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Tagan BZ900 900W


Date
: 04/3/08 – 04:58:58 AM

Author
:

Category
: Power Supplies

Page 1 : Introduction

Manufacturer
: Tagan

As of lately, Tagan's BZ series of power supplies have been making quite a few waves. Tagan, in partnership with ABS Labs, or more commonly, a Newegg subsidiary have put together quite the monster of a power supply. For starters, Tagan's BZ series comes in nothing lower than 700W and all the way up to 1300W.

Although this is Tagan's first appearance at Overclockers Online, they are by no means new to the power supply scene. Since the unlikely beginnings found at a Computex dinner party, their presence has grown far beyond simply power supplies to include high performance cases and drive enclosures.

Tagan's BZ power supplies, or 'Below Zero' series are cooled by a single massive 13.5cm LED fan. Today we will be looking at Tagan's brand new BZ900, a unit that simply does not shy away boasting 900W of clean, solid, and efficient power.

Page 2 : Features and Specifications

Right off the bat, Tagan is not about modesty!

Although the Tagan BZ Series is marketed as a six rail power supply, it is in all actuality, a single rail unit. Tagan's Turbo mode switch simply enables or disables current limiting in order to adhere to computer hardware standardization.

Tagan has garnered a reputation for using Topower units, and surely enough, the UL number listed on the side of this unit is E223995, registered to none other than Topower.

Page 3 : Package

The Tagan BZ900 power supply comes packed away in a very attractive cube shaped box.

With no shortage of information and product specifications, the sides of the box are covered with charts, bullet points and certifications.

To the rear of the package, there is a brief product description in quite a number of different languages.

Page 4 : Content

Unpacking the BZ900 is quite an ordeal. Tagan has gone to great lenghts to ensure not only the safety of the unit in transportation, but details in the presentation.

Removing the very first items in the box, we find a 'Thank you note' with a $10 dollar web coupon redeemable at the ABS store, the product manual and a zipped up case.

Inside the case are the cables, mounting hardware and accessories neatly organized.

Accessories include a pair of gloves to prevent fingerprints, a rubber gromet for the power supply to reduce vibrations, a screw driver, a bag of screws and an ABS Labs badge.

Finally, the power supply and again, it is packed away incredibly well. The Tagan BZ900 is wrapped in bubble wrap, and then stowed away inside a canvas bag.

Peeling away at the layers of packaging reveals the unit.

Perhaps, visually, the most interesting feature is the modular headers. Over the years, we have seen quite a number of different executions of modular heads, but nothing quite like screw mounted connectors. While I am not a big fan of the color scheme, the screw mounted connectors are truly an interesting touch.

Connector heads are attached to the base of the unit through a simple rounded plug, then screwed in place.

As all of the connector heads are the same, Tagan uses color coding to differentiate between the plugs.

Blue is for peripherals, SATA connectors and floppy connectors.

Green and reds for PCI express connectors.

Attached directly to the unit are the motherboard connectors, and one standard 4 pin peripheral connector.

Flipping the unit up on its side reveals the enormous 135mm LED lit fan. The usage of a single fan serves a few purposes: it does an excellent job cooling the power supply while emitting little noise and it acts as a system exhaust bringing air from inside the case through the power supply and then out through the perforated rear of the unit.

Taking a look at the back of the power supply we of course have our standard AC plug, power switch, and something new, a Turbo mode switch.

Really, the Turbo mode sounds a lot more interesting that than what it truly is. As we discussed earlier, Turbo mode does nothing more than remove current limitations on the 12V rail. Enabling turbo mode simply allows for a 70A +12V rail.

Page 5 : Contents Pt. 2

Fortunately, the modular screw mounts at the front are as cool as they look!

Beyond aesthetics, the screw mounted connectors do serve a greater functional purpose. Those who have worked with modular plugs, or for that matter, any sort connector in a confined environment, which should account for everyone who is reading this article, knows the pain of stubborn connectors. Connector tabs like EZ connect are an improvement, but that definitely is not the most elegant solution. Screw mounted connectors pick up where other connectors fall short, they offer a secure connection along with a band- aid and injury free removal. Everybody wins!

For those who just can't sleep at night without the reassuring ambient glow of their computer, the base of the screw mounts are lit by a plastic ring. Personally I would have opted for the more subtle look of either dimmed LEDs or frosted plastic, but still I have to admit, the lit rings are beautiful none the less.

While I could probably go on and on about the exterior, that is better left off to the consumers. What we are more interested is the insides, and how the unit performs.

As always, with Topower built units, the insides are well organized.

On the primary side we have a single 560uF 400V capacitor by Jun Fu and on the secondary side an array of Hermei capacitors. Neither of these two makers are known for quality components, in fact, they have a notorious history malfunction and leaks.

However, although Jun Fu and Hermei have such a damning history of failures bringing forth with it questions of reliability, we cannot judge a unit simply by its capacitors. So, without further ado, let us begin the tests.

Page 6 : Testing

While our load tester consisted of a large array of wire wound resistors is in the process of taking shape, in order to simulate system load, we will be using peltiers. The reason for this is because when using an actual computer system there is no way we could accurately measure how much load we are putting on the power supply without some very expensive equipment.

Approximate load

The total load on the 12V rail is approximately 708W while the 3.3V and 5V rails will be loaded with approximately 132W totaling 840W or 93% of the Tagan BZ900 900W's total output capabilities.

Prior to any official tests, the unit will run with no load for two weeks or approximately 336 hours at an operation temperature of 21°C (room temperature will vary throughout this period) as a burn-in period. We will be running two sets of tests, a cold and a hot test, but both under loaded conditions. This is to reflect different conditions the power supply could potentially encounter within an enclosed system. Cold tests will run with an exhaust temperature of 21°C and hot tests will be run with an exhaust temperature of 45°C. All temperature and voltage readings will be recorded with two separate digital multimeters.

Cold test results

Hot test results

Despite the usage of low quality capacitors, Tagan's BZ900 900W held up incredibly well to our tests. In our cold tests, the unit displayed an impressive ability to stable under heavy load. Once the heat was cranked up, voltage outputs did drip, but barely. Overall, this unit is rock solid!

Page 7 : Conclusion

Tagan has on its hand a truly interesting product. The BZ900 900W is a top notch performer, it held its ground amidst the harsh testing environment and did so while acoustically remaining fairly silent.

And who could forget the lights. This unit packs enough LEDs for its own light show! For the modders, the BZ900 900W is second to none. Unfortunately, for those who would rather a more subtle power supply, there is no switch for the lights and or fix without first getting to work with a pair of wire cutters.

While at this time, I would love to conclude saying that the BZ900 is also incredibly affordable, it isn't. Priced in the upper ranges of $200 to $300 dollar mark, the Tagan BZ900 900W does cost quite a pretty penny. So in the end, what exactly is the verdict? Tagan's BZ900 900W is a rock solid performer with the looks to match along with perks such as fully sleeved wires, screw mounted modular connectors, and silent operation.

Advantages

• Solid performance

• Silent operation
• Modular
• Fully sleeved
• Some bling!

Disadvantages

• Price

Overclockers Online would like to thank Cable Organizer for making this review possible.