Contents
- 1Introducing the Spire Jewel 350 W (SP-ATX-350WT-PFC)
- 1.1Packaging and accessories
- 2Connectors & cabling
- 2.1Casing & cooling
- 3Input filtering
- 4Primary side
- 4.1+5 V stand-by rail
- 5Secondary side
- 5.1Build quality
- 6Load testing
- 6.1Loading +5 V SB
- 6.2Hold-up time
- 6.3Combined loading
- 6.4Combined loading ripple
- 6.5Crossloading, overloading
- 6.6Crossloading, overloading ripple
- 6.7Fan speed, temperatures and noise
- 7Conclusion and evaluation
- 7.1Thanks
- 7.2Discussion
Introducing the Spire Jewel 350 W (SP-ATX-350WT-PFC)
The Spire Jewel 350 W (SP-ATX-350WT-PFC) is a unit from the bottom of the low-end market segment. It seems to me that this 350W model is almost completely sold out now, though more powerful versions are still available from Spire. It is carried by a last shop in Czech Republic for price slightly under 500 CZK. This unit is based on the 13 years old ATX v1.3 specification so the platform it uses seems to be antique. The manufacturer behind it is most likely Yi-Xin Electronic.
The warranty is the basic 2-year though I am not sure if anybody would even try to RMA such a thing. And of course, it has no 80 PLUS certification as it will never reach 80% efficiency. It does not seem like a new unit though as it is not such complete garbage as most units for such price. The reason for that is that this unit has been made by the end of 2008, so it is close to 8 years old. That is why it is so cheap today, I would guess previously the price was much higher.
The reason for such price is limited usability in 2016 mostly for quite old computers (or for uninformed users). First, it has no voltage doubler so it only runs on 230V grid. Next, the ATX 1.3 specification is still +5 V heavy. Here it provides as much as 25 A on that rail, 16 A on +3.3 V and only 13 A on the +12V rail. Plus there is also the −5 V rail and heavier −12V. I will not be loading the −5V rail at all as even the 1.3 specification does not require the rail, it was already voluntary. And by now there are no devices that need it. The combined power from all rails adds to 355.9 watts so you have to load all of them simultaneously to get the rated power of this unit.
Packaging and accessories
The SP-ATX-350WT-PFC actually comes in a box, which would be almost impossible if it costed similar price 8 years ago. It actually consists of white carton box and this pasteboard with the printing slipped over the box. The front side informs us about connectors and what processors the unit can power. It even mentions something about overload protection, I am very curious for that.
It also states the fan has a controller providing three speeds. The backside expands on the information. It also says the fan noise should be less than 21 dBA. I am not quite sure this information is to be believed, especially for the 500W version.
Bubble bag and a few pieces of cardboard protect the unit inside the box. But there are screws (five of them actually), manual and even a power cord. That also suggests the unit was definitely in higher price range years ago.
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