The AK6 is the latest power supply series from 3R System, offered in two wattages, 500 W and 600 W, with (models ended with “M”) or without a modular cabling system. They come with the 80 Plus Bronze certification. Let’s test the 500 W model with a modular cabling system, which the manufacturer promises a peak wattage of 600 W.

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Figure 1: 3R System AK6-500M power supply

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Figure 2: 3R System AK6-500M power supply

The 3R System AK6-500M is 6.3” (160 mm) deep, using a 120 mm sleeve bearing fan on its bottom (Yate Loon D12SM-12).

The modular cabling system from this power supply has six connectors. The product comes with only four cables to be installed on them, so two connectors are left unused. Differently from most modular cabling systems, the connectors can be used by any kind of cable; the unit doesn’t have special connectors for the video card power cables. The motherboard cables are permanently attached to the unit, and they have nylon sleeves, which come from inside the unit. This power supply comes with the following cables:

• Main motherboard cable with a 20/24-pin connector, 19.7” (50 cm) long, permanently attached to the power supply
• One cable with two ATX12V connectors that together form an EPS12V connector, 23.6” (60 cm) long, permanently attached to the power supply
• Two cables, each with one six/eight-pin connector for video cards, 17.7” (45 cm) long, modular cabling system
• One cable with three SATA power connectors, 17.7” (45 cm) to the first connector, 5.9” (15 cm) between connectors, modular cabling system
• One cable with three standard peripheral power connectors and one floppy disk drive power connector, 19.7” (50 cm) to the first connector, 5.9” (15 cm) between connectors, modular cabling system

All wires are 18 AWG, which is the minimum recommended gauge.

The cable configuration is adequate for a mainstream 500 W power supply. In fact, most mainstream 500 W power supplies will come with only one video card power connector, while this power supply comes with two of them. On the other hand, this unit comes with a very limited number of SATA power connectors (three on the same cable). It would be nice if the unit came with another cable with three SATA power connectors in order for it to be considered by us “flawless” in this department.

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Figure 3: Cables

Let’s now take an in-depth look inside this power supply.