Spire is an old and well known company specializing in creating computer component cooling products. They have a very wide range of cooling products consisting of various heatsinks, fans and special accessories. Recently Spire expanded their products range with designer computer cases and power supply units. Today we are going to have a look at their best power supply unit, the Rocketeer VI. The Rocketeer VI is the most powerful unit Spire currently offers and by far the one with the most features.

DC output	+5V	+3.3V	+12V-1	+12V-2	-5V	-12V	+5VSB
	40A	26A	20A	20A	0.5A	0.8A	2.5A
Total rated output	190W		432W		25W
	580W
	600W
Peak Load	650W

Application: Intel BTX 1.0a, ATX 2.01 - ATX 12V Power Supply Design Guide Ver. 1.3
Voltage: 200~240 Vac / 100~120 Vac (Europe=Active PFC / USA=Select Switch)
Frequency: 47Hz ~ 63Hz
Current: 10.0A for 100VAC / 6.0A for 240VAC
Output: +3.3V@28A; +5V@45A; +12V@26A; -12V@1.0A; -5V@0.8A; +5VSB@2.5A
Hold-up Time: 16 ms
Nom. Power: 600W
Max. Power: 650W
P.G. Signal: 100 ~ 500 ms
Voltage Protection: Two (2) +12V trip point 13.4V - 15.6V | +5V trip point 5.74V - 7.0V | +3.3V trip point 3.76V - 4.3V
Protection Features: Short Circuit, Over Voltage, Over Temperature & Over Power Protection
Cooling: One Blue LED 80x80x25mm Ball Bearing Fan, One Blue LED 120x120x25mm Ball Bearing Fan
Noise Level: 10.0 ~ 19.0 dBA Max.
Dimensions: 160mm (L) x 150mm (W) x 85mm (H)
Case: Aluminium, Titanium mirror finish
Connectors: 20+4-pin BTX (Motherboard) x1 | 4-pin 12V (Motherboard) x1 | 6Pin PCI express VGA x2 |Multi-use x6 | SATA x4
Additional Connectors: 3-pin Fan Connector, Two PCI Express 6-pin Graphics Card Connector
Cables: BTX to ATX adapter x1 | 6Pin PCI express VGA x2| 4-pin (3IDE) / (1 Floppy) x2 | 6-pin (HDD/VGA) x2 |4-pin (3 IDE Multi-use) x6 | 15-pin (2 SATA) x4
Wiring: Copper shielded & UV Nylon Sleeved
MTBF: 400.000 hours
Warranty: 3 Year Limited Warranty
Safety Approvals: UL, FCC, CE, CSA, TUV

 

Packaging

The Spire Rocketeer VI is supplied in a large cardboard box common for all the Rocketeer power supply unit line. The bundle is not too special but impressive for a modular type of unit. Besides the well written manual, there are many tie wraps and five coloured cable management wraps inside the package along with the necessary screws and AC power cable.

When we removed the Spire Rocketeer VI unit from the box, we were impressed by its appearance. The nickel plated silver paint of the unit has an impressive finish which makes the chassis exceptionally reflective. So reflective that we faced trouble when trying to picture it, since the surface would reflect the room lights just as much as the camera flash, making most pictures over exposed. The unit may look like a standard ATX power supply unit, but it actually is a little bit longer. Caution is advised if the unit is to be installed inside a small case.

The unit is cooled by two fans. There is a small 80mm fan at the rear and another 120mm fan at the bottom of the unit. Both of the fans have blue LED lights and are controlled by a button at the rear of the unit. The button can either set the fans at thermal control or full speed. At thermal control mode, the 120mm fan will stop entirely and the unit will stay entirely silent, while when set at full speed the fans (and their lighting) are set to maximum power, however the unit becomes annoyingly noisy.

Cables and interior

The Rocketeer VI is a modular power supply unit, which means that most cables are detachable. The only cables not detachable are the EATX 24-pin cable and the 8-pin 12V power cable. You will find the rest of the cables inside a separate box in the package. All of the cables are sleeved, but Spire chose not to go with the typical net-like sleeving but with strong, silver scale-like sleeving, much like those used on rounded IDE cables. This improves the visual appearance of the cable, yet makes them somewhat harder to bend, especially the thick EATX cable. All of the connectors are blue and UV reactive.

The fans which are installed inside the Spire Rocketeer VI are made by Globe, a well established fan manufacturer. The interior of the Spire Rocketeer does not disappoint either. The black heatsinks which are used to cool the unit are of very good quality and of considerable size. Spire chose to go with above-average quality components; from Jenpo capacitors and fuses down to the cable solder material. We found the design and quality surprisingly good especially coming from a company which has little to no history on computer power supply units.