Closer Look: CUQ-1200B Exterior Design

Power supplies are one of those hardware components which are at the heart of any computer system, but get none of the recognition. As I have (painfully) learned over the years, the power supply unit can cause terrible trouble for components if it's operating improperly. In fact, just last week I had a computer which would turn on but simply never reach the POST screen; as it turned out the PSU was to blame. This illustrates how important a high-quality power supply is to system stability. No power, no computing.

CoolMax enforces a strictly-business approach in their CUQ-1200B Modular 1200W Power Supply Unit. While the appearance is not as radiant or reflective as some of the other power supplies we have reviewed, namely the Hiper HPU-4K530-MS Type R Modular 530W PSU, it still offers a finger-print friendly design that will look good in any case.

While the CUQ-1200B is marketed as a modular 1200W PSU, there are more native cable groups than you might be used to in such a design. I was surprised by how many standard connections were included in the native cable group, which left a few extra connections to be tucked away from view.

CoolMax has engineered the CUQ-1200B to offer a maximum output of 1200 combines watts. The CoolMax manual and website all list the four 12-volt power rails as generating 900W, which would indicate that they figured these ratings with 83.33% efficiency. Additionally, an unnecessary 30A each is available for both of the 3.3V and 5V connections.

The uncommon size of 135mm was used for the primary cooling fan in the CoolMax CUQ-1200B, and rear-mounted 80mm cooling fan which resembles Zaward's Golf Fan design helps exhaust the heated air.

Please continue on to the next section for closer details and an inspection of the cables and wiring.

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