Introduction

It's Power Supply review time! Rasurbo sent us a couple PSUs, the first to be tested is this 350w unit.

350w isn't a tremendous amount of power, but it's well more than enough for the majority of people out there, and will likely give better efficiency than a larger unit on low loads like an average computer.

Rasurbo is the house brand for PNL's Cases and Power Supplies, as well as quite a bit of other stuff.  They're a European-only company, so you'll have a hard time finding this PSU outside of europe.

Rasurbo's big thing is value, they aim to give you the most bang for your buck that you can get, something I approve of!
As you will likely guess looking at the next few pictures, they're based in Germany.

Lets take a look at the box, first.
It's a pleasingly simple affair, the top a picture of the unit, 80+, aPFC and Eup/ErP Ready logo, and the address for Rasurbo's web page.  You've seen the top of the box moments ago, to see it again scroll up.

On both ends are identical details about the PSU:

• Green/black power case.  (vaguely military, I like it)
• Up to 85% efficiency.  (solid!)
• EuP/ErP ready.  (EuP/ErP requires things to use <1watt when turned off)
• Active Power Factor Correction.  (More efficiency, and no worrying about a 110/220 switch).
• 20+4 pin ATX Connector.  (works in both 20pin and 24pin motherboards)
• ATX 2.3 Version.  (Compatible with all modern motherboards)
• 3x SATA Connector.   (A little skimpy, but how many low/mid range PCs have more than 3 SATA drives?
• Silent 120mm fan, 16dB(A).  (Silent?  We'll see)
• Extensive safeguards: OCP, OVP, OPP, UVP, SCP, NLO.  (Over Current Protection prevents the PSU from going boooooom if you put too much of a load on it, Over Voltage Protection shuts the PSU down if it detects voltage outputs going above safe levels, Over Power Protection shuts the PSU down if you try to draw too much overall power from it, Under Voltage Protection shuts the PSU down if it detects that it isn't putting out enough voltage, Short Circuit Protection protects against short circuits (though in this case OCP is fairly certain to trigger during a short circuit as well),  and lastly No Load Operation keeps the voltage output levels happy even with no load on the PSU.  This is important, as some PSUs put out dangerous voltage levels if there isn't enough load on them.

The front shows the number of each sort of connector the PSU has, this 350w PSU shares a box with it's 450w brother, so both are listed. This Rasurbo 350w PSU gives you the following connectors:

The rear meanwhile gives you a breakdown of the output rails and amps/watts you can expect of them.

Any time multiple rails of 12v are specified it is worth checking to see if there really are multiple rails or not.  The official ATX specs call for them, but multiple rails adds to the cost of the units and can sometimes make it difficult to use high power video cards.  Multiple rail designs are definitely safer on high wattage units however, where a single rail design can cough up over a thousand watts before shutting down!
On a 350w PSU it's less important, but I'll be checking how many 12v rails there really are in the Dissection section.

The PSU Itself

Opening the box we are greeted by a mass of cables and the wall power cable, as well as a user manual and a small bag with four mounting screws in it.  This being a European model PSU the cable is designed for european (german?) wall sockets, it isn't going to get me real far here in the USA.  On the plus side the PSU itself has an active PFC so it adjusts to any input voltage between 100v and 240v without any switches or explosions, that's arguably the best part of aPFC designs.  It makes them more resistant to brownouts, too.  Anyway, I have plenty of USA type cords, so we'll continue!

Pulling the cables out and lifting up the floor of the box reveals the PSU itself, safely stashed in a plastic bubble-bag.  Removing the PSU from the bag reveals it's vaguely military color scheme and nice large fan.

The PSU itself is heavier than I expected, generally a good sign.
The cables are generously long, likely longer than necessary in a mATX case, but it means that it'll work in Mid Tower and Full Tower cases.
The ATX connector is well sleeved, the sleeving goes all the way into the PSU and right down to the end of the cable by the connector.
None of the other cables are sleeved, which isn't a surprise considering the price range.

You also get some instructions, a couple zip ties, and four screws to attach the RAP350 to your case.  I'm always happy to see screws come with a PSU, as cases don't always give you enough.

One odd thing, the cables have been set up so that one has two molex, a sata, and the floppy connector.  This sata connector has no 3.3v wire to it.  Most sata drives don't use the 3.3v just in case the user has an adaptor that doesn't have 3.3v, but I don't understand this choice by Rasurbo.
The other peripheral power cable has two SATA connectors (with 3.3v), and one Molex and the FDD connector.   It's an odd setup.

Next up, testing!

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