As we have mentioned in other articles and reviews, the first place we look when opening a power supply for a hint about its quality, is its filtering stage. The recommended components for this stage are two ferrite coils, two ceramic capacitors (Y capacitors, usually blue), one metalized polyester capacitor (X capacitor), and one MOV (Metal-Oxide Varistor). Very low-end power supplies use fewer components, usually removing the MOV and the first coil. 

At least on this stage this unit is flawless, with three Y capacitors, one X capacitor and even one MOV more than the required.

click to enlarge
Figure 9: Transient filtering stage (part 1).

click to enlarge
Figure 10: Transient filtering stage (part 2).

In the next page we will have a more detailed discussion about the components used in the Gigabyte Superb 550P.