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ATX Power Supply Group Test

Author Lars-Göran Nilsson
Published 8th Feb 2005
Manufacturer Tagan
Supplier Scan
Price £47.66 (Exc VAT)
as reviewed £56.00 (Inc VAT)
Latest Price Click here
Overall Score 8 for Overall
ATX Power Supply Group Test
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Next up is the TG420-U02 or the i-Xeye as it has been nicknamed by Tagan. This PSU differs from the other products in Tagan’s range as it is geared towards case modders. As such, it has two translucent 80mm fans as well as a window cut in the bottom etched with the i-Xeye logo. Both the fans and the window are fitted with blue LEDs that light up when the PSU is powered on.


This might not be the type of thing that everyone is looking for, but where the i-Xeye really scores is in terms of connectivity. As with the TG330-U01 you get eight Molex connectors split between four cables with two of these terminating in a floppy connector. There are also two SATA power connectors, each on a separate cable, a dedicated Molex connector for graphics cards and a six pin PCI Express graphics card power connector.

Both of the graphics card power cables are encased in a protective rubber casing that conceals a copper mesh braiding inside to reduce EMI. Add to this the fact that both cables have ferrite shielding to further lower any power ripple and EMI interference and this is pretty much as good as it gets. It is hard to prove how effective this shielding is without an oscilloscope, but we’re not going to complain about the fact that it is there.

Tagan has one more classy feature that sets its high-end power supplies apart from the rest on test and that is the modular power connectors. The 20-pin ATX connector can be converted in to a 24-pin EPS style connector by adding the extra four pins by sliding on the extra connector. The same goes for the 12V connector, which is split up into two parts that can be combined to create an eight pin block for those motherboards that require this type of connector.


You should be aware that in some rare cases where the motherboard manufacturer has not left enough space around the power plugs, there will be problems fitting the Tagan connectors due to the way the hooking mechanism has been designed. This applies to all Tagan PSUs with the modular connector.

The ATX and 12V cables are covered by nylon braiding and as with the TG330-U1 there is an extra grounding cable, which produced identical results in terms of voltage increase as on the TG330-U1. Looking at the test results the i-Xeye produced acceptable, if unspectacular, efficiency results.

At 25 and 50 per cent load the voltage was acceptable on the 3.3V rail. At 75 and 100 per cent load however, the figures were on the weak side, even dropping as low as 3.15V, which is very close to being below spec. This isn’t great, but it was the only real issue that we had with the i-Xeye. Considering that it’s a very reasonable £55.80, makes this an appealing PSU for anyone that is looking for one with built in lights.

ManufacturerTagan
ModelTG420-U02 i-Xeye
URLhttp://www.tagan.com
SupplierScan
URLhttp://www.scan.co.uk
Price£55.80
Molex connectors8
Floppy connectors2
SATA connectors2
20-pin ATX / 24-pin EPSY / Y
12V connectorY / Y
AUX connectorN
Six pin PCI Express connectorY
Deditacted Molex for graphicsY
Fan speed headerN
Other connectorsGrounding wire
Fans and size2x 80mm
Extras includedVelcro straps
Max power output (manufacturers rating)
3.3V28A
5V42A
12V22A
Total power420W

 

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