ABS / Tagan BZ900 900W Power Supply Review | ||
| by Michael "SKYMTL" Hoenig | March 18, 2008 | ||
| Conculsion Conculsion If you look at things from a pure performance standpoint, the ABS / Tagan BZ900 exceeded our expectations by putting out some impressive numbers. Efficiency, voltage regulation and ripple suppression were all spot-on and the 135mm fan gave a new name to the term “silent operation”. Tagan also deserves a huge pat on the back for including every extra that an enthusiast could ever want. There are far too many times that we see modular power supplies which don’t provide the consumer with anywhere to store their unused cables but with this power supply you get a carrying case AND the kitchen sink. While the color choices for the modular interface LEDs are a bit Christmassy they do add something extremely unique to the overall design of the unit. We love little touches like this since it sets the BZ900 apart from the competition even though the colors may not be to everyone’s tastes. Upon first glance, there really isn’t much not to like about this power supply but then you take a look at the cable lengths… After reading through their site and taking a fine-toothed comb to this power supply, we are still a bit confused as to what (if any) benefit this power supply gets from the “Certified by ABS Labs” seal of approval. Since ABS uses the Cooler Master Cosmos case for their “Ultimate X” gaming computers you would think they had noticed the CPU cable needs to make a beeline over the graphics card to reach its place on the motherboard. Even if you can get it to reach its rightful place on the motherboard, the CPU cable will be stretched to the max. You may say I am basking in negativity, but other than a cool accessory package I fail to see what ABS’s certification brings to the table if they didn’t pick up this rudimentary cable length issue. There are other more minor issues as well but two main ones stand out for us: the modular interface and the warranty. Even though this really comes down to personal preference, I find the connectors on the modular interface use a design that is unintuitive at best. There were times where I thought the connectors were properly tightened only to see one of the LEDs flicker and have all my case fans (which were attached to the Molex connectors) turn off. Yet, like I said; this is very much personal preference since I never quite got the hang of attaching those modular cables to the BZ900. We also have a bit of an issue with the warranty. We here in North America (and everywhere else in the world for that matter) love the piece-of mind that comes with a good warranty and Tagan needs to brush things up a bit in this department. Most manufacturers’ warranties cover BOTH the “parts” and the labor for the entire duration of the warranty but Tagan has gone a different route with this power supply. Here we get a single year labor warranty and three years of warranty coverage on the parts which means if something happens with the BZ900 after a year of ownership, you are open to being charged for any labor costs an RMA would entail. Other than the cable lengths, there really aren't any major qualms with this unit. So, even though one or two negatives took up alot of real-estate in this conclusion, make no mistake about it: this is a great power supply. If you are looking for stable power with a bit of “bling” you don’t have to look any further than the BZ900 as long as you can put up with a few short cables and a somewhat lackluster warranty. Pros: - Good performance - Quiet operation - An accessory package to die for - More “bling” than you can shake a stick at Cons: - Short PCI-E, ATX and CPU cables - 1 year labor, 3 years parts warranty - Finicky modular interface - "Samson" capacitors?         | ||
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