Performance (40% of the final score) - where do I even begin? The unit regulated well... until I asked for 900W. Efficiency was awesome... until I asked for 900W. Ripple and noise suppression was decent... until it hit 900W. I'm sure you can see where this is heading. For overrating the unit by a good 100W, for nearly cooking itself in the cold tests on test five, for blowing past those pesky ATX specs without even trying to shut down, for failing in the hot box, for using Japanese capacitors purely as a marketing bullet point without addressing performance, I wave my magic wand and bestow this unit with a dismal 4.
Functionality (20% of the final score) - the Warlock is going to get a bit of a break here, as Apevia made sure this unit got all the cables and connectors it needed for everything up to two high power cards in SLI/Crossfire. Lots of Molex and SATA drive connectors. The color changing fan can be turned off too, which is nice. Not everyone likes a lighted fan, and I'm glad they provided for that. 8.5.
Value (30% of the final score) - this thing retails at Directron for $169.99 right now. Are you kidding me? Not in this lifetime, guys. 5.
Aesthetics (10% of the final score) - looks pretty decent, I must say. Poor EMI blocking aside, the windows are somewhat cool, allowing us to see all the would-be goodness inside. A fan that can change colors to match one's color scheme is also nice. And I do like that slick black and blue sleeving. 9.
Performance
4
Functionality
8.5
Value
5
Aesthetics
9
Total Score
5.5
Summary
The Apevia Warlock Power 900W carries with it a lot of potential - and a lot of baggage. Apevia's reputation thus far has been tainted by consistant quality control issues and the tendency to optimistically rate their units, and I was really really hoping to find that they were turning this around with the Warlock Power series. Alas, to my profound frustration, what we have here is a decently performing 800W that has been rated to run 100W out of spec and as a consequence it fails miserably to perform at that level. You're so close, Apevia, to releasing something halfway decent for a change. This unit could have turned things around, in my eyes, for those of us who just want a good quality unit. As an 800W unit, this PSU would have gotten a much higher score.
But, it's not being marketed as the 800W unit that it clearly is. Try again, Apevia. I'll be waiting.
