Hiper Type-R 480W and 580W

Introduction

Power supplies are perhaps the most essential components when it comes to computers. Short circuits and a computer burnout are often the result of using a cheap power supply. Some may wonder why people don’t just save themselves the hassle and just go out and buy a power supply from PC Power and Cooling since their products are made with only quality and performance in mind. The price tag, however, on one of those power supply units can leave an unnecessary hole in your wallet. For this reason, enthusiasts have looked around for cheaper power supplies that can match up to the quality and performance of PC Power and Cooling. The powerful and elegant solutions from leading competitors such as OCZ and Thermaltake have already dominated a good portion of the market. This is where Hiper, a relatively new company trying to establish their own line of power supplies, comes into the picture.

Hiper has sent us two of their Type-R line power supplies: a 480W and a 580W. Both of these power supplies boast low noise, PFC, dual 12v rails and other minor aesthetic details. But can it match up to the stability, quality, and performance of the current competitors? If it proves worthy, this won’t be the first time a relatively anonymous company has put out a great product.

Hiper Type-R 480W

The power supply comes in a simple black box which prominently boasts its low noise and compliance to AMD’s K7 and K8 platform requirements. It also advertises PFC but does not mention whether it is Active or Passive. After a little researching on the internet, I found that this power supply is Active PFC. What this means to the normal user is that there is protective measures in the power supply that adjusts voltage from the alternating current power plug. This will reduce the chances of your computer frying due to a severe thunderstorm or power surge. This blanket of protection over the rest of your system provided by Hiper leaves a very positive first impression.

Opening the box reveals a black power supply protected in plastic wrap. Also included in the package was an appealing instruction booklet and an extra AC power cable. Case screws weren’t included but that’s understandable considering the great job Hiper has done with everything else so far.

The Type-R 480W power supply is almost completely surrounded by honeycomb holes which allow for better airflow into the power supply to cool it down. It utilizes a 120mm fan to maintain a good amount of air flow while keeping the noise minimal. This solution helps Hiper live up to its low noise claims. There is no adjustable fan controller on this power supply, but if the fan doesn’t really contribute to the noise level, then does it really matter? Most of the wires are covered in black sleeves for neater and orderly wire management. This is yet another satisfying aesthetic detail that Hiper has included for the consumers.

The Connectors and Interior

The Type-R 480W has plenty of power connectors that add to its compatibility with many systems. There are eight 4pin power connectors, two 3pin floppy connectors, two SATA connectors, one 4pin 12v connector, one 20pin (4pin detachable) ATX connector, and one 6-pin PCI-Express connector. Right away, you can tell that this power supply won’t be a good fit for SLI configuration use. The cables are all decent in length and will have no problem fitting in a mid-tower case; however in a full tower case, some issues regarding wire length may arise. The 4pin power connectors are equipped with a grip to make it easier to pull out and reduces the risking of damage to the connectors.

Taking off the cover of the power supply reveals a dissatisfying interior. Keep in mind that when you open the power supply, you’re ripping the warning stick which voids your three year warranty from Hiper. If you choose to open the power supply, InsaneTek and Hiper will not responsible for anything that may happen to it. There was a lot of empty space and the heatsinks used were small. The power supply is rated with a 70% efficiency while operating at a peak of 530W. Depending on only one 120mm fan may be insufficient to cool down the power supply.

Features and Specifications

The rated amps per rail is what enthusiasts usually look at when rating a power supply. If it is too low, instability may occur and cause unnecessary headaches. The amps per rail on the Type-R 480W power supply for the 3.3v and 5v rail is 28A and 32A, respectively. This might be a bit low when compared to the better known brands of power supplies, which can reach up to the 40s. The two 12v rails are 18A and 16A. This is sufficient for an overclocked system with a few hard drives and a power demanding video card.

Features:

Specifications:

Hiper Type-R 580W

Unlike the Type-R 480W power supply, this unit came in a plastic tool box. Hiper really went out of their way to provide a stunning display box, which can actually be used later to store other things. Hiper has slapped their logo on the toolbox and also highlights what this power supply can do. It supports ATX version 2.2, has a 3 year warranty, cable sleeves, honeycomb-shaped holes, dual 12v rails and an extension cable. It is rated to be 580w and is supposed to be inaudible. Best of all, it is SLI ready and has modular connectors. This power supply also has Active PFC which should give you a sense of relief.

Opening the toolbox reveals a piece of foam to seal off any empty space left in the box so the components in the box would not get damaged during shipping. Under it was the modular cables in a tray. Underneath the tray is the power supply itself along with more cables and the instruction booklet. Unlike the 480W, the Type-R 580W power supply has a black mirror finish and makes use of two fans. One fan is 120mm and the other one is 80mm. It boasts an inaudible noise level and clearly an 80mm fan will not cut it unless it is set on a low level.

The Connectors and Interior

The Type-R 580W is almost fully modular with the exception of the 20/24pin ATX connector. It has four modular 4pin power connectors, one modular 6pin PCI-Express connector, seven 4pin power connector splitters, one 4pin power connector to 3pin floppy connector splitter, one 4pin 12v connector, and one 4pin power connector to 6pin PCI-Express splitter. The wires are much shorter than those of the 480W power supply so it will inevitably have problems in a full tower.

The interior of the power supply bore significant resemblance to its 480W cousin. It was quite empty and the heatsinks used were again small. Although it retained the same efficiency rating, the 580W utilizes two fans to improve air flow. Just as long as the power supply doesn’t overheat, the only thing to worry about is if rails are stable enough for extreme usage.

Features

Test Setup and Results

Test Setup and Methods:

• AMD Athlon64 3000+ Winchester
• MSI K8N Neo2 Platinum
• Leadtek Geforce FX 5950 Winfast A380 Ultra
• 2 x 512MB Patriot PDC1G3200+XBLK
• Seagate Cheetah 15K4 15,000 RPM
• Gigabyte GO-B5232A DVD ROM/CD Burner
• I/O Magic 16x DVD Burner
• NEC Floppy Drive
• Evercool WC-202 Watercooling Kit
• Soundblaster Live! 5.1 Sound Card
• LSI SCSI Controller Card

Running Stock:

• AMD Athlon64 3000+ Winchester – 1.8GHZ @ 1.5v
• Patriot PDC1G3200+XBLK – 200HTT 1:1 @ 2.60v
• Leadtek Geforce FX 5950 – 475/950
• VAGP 1.5v

Running Overclocked:

• AMD Athlon64 3000+ Winchester – 2.2GHZ @ 1.65v
• Patriot PDC1G3200+XBLK – 250HTT 1:1 @ 2.85v
• Leadtek Geforce FX 5950 – 550/965
• VAGP 1.6v

Testing the power supply is a tedious task. Like cooling products, the “proper” testing method is long and strenuous. It involves high end equipment and testing materials that we simply cannot get our hands on. A simple proper testing method would be to test the wattage draw from the AC outlet, voltage rail fluctuations, wattage fluctuations under high operating temperatures, power efficiency, and the power supply’s reaction to low input voltage. But because this site is dedicated more to overclocking, we’ll check for voltage fluctuations in an overclocked environment. After all, that is what overclockers generally care about.

Results:

To test the power supply, a digital multimeter was used. For idle voltage readings, the system was left on desktop without any background programs running. To maximize the load on the CPU, the system ran an instance of CPU Burn-in, Prime95 torture test and to maximize the load on the graphics card, the system ran the Nature test in 3DMark2001SE. The results were absolutely astounding. Both Hiper power supplies were able to keep the rails from fluctuating even under an overclocked environment. The noise generated from the 480W power supply was not noticeable whereas the 580W power supply created a slight hum.

Conclusion and Thoughts

Hiper has produced some fine quality power supplies in the short time that they’ve been around. Unlike their aluminum keyboard (which did not perform to my liking), these two Type-R power supplies are manufactured with care and precision. One thing that still bothers me is the small heatsinks. There was a lot of wasted space that could’ve been filled up with bigger heatsinks. Despite the fact that the disappointing interior, the lines where stable even under heavy stress test conditions. The usage of modular connectors on the 580W and a reflective was an excellent move because it satisfies the gamer and modding community with aesthetic options. However, the connectors used were either very hard to bend due to the tight cable sleeves or because the cables were too short. It will definitely not suffice for a full tower case. It is interesting that they created such a high powered power supply with such short cables. Personally, I like the modular idea, but I would keep the 480W. The only point of consideration now is the prices of these bad boys.

Hiper Type-R 480W:

Hiper Type-R 580W:

We would like to thank Hiper for providing us the sample. If you have any questions or comments, feel free to hit us up in the forums. You can also check out more of our latest reviews on the front page.