Enermax Eco80+ 500W PSU

In Enermax' seven (!) lines of power supplies, the Eco80+ is one of two tagged as "eco". The "Love our Earth" tagline on the packaging attests that "eco" stands for ecology, but its position at the low-end of Enermax' lineup suggests that "economy" might also be a relevant tag. Certainly, there is little to suggest the Eco80+ is more environmentally friendly than any other power supply. Its most likely selling point — efficiency — is overshadowed by the fact that nearly every other model Enermax produces matches or exceeds the efficiency of the Eco80+ (as certified by 80 Plus). The best that can be said is that ecology and economy are often tied: Buying a cheaper product sometimes means less packaging and less energy expended to create it.

Putting aside the green marketing for now, Enermax is a respected brand, and a "basic" 500W model appeals well to our sense of simplicity. It also has an unusual fan — always a point of interest to us. Enermax has dressed it up in fancy marketing terms, but it appears to be a descendant of Enermax' Enlobal bearing Marathon fan. Jonny Guru spent an entire review mocking the "Magma" fan, its "Twister" bearing, and its "Batwing" blades, but the technology piqued our interest before, and we are happy to take another look at it.

PACKAGING & FEATURES

Technically, yes, the is a green box ... but only if you're talking in terms of the color of the light it reflects. Enermax' "green" marketing hasn't convinced me this is good for the environment.

Nonessential accessories are limited to a pair of cable ties.

A 500W power supply is plenty; none of the lines are likely to come anywhere near their rated maximum during ordinary use. You'd need at least a pair of top end graphics cards to push the power load anywhere close to maximum. Ordinary computer users can easily get by with half as much capacity, but 500W is still considered a "small" power supply these days...