Chieftec SFX 500GD-C 500w Power Supply Review

Peter Donnell / 9 years ago

Final Thoughts

Pricing

This may only be a 500W unit, but due to the compact size and the 80 Plus Gold levels of efficiency, you can expect to pay a premium vs normal ATX units. The Chieftec SFX-500GD-C SFX-L Power supply will set you back around £80 from most major retailers, although it can be a little tricky to find stock, so you may need to shop around.

Conclusion

I’m pretty impressed with this unit, sure it’s nothing groundbreaking, but it’s certainly ticking all the right boxes for those seeking a powerful and compact power supply. Of course, I use the word compact with a pinch of salt, as this is an SFX-L power supply, which is a nice was of saying it’s a large version of a small power supply. Make of that what you will, but it’s still a heck of a lot smaller than ATX units and it’s going to fit into a wide range of compact chassis designs with ease.

Its design is a little boring in some regards, especially with the multicolored and thinly braided cables. They’re not bad, they’re just a little unattractive, so may not be a first choice for those with a chassis that features a window panel. Then there’s the issue with the AC power cable not being included in the box, that’s a bit of an odd one, as you do need to plug this in for it to work, although it’s a problem that is easily resolved as those cables are very cheap to obtain and most people have a spare one lying around somewhere.

The performance was great, with good voltage regulation, good efficiency, and a reasonable ripple. Sure it could be better, but then you would expect to be paying more for such a privilege. Compared to their rivals, such as the Silverstone SX600-G, this isn’t the most powerful in its class, nor the smallest, but it does offer a good amount of power, efficiency and features for a fairly reasonable cost, which is about as much as you could hope for.

Pros

Good voltage regulation
Modular cables
Powerful 12v rail
Quiet fan
Good efficiency
Competitive price

Cons

Limited availability
Bland cables
AC cable not included in box

Neutra

“Building a compact system that can still run a high-end graphics card and CPU combo is becoming a much easier task and the latest effort from Chieftec would make a great start to and SFF gaming rig or workstation.”