Announced several months ago, Chieftec Navitas series of PSUs has managed to win the hearts of PC enthusiasts in many areas across the globe. Unlike the majority lineups where the junior model features 450/550 W power, Navitas offers 650 W GPM-650C as the first model in the line to satisfy the needs of fastidious customers. Upon the whole, the series counts five models of 650 W, 750 W, 850 W, 1000 W, and 1250 W power. Let’s see whether the junior representative of the series deserves universal acclaim.



Basic Specs and Connectors


Chieftec Navitas 650 W is delivered in a gray cardbox that contains its basic specifications. The unit is able to gain up to 648 W power on +12VDC rail efficiency. The correlation of efficiency on +12VDC rail and an overall power makes up 0.997 points. The model itself is housed in a gray case with large texture coating. Its layout might boast the incorporation of a high-voltage Nippon Chemi-Con capacitor and as much as efficient Capxon …

The lineup of graphics cards designed by HIS has been replenished with a new Radeon R7 260 model. Entitled HIS R7 260 iCooler 1GB GDDR5, the new-comer employs a typical PCI Express 3.0 x16 interface and comes with etalon clock frequencies. The R7 260 GPU (GCN, 28 nm) with 768 CUDA cores runs at 1000 MHz. It is accompanied by 1 GB of GDDR5 memory (128-bit bus) that operates at 1500 MHz/ 6000 MHz typical/effective frequency.



This adapter receives power through one 6-contact connector. Connectivity with PC monitors is realized due to three video ports: DisplayPort, HDMI and DVI-I. GPU and memory modules are cooled down by the forces of iCooler. It is not differentiated by an offbeat design; it consists of an aluminum heatsink and one low-profile fan.


Still, it offers acoustic convenience while fulfilling standard tasks: the maximal noise level does not exceed the limit of 28 dB. A supplementary aluminum heatspreader can be found in power supply section.


The HIS R7 260 …

Sapphire, the largest global retailer of graphics cards with AMD GPUs, comes out to the market with its own rendition of Radeon R7 260X adapter – the Radeon R7 260X iCafe Gaming OC. The new-comer features 215x105x35 mm dimensions and a purely black design. Its key differentiation is the integration of a two-slot aluminum cooler without heatpipes and a low-noise PWM fan. The nominal retail price makes up 124 EUR.



Sapphire Radeon R7 260X iCafe Gaming OC is based on AMD Bonaire XTX GPU (GCN 1.1) with 896 stream processors, 16 ROPs and 56 TMUs, running at 1050 MHz frequency. Its major ally – 2 GB GDDR5 memory with 128-bit interface – operates at 6000 MHz frequency. Power supply subsystem boasts 5+3-phase configuration, while connection to the PSU is realized by means of a single 6-pin socket.


To continue, I/O panel accommodates three video ports: DL DVI-I, HDMI, and DisplayPort 1.2. The list of supported standards and technologies includes DirectX 11.2, OpenGL 4.3, …