I guess you all know what a power source is. In a way or another, any moving device on this planet has a power source. In fact the power suppy is the critical part of any physical process. In order to get energy, we invest and transform power. Every power transformation is done with a huge penalty and a great energy lost, but we need to do this in order to satisfy other needs. I know that this little introduction sounds too poetical for PC Hardware but I had to suggest in this way the power supply's importance. A PC requires one of the most advanced power supplies because the power requirements are different inside the computer system. The mechanical devices operate with a certain voltage; the electronic parts with a different one and additionally in order to design an electronic board you have to use other reference voltages. Every computer power supply has +/-5V, +/-12V and 3.3V output voltages. Of course that there are home equipments that may need more operating voltages, but this equipment is not extremely sensitive to voltage changes and does not have various power requirements.
Maybe the best power supply in the world is the most reliable one. It doesn't matter how powerful the power supply is, failure counts deadly. I noticed that most people ask for power when they buy a computer power supply, but better they would ask about the company that manufactured it.
Today we will take a look to an Antec power supply, which can be bought as an upgrade kit. Most good cases come with decent power supplies, but it may happen to have a good case with a power supply not able to sustain the power growth; faster CPUs still require more power. Pentium 4 motherboards require additional power headers and most of them do not work without the additional headers. If you have a good case and you want a Pentium 4, you will have to change the power supply. If you want to keep your case while upgrading to an Athlon CPU you may need to change the supply. Antec PP-412XF 400W power supply is a choice for users seeking for power and Pentium 4 compatibility. Let's see what's about.

First look

First I have to tell you that there is not much to say about a power supply. One of the most important aspects when buying a power supply is the exterior look. It can tell a lot about its quality and unfortunately that's the only aspect you can consider at purchase time, beside the recommendations. Surprises may rise after the installation. :)
Antec ships the supply in a red box. On the box you can find details about the product inside, including the power ratings for every voltage supplied. Quite interesting the power cables length is written on the box. A very good marketing strategy if we consider that the supply can be mounted in any case, from midi towers to full towers. I doubt that you will buy this supply to use it in a small case. Shipped with the power supply you can also find a power cord and a small installation paper.

Inside the box there is the power supply. From the first look you can see that the metallic enclosure sheet has a very good quality: extremely robust and heavy. The supply fan is protected by exterior world using a metallic grill. That's a better option than the traditional cut up sheet because it provides more airflow. As advertised by Antec the fan rotation speed is controlled to reduce the noise level. However the fan rotation control based on temperature is not a new thing.

There is also an on/off button on the back of the PP-412XF, an useful feature which stops power delivery to the motherboard. I have to remember you that ATX power supplies do not cut motherboard power after you shutdown the computer from the case front button. To modify the computer internal configuration it is required to shut down the standby supply too which normally is up in an ATX case.
I have already said this, but I need to say once more that the internal cables are almost half a meter long. This means that it's most efficient to use the PP-412XF supply in a larger case, in smaller cases the airflow can be easily blocked. Beside the regular motherboard headers, there are also six 5.25" and two 3.5" power adapters. Antec could have added one or two power adapters more because the wattage is enough, especially when you don't use the Pentium 4 headers. Fortunately extension adapters are available on the market and it's not a regular thing to need more than six 5.25" devices. There are not many cases which have the physical room for so many devices. Very interesting, the power supply fan rotation speed can be monitored using the monitor header.
Overall we liked what we have seen at PP-412XF and I can tell you that the electronic design inside the power supply is good. Do not take off the cover because you will loose the warranty, instead just believe us :). No serviceable parts inside.