LS and MX are sister power supply series from BFG, with models from MX series coming with a modular cabling system, a 120-mm fan and an auxiliary 80-mm fan on the rear, while models from LS series use a 135-mm fan and no modular cabling system or second fan. Initially both series used the same internal design, however this is not entirely true anymore. All models from MX series are manufactured by Fore Point (one of the factories from Fortrex), but LS-450 and the new version of LS-550 (marked as “LS-550 (New)” on their website, being the model we are reviewing today) are manufactured by Enhance. The old LS-550 and LS-680 are manufactured by Fore Point with the same design as models from MX series. According to BFG they will move all models from MX and LS to Enhance in the future, and when this happens units will be either released with new wattages (e.g. LS-700 instead of LS-680) or will have the name “New” added to their name.

Enhance Electronics is the manufacturer behind power supplies from Akasa, Real Power Pro series from Cooler Master and TruePower Quattro series from Antec. Keep in mind that not all models from these two brands are manufactured by Enhance.

We have already reviewed LS-450, so we will be able to provide a comparison between LS-450 and LS-550.

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Figure 1: BFG LS-550 (New) power supply.

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Figure 2: BFG LS-550 (New) power supply.

LS-550 is bigger than LS-450, being 6 19/64” (16 cm) deep, basically because it uses a bigger fan (135 mm vs. 120-mm). The reviewed unit has active PFC, of course.

All cables use a nylon protection and all come from inside the power supply housing, as you can see on Figure 2. The included cables are:

• Main motherboard cable with a 20/24-pin connector.
• ATX12V/EPS12V cable with two ATX12V connectors that together form one EPS12V connector.
• One auxiliary power cable for video cards with one six-pin video card power connector and one six/eight-pin video card power connector.
• Two SATA power cables with three SATA power connectors each.
• One peripheral power cable with three standard peripheral power plugs and one floppy disk drive power connector.
• One peripheral power cable with three standard peripheral power plugs.

The only difference between LS-450 and LS-550 (New) here is the presence of a second video card power cable attached to the only cable available. Of course having these connectors on separated cables is better.

All cables have 20 ½” (52 cm) between the power supply housing and the first connector on the cable, and on cables with more than one connector there is 5 ½” (14 cm) between connectors. All wires are 18 AWG, which is the correct gauge to be used.

This unit presents a satisfactory number of connectors for an entry-level or mainstream PC with only one video card installed.

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Figure 3: Cables.

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