Introduction

It has been some time, but this isn't the first time we look into a product from Spire. But it is the first time we look at a graphics card protector from Spire, and actually it is a first time we see such a product at all. And what about Spire? Well, their focus is to build on the current success of the Spire brand so that the brand is recognized world wide as a provider of top quality cooling solutions. Spire continues to work to maintain the satisfaction of customers and share the knowledge of experts to provide their customers with the perfect cooling solution. With today's high-speed processors functioning at an unprecedented speed and output, the demand for better and more reliable cooling solutions has become one of the most important issues in the computer industry today.

Today we bring you some new innovation, which as far as we are aware no other manufacturer has come up with. In fact, Spire is proudly introducing a new powered by innovation product, the all new PowerFuse. The all new graphics card protector from Spire, the PowerFuse SP162 is an over voltage protector to secure and protect your expensive video card from irregular high voltages and ripple noise created by the lower quality power supplies. With the Spire PowerFuse and you will never have to worry again about power surges or breaking your video card by over voltage. For some this might sound like a gadget, rather than something that would be an added value to their system but hold on the comments, as it might still have some surprises.

The Spire PowerFuse is a universal kind of power protector which is specifically designed for all video cards featuring a 6-pin PCI Express power connector. The principle is plain and simple; PowerFuse will equalize the voltage and current delivered to the graphics accelerator via the PCI Express power connection. With the introduction of high-end graphics chips which are become more complex with every generation, also the need for extra power is increasing at every step. This is actually very similar as we saw in the past years with the central processors from Intel and AMD. At each new step extra power was required to deliver greater performance and do more complex calculations at a higher speed. Well, the world of graphics processors is following the same trend with more advanced architecture and technology.

Since this is the current evolution of the graphics industry we saw that with the high-end graphics card from both NVIDIA and ATI, a dual PCI Express power interface is required for delivering enough power for these cards to run at their full potential. And yes, to power such video cards you do need a very decent and powerful power supply that is able to give a steady voltage and current on these power connections. And that is exactly where the Spire PowerFuse comes into play. Cause you might have guessed it not every power supply with great specifications is actually capable of doing what it is supposed to do, and giving a steady current and voltage on the 12V rails at all time.

Main Features

• Over Voltage Power Protection
• Over Current Power Protection
• Ripple Noise Correction
• Copper & EMI Shielded Cables
• Flashing LED Indicator
• Light Enabled Connectors
• Easy Plug and Play

Indeed, some manufacturers do deliver excellent and stable 12V rails but that comes at a certain price range which not everyone is able to spend on a power supply. Or, let us rephrase not all buyers are really checking which power supply is able to do what is says. And that is where Spire has found some hole in the market. What if you bought a power supply which has a decent 12V rail but once you put all the hardware you have on it the steadiness of this 12V rails is become questionable. Well in that case the PowerFuse will just do what is needed to stabilize the 12V power towards the graphics card and protect it from irregular high voltage and ripple noise. With the Spire PowerFuse you won't have to worry about power surges or breaking your video card by over voltage.

The box is attractive listing just the product and the main purpose of its existence. What does come handy with this package is that you can just see the PowerFuse through the plastic box and get a good first impression. On the packaging Spire knows their world, meaning that you can only sell such a product if you show what exactly you will get as a buyer. It is simple though professional to attract potential buyers. And frankly it shouldn't be more than that, because getting the attention by the box alone does sell more items. As you can see the colors are now mainly red and black, and that is somehow linked as well to the change of colors on the Spire website.

Turning the package around we get to the back of the box. The back of the box is revealing the specifications and features in more details and also provides information on the supported voltage and current protection. All in all the packaging is well thought out and provides enough information on the product itself. Next to that it explain clearly the use and added value, stipulating that it is very beneficial for users with a low quality power supply. And extra feature that might as well attract some case modders is the color changeable LED when the voltage protection and ripple noise filter is activated. Time to move on see what is really included in the package...