Introduction

Cougar’s high-end Polar PSU line includes two members with 1050 and 1200 W capacities. They are rated Platinum in efficiency by 80 PLUS and Cybenetics, and Cybenetics A+ for noise output, which means their overall noise output is below 20 dBA. According to Cougar, Polar PSUs being highly efficient protects the environment, which is the case indeed. The less energy is wasted, the better for the environment, but we also have to watch overall power consumption. Over the past few years, CPU and GPU power consumption has increased, which has made PSUs of higher capacity more commonplace. If Intel, NVIDIA, and AMD don’t do something to reduce the power consumption of their CPUs and GPUs, things will only get worse. Besides the environmental impact, which is the most important, electricity is becoming more expensive worldwide. You need a highly efficient PSU to at least keep energy losses under control.

Another major benefit of an efficient PSU is that it won’t produce high thermal loads, so it can be cooled without using an aggressive fan-speed profile. The lower the thermal load, the lower the stress on heat-sensitive components like electrolytic capacitors. Finally, operating the fan at high speeds to cope with the thermal load is not good for longevity. It is like pushing a motor to its fullest constantly. One of the most important parts of a PSU is the cooling fan—that is, for PSUs that have one as passively cooled units do exist. If the fan dies, so does the PSU, and if there is no over-temperature protection, it will end in fireworks.

Xin Hui Yuan Tech (XHY) makes the Cougar Polar 1200 belonging to the high-end category. Besides the fully modular cable design, we find an hydraulic dynamic bearing (HDB) fan and Japanese caps everywhere, on both the primary and secondary sides. Cougar paid great attention to the details to deliver a competitive platform.

Specifications