The act of putting a computer system together is far from complex.  With all the standards and color codes that have been set in place and implemented, it's almost impossible to make a mistake that would lead to damaged or destroyed hardware.  Sure, water cooling and other more advanced cooling methods could lead to a disaster, but for a basic PC build it's all as easy as Tab A to Slot A.

     The real trick is knowing what hardware to get. More specifically, which hardware to trust and which to avoid. That's why places like Club Overclocker exists.  We spend the time and energy, and yes even sometimes turn perfectly good hardware into a smoldering paperweight - just so we can let our readers know what's garbage and what's not.   So today, we're going to take a power supply from a company I've never heard of, and plug it into an already existing PC build and see if its worthy of going into your next PC build.

     Glacial Power is a relatively new company, having only been together since April of 2006. However, the company has recruited a very talented team of developers who have an average of 12 years working experience in the power supply arena. In fact, members of the Glacial Power team have been active in the Mode Power Supply (SMPS) Industry and have been developing for companies such as Asus, Cisco, Dell, Gateway and of course Microsoft.

     The power supply we have up for testing today is a 550 Watt unit. We'll cover the specifications below in detail, but before we do - keep in mind that this unit has been priced below $70. So does that mean you'll loose all quality in workmanship? Absolutely not -- take a look

      Extra features and benefits: 

     * ATX12V Ver. 2.2

     * Dual +12V Rails

     * High +5Vsb Capability

     * Full Output Power from0 °C to 45 °C

     * Fan turned off completely at low load

     * Fan delay shut down

     * Intelligent fan speed control

     * PCI-E x 2

     Features like a temperature controlled fan or more often found on enthusiast level (and priced) power supplies. No only does the fan ramp up with higher temperatures, but it remains off until it is needed. Another nice feature of the cooling fan is that it remains running after the PC has been shut down, to help dissipate heat rather than let it remain in the enclosure and continue to wear on components. 

     Looking at the power rails, the two +12 volt rails are rated for an 18 AMP maximum current draw. This is right on course for the higher current loads pulled by some video cards.