In Win Commander II 1200W

Since we've had some 750W and one 520W PSU reviews of late, we thought it might be time for another high-power model. The In Win Commander II 1200W is an 80 Plus Bronze certified power supply with modular cables. In the package we find a large number of modular cables, a user manual, some cable ties, four screws, and one power cord. That last item was a bit of a surprise, as In Win provides a 10A cable while the maximum input current is rated at 15A. In Win should provide a 16A cable, at least if they expect users to actually come anywhere near the 1200W power output. At maximum load and 82% efficiency (80Plus Bronze), the Commander II 1200W can draw approximately 12.7A.

As mentioned in the summary, this PSU comes with four +12V rails. Combined they can deliver up to 1032W. Every single +12V rail is rated for up to 40A, though you obviously won't be able to put that much of a load on all rail simultaneously. +3.3V as well as +5V are rated at 150W combined, while the standby rail is specified with 3A. And in the way of more confusing stuff, the combined power of the large rails is just 1079W with 21W on the -12V and +5Vsb, which means this is really an 1100W PSU; 1200W seems to be the peak power. (We're getting close to the point where that 10A power cord makes sense now....)

In Win uses a fan from Young Lin with the model number DFB132512H. H stands for "high rotations per minute" (1700RPM). This double ball bearing type fan has a peak power consumption of 3W. There are also three guide vanes at the bottom of the fan, where other manufacturer usually use a foil.

Appearance, Cables and Connectors
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  • ckryan - Friday, June 10, 2011 - link

    There is a lot of focus on the 1000w+ category of power supplies, but how big could the market really be? Outside of the tri-and quad SLI/Crossfire market, there just isn't much need for these. I guess I'm glad they're there, but I wish there was more a focus on making higher quality, lower powered units. The good news is that it looks as though some of the newer higher end PSUs will be efficient at all loads -- which is good, since even Seasonic is headed towards more and more powerful units even as system power draw levels are trending down with the advent of Sandy Bridge.
  • MrTeal - Friday, June 10, 2011 - link

    I agree, I'd much rather see a full review of the be quiet! supplies that we mentioned a few days ago than the continual reviews 800-1200W supplies. I'd love to see a thorough review of a high quality 300W supply.
  • Martin Kaffei - Friday, June 10, 2011 - link

    http://www.anandtech.com/show/4069/huntkey-300w-80...

    And as already mentioned in the text we had some smaller PSUs before.

    http://www.anandtech.com/show/4343/antec-hcg-520-g...
  • ckryan - Saturday, June 11, 2011 - link

    Martin,

    I hope you review every PSU you can possibly get your hands on. I don't have a problem with 1000w+ PSUs, and if I needed one, I'd buy two. If a PSU could be just as efficient at 4% or 5% loads as at 20% or 50% loads, I'd be using a kW unit too. At least this unit gets >80% at 10% loads. I'm guessing it's the most profitable slice of the PSU pie, a brand prestige product as well. Undoubtedly, more attention to quality is usually given to these big units.

    I've already have lamented in the past that my last PSU purchase was for a 650w unit -- a good all around unit but still way overpowered. At least when my computer idles at 56w (at the wall), my PSU is still pretty efficient. The huntkey jumper still isn't here in America, and the closest competitor is the FSP Aurum 400w, which is either really popular or hard to find since it's been out of stock at the Egg for quite some time. So I know some people want to see more 300w - 500w quality units -- at least some manufacturers have decided to go in that direction too -- now, they just need to get them to North America and to AnandTech's fortress of PSU reviews.
  • A5 - Friday, June 10, 2011 - link

    They can only review what PSU makers send them, and these are the units they get sent since they make the PSU makers the most money.
  • esSJae - Friday, June 10, 2011 - link

    Maybe 5 1000W+ reviews in the last year is a lot of focus?

    I thought this was supposed to be an enthusiast's site?
  • brucek2 - Friday, June 10, 2011 - link

    Thanks for an excellent review. Specifically, I love that:

    1) you provided details on what is inside the box and the quality/impact of each component

    2) the review is clearly aimed directly at the readers (hardware enthusiasts), vs. trying to strike some sort of diplomatic balance between readers and marketers (note the absence of marketing fluff and willingness to call the product out on its weaknesses).

    3) the conclusion provides a comparison to other options in the market with specific strengths/weaknesses of each called out.

    I'm getting so spoiled here that I'm finding it increasingly hard to read "reviews" in the mainstream press. For instance, I just read a few reviews of A/V components that didn't even bother to tell you what chips were on the board. Maybe there's an opening for AnandTech to expand into?
  • amf66 - Friday, June 10, 2011 - link

    I really enjoyed reading this review. It did a good job of explaining the weaknesses of the connector choices and I doubt many others would have noticed the 10A power cable for a PSU that pull more than this. I always like seeing the internals of power supplies and having the components explained and this did a great job at that. The only small problem is the typo in the first paragraph of the last page. Other than that it was great.
  • Martin Kaffei - Friday, June 10, 2011 - link

    Thanks for the correction, "definetly " helpful.
  • krumme - Friday, June 10, 2011 - link

    For ryans Intel SB+gtx 590 vs. Llano Review

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