The Verdict
Man, this PSU is good. Really really good. Now agreed, the PSU does go back to the basics, a little retro we can say. Nothing modular, no flashy LEDs, shiny chrome or beeping alarm noises. Now I was in the USA a couple of days ago and got to speak briefly with BFG's John Malley, it seems that the reasoning behind the non-modular design is not so much they didn't want to follow that path, but the the fact that 'Ultra' (the company) is trying to sue any PSU manufacturer in the USA with a modular PSU design, they claim to have a patent on it.
Well, there's a good reason not to buy Ultra product any longer. Screw them.
But you know what .. I like the non modular design. This PSU has all the connectivity needed, the complete black design is just awesome but more importantly the results are just grand. We did some pretty hefty stuff here today. We literally have build a high-end system as we took:
- nForce 750 Ultra SLI FTW (eVGA)
- 2Gb DDR2 memory clocked to 1142 MHz
- QX9770 processor clocked towards 3600 MHz
- Two GeForce 9800 GX2 cards (four GPUs)
- + HDD, fans, water-cooling etc
This hardware build would make any 800 Watts PSU reach it's limit as we draw a lot of current on some very important voltage distribution lines. Not once did the BFG 800 Watt ES PSU give a problem. In fact, you won't even notice it with it's stealthy aesthetically pleasing design and sheer silence.
Now the PSU might be slightly more expensive opposed to some of the competition out there ... but guys, this thing is worth it. It's a grand high-quality PSU and even comes with that exceptionally long warranty.
The one thing you can dislike about the PSU is cable management / modular design - the PSU doesn't have any. But hey .. some oppose it, other like it.. again, choices you can make in the huge PSU market. Fact is less interruption in the circuitry means less resistance. Typically a non-modular design is better. Though arguably these differences are usually very slim.
To this very date the BFG 800 Watt ES PSU is one of the best PSUs we have tested. We could not stress or even worse kill it off into a protected state with the system we threw at it, yet what we did test and show was an absolutely stable platform. Next to that we see good PSU protection & shutdown features, we also think it's quite an efficient product as well (hard to measure really). For the audiophiles like yours truly, this PSU just doesn't make any noticeable noise. The meshed design and low rotation yet big fan make it just so silent. Also notice the sleeved black nylon wiring, low oxygen arm connectors and then the lengthy cables, long enough to use it even in the largest chassis.
Though not the cheapest among power supplies, we already spotted this for $178.96 and $199.99 at newegg.
You guys know this as we hand them our rarely, but the BFG 800 Watt ES edition PSU is receiving our Best hardware award. Again, yours truly handing that award out is rare ... very rare. Well done BFG, well done.
Site
Navigation
