v rails. There are two visible OCP shunts inside the unit. The power supply itself is matte black, which is my preferred color.
The PoweRock 400W has a 20+4 pin ATX connector, a 4+4 pin ATX/EPS12V CPU connector, a 6+2 pin PCI-E power connector, four SATA power connectors, four molex/peripheral connectors, and one FDD power connector. All of the cables are sleeved, but the sleeving doesn’t extend into the power supply, leaving the first couple of centimetres without sleeving.
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The PoweRock has the usual wire fan grille and honeycomb rear grille, which is great for ventilation and bee keeping.
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