Spire RockeTeer V SP-500W
Although this was our first time experimenting with a Spire PSU, we were pleasantly surprised with what the RockeTeer V SP-500W had presented. Following its thermo-reactive design (of only running the 120mm fan when temperatures exceed 45°C), the operating noise and airflow were relatively ideal in this situation with the 80mm dual ball-bearing fan. Other features include being SLI Ready; however, the unit is NOT certified at this time by NVIDIA for Scalable Link Interface. For what its worth, there is also a single blue LED on each of the two fans that are fairly bright. However, one of the popular traits with this gaming-grade power supply unit is its modular cable design. The modular cabling leads to an attractive and organized system, the exterior titanium mirror finish was certainly ideal in this enthusiast environment although it was quick to become coated in fingerprints and other matter. One of the few areas for concern with this unit is the lack of Serial ATA connectors. While most users should have no problems running one or two hard drives (or using a molex to SATA adapter) we would have appreciated seeing additional SATA HDD connections for those running high-end gaming systems or servers. These cables are copper shielded as well as being sleeved with UV nylon. Spire rates the SP-500W for a three-year warranty and MTBF of 400,000 hours. This unit also complies with Intel's BTX 1.0a, ATX 2.03 specifications, and ATX 12V version 2.01. For gamers and enthusiasts, the Spire RockeTeer V SP-500W appears to be yet another likely, and well designed, possibility when it comes to choosing the ideal ATX/EPS power supply.
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