CONCLUSION

   The PowerX 550W is certainly not enough to power SLI/CF configurations and I wouldn’t recommend it for such use but it does exactly what it’s supposed to do and that is to provide up to 550W of power with near excellent rail stability and rather low noise levels thanks to the silent 120mm fan. Quality-wise the PowerX 550W is very good and it even features Japanese Primary Capacitors made by Panasonic something which we hardly ever see with similar output units. Some people may not really like the fact that it doesn’t feature a modular design but as expected based on its power output it really comes with a limited amount of cables (although more than most similar output units) and so i really doubt anyone will have a problem with that.

   As we speak I was unable to locate the PowerX 550W inside the USA but I did locate the 700W at USD75.99 at Newegg which I consider as a very good price tag for that particular model. Moving to the EU you can currently purchase the PowerX 550W (CGR B4-550) at around 65Euros which again is not a bad price tag although the 700W is sold at the same price in the USA. Regardless however the PowerX 550W is more than enough for casual users who are fed up with using OEM units with their systems and this is partially where Cougar aims with the entire PowerX line (gamers also). I really can't find anything bad with the PowerX line no matter how hard i try, rail stability was almost excellent even at 112% of the units total power used, the fan was quite silent during use and the quality of the unit is very good. Bottom line for its target audience the PowerX line is a very good choice and that’s why the 550W variant gets our Golden Award.

PROS

- Build Quality
- Near Excellent Rail Stability
- Good Noise Levels (Even at 112%)
- Size
- 80Plus Bronze Certified
- Price (For Some)

CONS

- Availability inside the USA