INTRODUCTION

Power has become a problem lately with the release of power-hungry graphics solutions. The X1900 XT and X1900XTX in Crossfire in particular have proven to use a great amount of draw, so much that not all power supplies are stable with such a powerful setup. Keeping stable voltages on all rails seems one big concern when it comes to feeding these systems, but we have been experimenting with this and have found that even high capacity 550W PSUs with excellent stability and amperage are also susceptible to X1900 family Crossfire issues. This is where the FSP Epsilon FX700-GLN PSU comes into play.

Our search for the absolute highest end, most powerful PSU took us to ATI's own list of PSUs "certified" to run on X1900 Crossfire setups. As little as a month ago the list only had 3 members, two of which are from Fortron's Epsilon series! The FX700-GLN is the higher end Epsilon model on the list; a 700 Watt beast of a power supply supplying an astonishing 50A on the 4 separate 15A 12V rails alone. Coupled with a super high 85% efficiency and a low noise rating from FSP, we were very interested to see if this 700W PSU would show any noticeable performance benefits, as this will be our first venture into a PSU above the 550 Watt power range.

To begin let's talk a little about about FSP Group, also known as Fortron. Fortron is a major player in the worldwide power supply market - established in 1993 the company is one of Taiwan's leading manufacturers of PSUs and has nurtured a reputation for creating solid power solutions. Last year we took a look at their Blue Storm 500W PSU and found it to be an Editor's Choice worthy product of excellent value. Now let's take a look at the FX700-GLN and see how it does in today's highest end, most power hungry systems.