Enermax MAXPRO 500w Power Supply Review

A Closer Look – Interior

The interior of the unit is pretty bare, but then again this unit only needs to deliver 500W, so it doesn’t need a lot of hardware. What is surprising is that the PCB doesn’t fill the chassis, perhaps Enermax could have made this unit smaller? Then again, they would have also needed to make the fan smaller, so that’s no doubt the deciding factor for the size.

The main bulk capacitor is a Japanese made part, rated for 400V, 330 uF and 105c.

The main hardware is pretty straight forward and everything is well spaced out, which should help with heat dissipation. There’s also a pair of vertical heat sinks, which should further help with the cooling capabilities.

The AC line filtering stage, which is nicely laid out and a lot tidier looking than most PSU’s, although that’s no doubt partially thanks to the extra space available in this unit.

There’s a mixture of brands for the rest of the caps, as only the main bulk capacitor is advertised as Japanese made. Will this make a big difference to the performance? We’ll find out shortly! Of course, this is a hard-wired unit, so there is a lot of cables here, but they’re neatly laid out and shouldn’t interfere with airflow too much.

All cables have been very neatly soldered and wrapped with shrink tubing on the tips, giving a clean PCB and showing that a good amount of effort has gone into its construction.

The SD122512H-OD fan is one of Enermax’s own twisted bearing fans, with curved “bat wing” blades. These blades will help better direct the airflow and reduce air turbulence for cooler and quieter performance.