There are many parts to a computer system, and often the most overlooked in the power supply, you need to have a good, stable PSU for your system to run at its full potential. Today for review I have the Spire RockeTeer IV 600Watt Power Supply, the Rocketeer is a decent power supply that performs well and does so silently. So, let's jump right into this review…
Spire RockeTeer IV 600Watt Power Supply
Reviewed by: Kristofer Brozio AkA Dracos
Sponsor: Spire
Tech Specs,Features or the Basic Info:
SP-ATX-600W – RockeTeer IV
600W silent power supply
The new Spire series power supplies give even the most demanding PC users a way to keep it cool. Housed in nickel coated enclosures, these power supplies feature multiple, low-noise dual ball bearing fans to ensure smooth and silent operation in the workplace or home office. Whether it is work or play, business presentations or games, applications can take center stage because they no longer have to compete with typical PC cooling noise.
Features:
Intel ATX 2.01 Specification Compliant
Supports Intel Pentium 4, AMD Athlon XP and Athlon 64
3 Speed Variable Fan Speed Auto-Control
I/O Short Circuit & Overload Protection
Redundant Cooling System
SATA Power Connector
3 Year Warranty
Specs:
SP-ATX-600W RockeTeer IV
Application: Intel ATX 2.01, ATX 12V Power Supply Design Guide Ver. 1.3
Voltage : 100~120 Vac / 200~240 Vac (Select Switch)
Frequency : 47Hz ~ 63Hz
Current : 10.7 / 6.2 Amps
Hold-up Time : 16 ms
Nom. Power : 600 Watts
Max. Power : 620 Watts
P.G. Signal : 100 ~ 500 ms
Voltage Protection : +12V trip point 13.4V – 15.6V | +5V trip point 5.74V – 7.0V
| +3.3V trip point 3.76V – 4.3V
Cooling : One (1) 120mm crystal blue silent LED
Noise Level : 21.0 dBA Max.
Dimensions : 163mm (L) x 150mm (W) x 85mm (H)
Connectors : 20+24pin ATX (Motherboard) x1 | 4-pin 12V (Motherboard) x1 | Multi-use x6 | SATA x2
Cables : ATX adapter x 1 | 4-pin (3IDE) / (1 Floppy) x 2 | 4-pin (HDD/VGA) x6
| 4-pin (3 IDE Multi-use) x1 | 15-pin (2 SATA) x2
MTBF : 300.000 hours
Warranty : 3 Year Limited Warranty
Safety : UL, FCC, CE, CSA, TUV
* All technical data shown above are measurements from our own laboratory.
A Better Look at Things
:
The first thing we look at is the packaging, and Spires' packaging is very good and professionally done, it is not actually a box but a slip cover over a plain white box, good idea actually, save on having to make all new boxes for each psu. On the front of the box we can plainly see the psu itself, with the model number listed as well.
Moving to the bottom of the box we have all the specs and features listed, the same as I listed above.
Opening the box, the first thing we see is the instruction sheet with the specs and features listed as well. Under that is the PSU itself, which is nicely wrapped in bubble wrap.
Spire included a power cable, a couple zip ties, mounting screws and velcro ties as well with the Rocketeer.
A Better Look at Things
Continued:
Here's a closer look at the contents packed with the Rocketeer, the velcro ties are the nicer belt style that hold cables in place very well.
The PSU itself is rather nice looking with a semi-gloss titanium colored finish, of course on one side we have the specification label.
Lately most companies have adopted the honeycomb style of ventilation for their power supplies, but Spire uses what reminds me of The Matrix, the the alternating lines. This style affords lots of air to be moved out of the PSU. Of course on the back we have the power switch, power input, voltage switch and we can get a glimpse of the 120mm fan through the ventilation holes.
A Better Look at Things
Continued:
The Spire Rocketeer features a silent 120mm fan with gold fan grill, and blue LEDs to keep the psu nice and cool silently.
Only the main power cables are sleeved, the other cables are twisted, making for a nice neat look.
The connectors are: SATA x2, Molex x6, PCIE x2, FDD x2, yes there aren't many connectors really, at least not enough for a more high end system. Considering the move is to SATA drives now, I don't think only having two SATA connectors is good enough.
Opening the Spire Rocketeer up we can get a peek at the inner workings of this power supply, the first thing you'll notice is the large capacitors and the black heatsinks, and then you'll notice how it all seems really cramped and stuffed in there, with the caps on the left side of the picture bent awkwardly this way and that to fit everything in. If you look at the second picture you'll see that there is about an inch, to an inch and a half of space left that could have been used to make it a bit less cramped inside this PSU.
Installation, Testing and Comparison
Installation is simple as the Spire Rocketeer is actually a rather small power supply compared to others out there. There should be no problems fitting it into most any case besides the smallest mAtx for factor.
I installed the Spire Rocketeer in my Intel system which consists of:
Asus p5wd2-e premium mobo
Intel extreme 955 cpu with Noctua HSF
Power Color x1800GTO
2 gigs Crucial 10th Anniversary Ram
HDD and DVD/RW
Yep basic system overall but it works nicely as a second setup.
For testing I got out my trusty multimeter to test the 12v and 5v rails while under no load and load conditions. For no load I turned the system on and let it sit for 30 minutes, checking the voltages every 5 minutes and recording them. To achieve load on the system I ran two instances of Prime95 Torture Test and 3dmark01SE at the same time, surprisingly the system handled it very well.
No Load:
5v = 5.12v – 5.13v
12v = 12.02v – 12.03v
Load:
5v = 5.13v
12v = 11.95v – 11.98v
The 12v rail dropped below 12 volts but it's still within specs/tolerances. Still though, I don't like to see a PSU drop below 12v for any amount of time and the Rocketeer stayed below 12v during load testing. This isn't to say it's a bad PSU, it is within tolerances and provides enough power for the system, although I wouldn't want to run a higher end system with it, like an SLI setup. The good thing is that after a minute or so the PSU did stabilize and the 12v rail stayed solid at 11.98v, so it is stable under load.
The Spire Rocketeer is actually very quiet while not under load, even under load then fan was barely audible over everything else in the system, so it is a silent PSU.
Summary:
The Spire Rocketeer is a decent silent PSU for those looking for a good stable power supply. The only real drawback I can see about the Spire Rocketeer is the fact that it does not have enough power connectors, especially the SATA connectors, with most all hard drives and now the push to move optical drives to SATA the Rocketeer may not last long. For those with mid level systems though, and for anyone looking to upgrade to a beefier power supply then the Rocketeer might be for you.
DragonSteelMods gives the Spire RockeTeer IV 600Watt Power Supply a 4 out of 5 score.
Pros:
-Looks good
-Neat wiring
-Stable under load
-Silent
-Nice accessories
Cons:
-To few connectors
-Not really for a high end system
I would like to thank Spire for the chance to review the Spire RockeTeer IV 600Watt Power Supply and for their support of DSM.