To test the B-Tarantula power supply we used the French stress-testing program OCCT (Ocbase et OCCT - L'union des overclockers - OCCT Official Website) which works in conjunction with Speedfan to record the minimum and maximum voltages recorded over a 30-minute time period while continually subjecting the system to a constant 97% to 100% load. We also ran a copy of Ultra-X Winstress as well to but the maximum load possible on the systems. During the time that these tests are running we will also be using a volt-ohm meter to measure the voltage on the +5, +3.3 and 12 volt rails of the power supply.
Processor:
Intel Pentium 4 Smithfield 3.0 GHz
Motherboard:
ECS Nforce 570 Split-A SLI
Memory:
Mushkin 2 GB PC-6400 Redline
Video Cards:
2 - Gigabyte 6600GT SLI
Hard Drives:
1 - Western Digital WD5000AAKS 3 GB/s 500GB
Cooling:
CoolIt FreeZone TEC Cooler
Case:
Zalman Fatal1ty FC-ZE-1 Chassis
DVD-RW:
NEC ND-3540A
Fans:
2 - 120mm Fans
During our testing we also used the Seasonic Power Angel and the Seasonic Power Supply Dummy Load to get an accurate reading on how many watts of power our system was drawing. With maximum load it came out to 1.53 amps at 185 watts of power, with the power supply displaying a PF rating of 99 on the Power Angel display
Conclusion
The results of our test show the B-Gear B-Tarantula did extremely well during our test runs with a variance on the +3.3 Volt rail of .08 volts, on the +5.00 volt rail of only 0.11 volts and finally the +12.00 volt rail of 0.27 volts. All of these variances fall well within the 5% range at which we consider the power supply to be worthy of our highest rating.
During our tests we did hear the fan increase in speed slightly, but at no point did the fan become what one would term as loud or even noticed during conversation with the power supply being tested directly in-between two people. The things we liked about this power supply far out number the dislikes, from its beautifully modular cable to the pig-tails they attach to. These short pig-tails make attaching the needed cables far easier than trying to plug the cables into a connector you aren't able to see. With a price tag of $110.00 this quality power supply is well worth the investment according to our test. We also realize that your outcome may be different depending on your particular setup.
A special thanks to B-Gears who provided us this sample
