Spire provides three models within its BlackDragon series: 400 W, 500 W, and 600 W. None of them has the 80 Plus certification. Let’s see if the 400 W model is a good buy.

Units from the BlackDragon series are manufactured by Seventeam. 

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Figure 1: Spire BlackDragon 400 W power supply

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Figure 2: Spire BlackDragon 400 W power supply

The Spire BlackDragon 400 W is 5.5” (140 mm) deep, using a 120 mm fan on its bottom (no indication of the manufacturer).

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Figure 3: Fan

The unit doesn’t have a modular cabling system, and all cables are protected with 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, 16.5” (42 cm) long
• One cable with two ATX12V connectors that together form an EPS12V connector, 15.7” (40 cm) long
• One cable with one six/eight-pin connector for video cards, 16.5” (42 cm) long
• Two cables, each with two SATA power connectors, 16.5” (42 cm) to the first connector, 7.9” (20 cm) between connectors
• Two cables, each with two standard peripheral power connectors, 16.9” (43 cm) to the first connector, 5.9” (15 cm) between connectors

All wires are 18 AWG, which is the correct gauge to be used

The number of connectors is adequate for an entry-level 400 W power supply.

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Figure 4: Cables

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