MSI Turbostream 600 W (a.k.a. MS-4600-010) is a rebadged Solytech SL-8600EPS power supply, featuring active PFC, two 80 mm fans and two auxiliary power plugs for video cards under SLI or CrossFire configuration. Is this a good product? Can it really deliver 600 W? Let’s see.
This power supply from Solytech is found in three different versions:
Besides the external aspect, internally all these power supplies are exactly the same product. So even though this is a review for MSI Turbostream 600 W power supply the results should be valid for all the power supplies listed above. In fact we have already reviewed Rosewill RD600N-2DB-SL and we could check that internally both power supplies are completely identical, using the exact same components, even though the model from Rosewill has one 120 mm fan and the reviewed model from MSI has two 80 mm fans.
Solytech is also known by several other names, like Deer, L&C, Apex, Allied, SuperCase, Antler, Austin and others, and they seem to be around since the beginning of times with a not so good reputation (read this review and this comment to get a background on this company).
Besides this bad reputation, Rosewill RD600N-2SB-BK achieved good results during our review and thus we expect the same thing from MSI Turbostream 600 W.
We are still intrigued why MSI chose Solytech as the vendor for their power supplies. Usually big manufacturers prefer to choose an exclusive model for their line of power supplies, but power supplies from Solytech are far from exclusive and can be found on the market under several different brands, as you can see from above.
Another intriguing thing was how MSI chose the name of their power supply series. We think the name used – “Turbostream” – is too close to the name OCZ uses to their power supply series. We think MSI should have been more careful here.
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Figure 1: MSI Turbostream 600 W power supply.
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Figure 2: MSI Turbostream 600 W power supply.
This power supply comes with a 20/24-pin motherboard cable, an ATX12V connector and an EPS12V connector (installed on the same cable) and five peripheral cables: one auxiliary power cable for video cards with two 6-pin connectors, two cables with three standard peripheral power connectors and one floppy disk drive power connector each and two cables with two SATA power plugs each.
In our opinion the number of connectors isn’t enough for the target audience of this power supply, with only two SATA power plugs. This power supply should have at least six SATA power plugs. Curiously Rosewill RD600N-2SB-BK uses a different cable configuration, with four peripheral power plugs and four SATA power plugs.
Also the two video card auxiliary power connectors are installed on the same cable and we prefer power supplies where the use individual cables for a better power/current distribution.
All wires from this power supply are 18 AWG, which is perfect for a 600 W power supply.
On the aesthetic side all wires are protected with a nylon sleeving, but this protection doesn’t come from inside the power supply housing.
Now let’s take an in-depth look inside this power supply.
