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Powerrrr!

I already tried to make you aware of the importance of power consumption these days. It really is remarkable what a PC consumes (power wise). Manufacturers really need to take a good look at this problem as it is a growing concern. Let's do a little math with an average to high-end PC okay ? Take a dual core AMD64 Athlon X2 4400+ GHz based PC featuring with the now mid-range Radeon x1900 GT, three HDs, a DVD-writer and CD Writer. When windows boots it'll use up no more than ~160 Watts.

The minute you overclock your processor and graphics card, and use the HDs and optical drives, your wattage will rise easily to about 350-380 Watts and can, at very stressful points, peak even higher. That still leaves plenty of room to play around. However, for every additional HD or optical drive you need to add 10 Watts and that's where the problem nowadays is.

Do you choose the never ending Guru path of upgrades in the form of SLI or Crossfire graphics cards ? Add another 75-100 Watts to the margin we just set. Do you have a dual CPU based rig or Dual Core processor ? That'll cost you about an extra 80 Watts and then there is additional cooling to ventilate all these "hot" gadgets. Therefore always choose a PSU with plenty of 'breathing' space for future upgrades and devices.

At this time I suggest you get at least a 400 Watt PSU for any mediocre PC, where that number was 300 Watts two years ago. With a lot of HD's and extras like active fans and case-mods such as lights, or if simply powering a high-end gaming rig, go for something even higher than 420 Watt. Starting with a 520 Watt PSU today is not really that bad of a specification for today's high-end computers.

But obviously if you are a true Guru you go for SLI, Physics acceleration, overclocking & a Conroe processor right ? We need some more powah ! Yep, Kilowatt PSU's do not sound so crazy anymore.

The BFG 1000 Watt Power Supply

The TG1100-U95 has terrific aesthetics which we'll show you later on. The PSU is nicely black powder coated, has sleeved wiring, quad 6-pin connectors for PCI-Express graphics cards and is rated rather awesomely. I do have to make a slight remark here because I do not believe for a single second that BFG manufactures these PSU's themselves. The minute I opened up the box I was thinking like hey, I've seen this before. Quite honestly I think that BFG outsourced production to Topower who also are the OEM for Tagan.

Next to that you'll notice that the presentation of this product is nothing but impressive. Very clever marketing and product presentation for sure. The PSU is actually delivered in a stylish high-quality leather case.

So there you have it, 1000 Watts for Quad GFX engines and multi-core (server) systems.

Right, some marketing love:

BFG Silent Control Technology makes sure the unit runs quietly and the over-volt, over-current and short circuit protection provides rock solid reliability to create the most robust system possible.

• ATX 12V 2.2 and EPS 12V 2.8
• Quad 12V Rails
• Quad PCI Express Graphics Ready
• Connectors: 1 x 20+4-pin Main Power, 1 x 4+4-pin ATX 12V + EPS 12V, 4 x 6-pin PCI Express, 8 x 4-pin Molex, 2 x 4-pin Floppy, 8 x SATA
• Lifetime Warranty with 24/7 Tech Support

Hey look at that ! You receive a life-time warranty on this PSU which is awesome. In Europe however there is something called the EU legislation. You can expect 10 years warranty in Europe which is still fantastic for a product of this calibre.

Features:

• SLI Ready
• ATX 12V 2.2/EPS 12V 2.91 Supports the latest Intel and Athlon based platforms requiring 24-Pin motherboard and 4-Pin or 8-Pin 12V connectors. With the 20+4-Pin motherboard connector, it is also backward compatible with previous ATX standards.
• Quad 12V Rails Four independent 12V rails provide your peripherals and critical system components with the most stable power.
• PCI Express Ready Two PCI Express 6-Pin power connectors ensure that any graphics card or other PCI Express add-in card you buy will have its own dedicated power connector for dependable operation.
• SATA Connectors Six serial ATA connectors allow you to connect up to six serial ATA devices without needing a special adapter.
• BFG Silent Control Technology During regular operation, the fan slows down to reduce unnecessary noise.
• Protection Circuitry Built-in protection circuitry is able to handle common power irregularities such as over-voltage, overload, and short circuits.
• MTBF A mean time between failure rating of 140,000 hours guarantees a long lasting and reliable source of power.

Specifications:

• ATX 12V 2.2
• EPS 12V 2.91
• Quad 12V Rails
• SATA Connectors
• PCI Express Ready
• BFG Silent Control Technology
• Protection Circuitry
• MTBF: 140,000 Hours
• Safety Approval: CE, FCC, TUV, CUL
• Dimensions: 3.4 W x 5.9 H x 6.9 D

Included in Box:

• 1 x 1000 Watt Power Supply
• 1 x Power Cable
• 1 x Install Guide
• 4 x Mounting Screws
• 5 x Velcro® Cable Ties
• 4 x SATA to Molex Adapters

Connectors:

• 1 x 20+4-Pin Motherboard Connector
• 1 x 4+4-Pin ATX/EPS 12V Connector(s)
• 4 x 6-Pin PCI Express Connectors
• 8 x 4-Pin Molex Connectors
• 2 x 4-Pin Floppy Connectors
• 8 x SATA Connectors   

What's all the hype about multiple 12-volt rails ? As explained nicely on PCPower. Two rails is better than one, five is better than four, etc, youd think it was a better design. We don't think it is. A large, single 12-volt rail can transfer 100% of the 12-volt output from the PSU to the computer, while a multi-rail 12-volt design has distribution losses of up to 30% of the power supplys rating. Those losses occur because power literally gets trapped on under-utilized rails. For example, if the 12-volt rail that powers the CPU is rated for 17 amps and the CPU only uses 7A, the remaining 10A is unusable, since it is isolated from the rest of the system.
Just like this PSU specifies, the maximum current from any one 12-volt rail of a multiple-rail PSU is limited to 20 amps (240VA / 12 volts = 20 amps), PCs with high-performance components that draw over 20 amps from the same rail are subject to over-current shutdowns.

Allow me to commence with both the beginning and the end results straight away. Ladies and gentlemen, it's time to start the the sexy photo shoot.