Verdict: This PSU doesn't do what it says on the tin

This cryptically named Enermax isn't a 701W PSU, as the EG701AX name suggests; it's actually rated at 600W.

Enermax claims the 600W comes from 34A on the 3.3V and 5V rails, and the two 12V rails, each rated at 18A. Inside the metallic blue case, cooling is provided by a combo of very quiet 80mm and 92mm fans. Cables are included for 20- and 24-pin motherboards, and there's an 8-pin EPS12V connector for dual-core CPU and dual-CPU motherboards. Seven Molex, two FDD, four S-ATA and two PCI-E connectors round off the specifications. This PSU is one of just a few PSUs that have received Nvidia SLI certification.

Although Enermax claims that both the 12V1 and 12V2 rails can output 18A, the PSU switched off whenever we tried to drain more than 9.8A from 12V2. This is pretty appalling, as this is just over half the amount stated by Enermax. With 12V2 always set to 9.8A, however, the Enermax was able to pass the remaining voltage stability tests, although this meant its maximum output was just 511W.

The Enermax may be quiet, but it's unable to produce its rated 600W, and, as the 12V2 rail is used to power the CPU, it isn't suitable for an overvolted system. As the perfectly stable Seasonic 600W is available for £10 less, we know which PSU we'd buy.

• Cases - 21st November 2008
• Motherboards - 24th October 2008
• Gaming Headsets - 26th September 2008
• Dream PCs - 24th September 2008
• Headphones - 12th September 2008
• Media PC components - 22nd August 2008
• PSUs - 14th July 2008

• Western Digital Caviar Black 1TB - Hard disks / storage
• Asus EAH4870 TOP - Graphics cards
• Creative Sound Blaster X-Fi Titanium Fatal1ty Pro - Sound cards
• Multiwinia - Games
• Zotac GeForce GTX 260² - Graphics cards
• Sapphire Radeon HD 4850 X2 - Graphics cards
• Scan 3XS X58 Core i7 - Desktop PCs