First Look
The last Xigmatek product I reviewed was the NRP-VC503, which turned out to be more of a Very Combustible 503 when test 7 at 450W load ended in a rather spectacular explosion. The X-Calibre series are Xigmatek’s next level up. Let’s see if they are any better than the VC series, or are also just fireworks in disguise.
The Box
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The front of the box doesn’t contain much out of the ordinary. We have the usual picture of the PSU, the product name, as well as the supported protections (Over and Under Voltage Protection, as well as Over Power Protection). The back of box contains the cable configurations as well as the load tables for all three models in the X-Calibre series. It also looks like we have sleeved cables too. Nice.
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Most of the marketing is on the right hand side.
- Compliant with newest Intel ATX 12V V2.3 stanard
- Attractive matte black finish with Xigmatek Orange bladed fan
- Greater than 75% efficiency under typical loads (I sure hope so. Even many gutless wonders can do that)
- Dual rail +12V outputs for high power utilization applications (The number of 12V rails doesn’t make a power supply any more or less capable of handling power hungry devices)
- OVP/OPP/UVP over-surge protections (Hopefully, this review won’t end in fireworks, then)
- Available in 400W, 500W and 600W models
- FCC, TUV, UL, CH, BSMI, GOST standards complaint
There’s nothing really out of the ordinary there. Many power supplies available today have those features.
The left hand side of the box tells us all of the available models, with an orange sticker next to the one we have in the box. The top and bottom of the box are completely devoid of marketing, and only thing on them is Xigmatek’s website address.
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The box contains the power supply, a Warranty sheet (speaking of which, this power supply comes with a 2 year warranty), a power cable, three zip ties, and four screws. There is no manual, however.
The Power Supply
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Both the box and label claim this to be dual rail power supply, but this is not accurate. There is only a single group of 12V wires on the secondary side. At this power level, however, it’s not as big a problem as it is on more powerful units. The power supply itself is matte black, which is my preferred colour.
The cable configuration consists of a 20+4 pin ATX Connector, a 4+4 pin ATX/EPS12V CPU Power connector, a 6 pin PCI Express power connector, five SATA power connectors, two Molex/Peripheral power connectors and one FDD Power connector. Unlike the box says on the back, only the ATX Connector and CPU power connector are sleeved. The rest aren’t. I do knock points off for inaccurate marketing, you know.
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There is nothing too out of the ordinary in the way of ventilation. The fan has a wire grille, and the back uses a honeycomb grille. The casing on the power supply is slightly warped. While this won’t cause problems, it looks somewhat unprofessional.
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