INTRODUCTION

   About a week ago i stopped by one of the largest electronics store near where i live to purchase several small things i needed (some permanent markers, DVD+R/CD-R packs) and since i was there i decided to also stop by their PC hardware area to see which product lines have the most "traffic". So during the 20 minutes i spend on that floor looking at all the available products (i was surprised by the limited range of products especially for one of the largest electronics/PC Hardware stores around here) i saw several people picking graphics cards from the shelves (mainly GeForce GTX650/660 and Radeon 7850 models) but unfortunately i also saw the same people choosing OEM power supplies over the more well-known ones from Seasonic, Corsair, Thermaltake and Enermax (those were the only four available PSU brands in the store at that time). I did manage to sit down with one of the people who chose an OEM power supply and while i was trying to explain the differences between a good PSU and an OEM one i was somewhat surprised to hear that he thought that every power supply out there uses the same components, or at least that's what several sales persons had told him in the past. In any case after listening to what i had to say he ended walking away with a Corsair GS600 PSU which was pretty much the only one (between the available ones) near the price range he had in mind for a PSU. So because of that we've decided to also focus on rather low-cost power supply units aimed at casual users and gamers such as the Centauro XTK-CB-0600M 600W by Xigmatek.

   XIGMATEK Co., Ltd. was established in 2005 with the aim of becoming one of the world leaders in the computer Peripheral field. In XIGMATEK, the major members of management have many years experience in Computer Peripherals, Thermal industry, manufacturing and other applications. Pursued an aggressive growth strategy, XIGMATEK invests heavily in R&D, has strategic alliances with suppliers and academia, builds up an integrated presence in major economic regions, and hones one of the world’s most efficient manufacturing operations. A team of over twenty R&D engineers, product designers and technical people (one main team in German), XIGMATEK is full with confidence to offer excellent quality products and service to meet your needs. Regards as the consumer market, as well as distributing electrical appliances through the usual channels, XIGMATEK will continue to develop new sales channels to cater to ever-changing consumer trends and demand. With our fruitful experience, we have full confidence that we can provide not only the best, reliable, environmental and performing Computer Peripheral products but excellent service also to fulfill global user’s demand.

   Centauro obviously derives from Centaur a half man half horse being taken directly from Greek Mythology (several drawings on the box and on the unit show that as well). As some of you are aware Xigmatek does not have their own PSU production line so they pretty much do what many other companies/manufacturers do (not something bad) and that's to give the specifications of a unit (or units) on one of the leading manufacturers and have them manufacture it for them (same end result actually just a lot cheaper and faster). So with that in mind i can say with certainty that the Centauro XTK-CB-0600M 600W PSU (and perhaps their entire Centauro line) is actually manufactured by SIRFA Electronics one of the less-known PSU manufacturers established in early 1996 (they do however have a good track record in terms of quality). However since i haven't received any SIRFA manufactured units for a long time let's move forward to see just what Xigmatek offers with their latest Centauro XTK-CB-0600M 600W 80 Plus Bronze Certified power supply unit.

SPECIFICATIONS AND FEATURES

PACKAGING AND CONTENTS

The product logo (a Centaur), a large product picture, the model power output and its features are all at the front of the box.

There are a total of 4 available models in the Centauro line of PSUs (600/700/800/1000W) and on the right side you can see which the one in the box is.

Moving at the rear we see the features list along with the electrical tables for all 4 models in the Centauro PSU line.

All the available connectors are placed at the top of the box along with a "hidden" carrying handle.

Well the unit could be better packed inside the box but we've seen many power supplies get shipped in the same way with no casualties so far.

Inside the box you will find the Centauro 600W PSU, modular cables, cable carrying pouch, AC power cord, user's manual, 4 rear mounting screws and 4 cable ties.

THE CENTAURO XTK-CB-0600M 600W

Just like 99% of the power supply units in the market the Centauro 600W is not entirely modular, follows the standard ATX size and comes in black matte color.

An 140mm 11 blade intake fan is placed at the top of the Centauro XTK-CB-0600M right beneath an grille with the product logo at the center.

There are two large stickers on the sides of the unit, one has the product logo and the 80 Plus Bronze certified logo and the other has the unit’s electrical table.

Cable sleeving is also quite good but we've seen better (especially on the other end).

The modular connectors are different in size and tagged but not color coded (not that it matters that much).

As usual at the rear we see the typical honeycomb perforation along with the power plug and the on/off switch.

A feature i liked with the Centauro PSU is the two 3pin fan connectors (we rarely see that with PSUs even today).

The 135mm fan is manufactured by GLOBE FAN and can reach up to 1500RPM in speed with airflow of 110CFM at 29.2dBA of noise.

The entire layout is very clean, is divided by two large heatsinks and as you can see SIRFA uses a single primary capacitor.

Teapo is the manufacturer of the primary capacitor which in turn is rated for 85 degrees Celsius.

Secondary capacitors are rated for 105 degrees and are manufactured by both Teapo and Nippon Chemi-Con.

TEST BED

TESTING METHODOLOGY

     Using a dedicated measurement instrument such as a Chroma or a SunMoon for power supply testing is without doubt the most ideal and accurate way (not to mention fastest) to do that currently. However it's certainly not the only way there is and so pretty much anyone can test a power supply just by using his own computer. Certainly limitations do apply and so you can't really test a 1000W power supply if your system only uses 500W at extreme loads and that's why during the past 5 years i have saved certain hardware components for the purpose of building a PSU test rig. True it may not be as accurate as the above mentioned solutions but it comes really close and is in fact closer to real. So as always we ran several games with maximum graphic options enabled at a resolution of 2560x1600 in order to stress every hardware component and increase the overall power demands of the system. The Passmark BurnIn Test was also used to overstress the components in an effort to provide the most accurate results possible. As a final test we also used the latest OCCT 4.0 software and its dedicated PSU testing suite since it can really bring a power supply to its knees after even just a few minutes.

       Rail stability was checked/measured with the CPUID Hardware monitor and a Metex multimeter which also recorded the system load in idle and in load. As always try to remember that the power consumption numbers listed in the graph are the highest (Peak) ones recorded during the entire duration of the tests and not the average (Idle) ones. Noise levels coming from the fan were recorded using the high precision HD600 ExTech Sound dBA Meter from the rear of the unit and at a range of no more than 5cm. Readings under load are recorded the exact moment we manually switch all graphics cards from full speed to idle, that way the fan of the power supply does not have enough time to slow its RPM and so by doing this we get very accurate noise level readings. To get 100% accurate readings you need to have a noise isolated room for that exact purpose, something which is quite impossible unless you are working inside a real lab (some people use very small noise insulated boxes but due to their size both heat and noise exceed normal levels and so the results can't really be considered 100% accurate). Also do take into account that since all noise measurements take place from just 5-10cm away the final noise levels to reach your ears will be far less.

TEST RESULTS

RAILS

During all our tests the stability of the rails was quite good and never dropped significantly.

CONSUMPTION

I was hoping that our system could take up more power but even 624W at peak is not bad when testing a 600W unit.

SPL

It took a bit of time before the 135mm GLOBE FAN started producing noise (around 5m from the moment we powered our test bench) but even afterwards it never crossed the 40dBA mark.

CONCLUSION

   SIRFA has been manufacturing power supplies for a large number of the leading companies in the field including OCZ and Rosewill so their level of expertise is something i know of first hand. Because of that the moment i opened the chassis i knew that the Centauro XTK-CB-0600M would perform on par with the rest of the units I’ve seen from them and i wasn't disappointed. So the Xigmatek Centauro 600W produced very good rail stability (better than other similar units and naturally somewhat worse than more high end ones) and relatively low noise levels even at a slight overload (+4%). Now the 80 Plus Bronze certification may not sound as good as the silver or gold ones but for a power supply of its price segment it's a nice extra we don't see very often. I would like to see a slightly better sleeving at the end of the cables but that's not something new with low-cost power supply units.

   With a price tag set at around USD90 inside the USA (although not actually available, at least not from the major retailers) and at 79.90Euros inside the EU (Caseking) the Xigmatek Centauro XTK-CB-0600M 600W power supply unit is a very interesting proposal for people on a tight budget. Perhaps if i was Xigmatek I’d choose to lower the price a bit to avoid going up against other similar solutions from the leading manufacturers in the market but even so the price is not bad. Long story short if you're out to buy a new power supply unit then i really suggest taking a look at the Centauro XTK-CB-0600M 600W since it basically offers a very good punch for the buck.

PROS

- Rail Stability
- 80 Plus Bronze Certified
- 2 Fan Connectors
- Low Noise Levels

CONS

- Price (Could Be Better)
- USA Availability