I'll be testing this Allied power supply against an Antec 480W. Perhaps an unfair comparison as Antec is well known to make among the best power supplies, but this way we'll see if it stacks up or not with the best.

• Chieftec case (2 LED 80mm fans as intake, 2 LED 80mm fans as exhaust (no side fan)
• Shuttle AN35N Ultra
• AMD 2500+ overclocked @ 3200+ (11x200)
• 92MM tornado (usually at 2600rpm)
• 2 512MB sticks of Mushkin pc3200 DDR
• BFG 5600U
• Fortissmo III
• Maxtor 160GB 7200
• WD 120GB 7200
• TV Card
• CDRW & DVD
• Lighted keyboard
• 2 cold cathodes

Below is with the Barton 2500+ at default speed, not overclocked. Running folding@home:

Below is with the 2500+ overclocked to 3200+ speed, 11x200 @ 1.7v. Running folding@home:

Not bad at all. As you can see the Allied 500W held its own against the Antec. The results were always slightly lower, but still easily within 5% of spec, which is what you want to keep your system stable.

This is easily one of the better looking power supplies I have seen. The shiny brushed aluminum does look sharp! If you have a side window then this power supply will not be an eye sore, as most are. I love having the ability to control the fan speed. Only bad thing about that is the control knob is a bit too small.

About the only thing missing here is that Allied isn't as well known as power supply makers like Antec and Enermax. Their 500W version seems to be of good quality and well-built. I had it running with my system overclocked for at least a week and with folding@home running 24 hours. The results are the averages.

• Good performance
• Dual fans
• Fan speed is controlled by you
• Rear fan is a 3 led-lighted fan
• Being aluminum it is lighter, great for lan party goers
• Looks very sweet
• No ugly paper side sticker with the specs
• Lower priced than the competition

• Doesn't yet have the well-known name as Antec/Enermax do
• one year warranty
• fan control knob is too small

Many thanks to Foxconn/Allied for making this review possible. Direct Link to the Allied 500W page. If you are in the market for a new power supply then this Allied 500W is certainly one to consider. Even if you are wanting to overclock.