Ever since with the light touch of the VIA Technologies the Mini-ITX motherboard standard has entered the consumer market, ample opportunities have opened up for fans of compact computer systems. However, the main problems of the still new form factor were quickly identified then. The most painful among them were issues of components compatibility (which were all produced for a more common ATX format), the problem of their cooling and, of course, the complete absence of sane small cases capable of taking such systems in.


In solving problems with the chassis, the industry initially chose two parallel paths. On the one hand, tiny boxes supplied with an external power supply were put into production. The maximum that they were able to accept was the processors from VIA and Intel with TDP not more than 20 watts. On the other hand, cases where it would be possible to assemble a good game system based on the Mini-ITX motherboard were created. But in size, they often reached the …

Huntkey Enterprise Group is a comparatively new player in the global PSU market. However, its products are already well-known to the mainstream customers in different corners of the world. GS series is the one to compete with an army of items from acclaimed manufacturers, featuring so far only two models: GS450 and GS550. Giving names to the models, Huntkey applied a popular marketing approach, where the figure index in the codename exceeds actual wattage index of the unit. Thus, GS550 model is estimated actually for 450 W power. What other surprises are hidden in this model? Let’s find out.



Key Specifications


Power supply unit Huntkey GS550 is housed in a solid case, made of a thick dark-gray steel with a wiry ventilation grid. All basic specifications are marked on the sticker, so that the user can easily integrate it within the system. The +12VDC rail is claimed to provide 384 W power at 32 A current. The interrelation of power on this rail with an overall efficiency …

The overclocker memory is now in the category of products for perfectionists, still the common users are pleased with usual modules DDR3-1600 or DDR3-1333 SDRAM. The issue appears related to the release of processors Ivy Bridge series, which in some aspects are similar to its predecessors, still have some distinctive features.



Ivy Bridge processors are restricted on the maximum frequency supported by the DDR3 SDRAM. This indicates the theoretical chance of these processors work with high-speed memory DDR3-3200 SDRAM. Developers of overclocker memory package perceived the change in rules with certain enthusiasm: there are DDR3-2400 modules available in stores. The gap in frequencies of «elite» and «running» versions of the memory has grown twice in size. It won’t have a noteworthy blow on the work of commonly used tasks in systems.


The memory controller in the Ivy Bridge can work both in symmetric mode, with delay, frequency and volume modules in memory channels, and …