Specifications

Efficiency is Bronze and we were unable to find any information on the operational temperature range of this unit. Cougar also claims that all popular protection features are supported, and we have no reason to disbelieve them. The unit has the standard length as prescribed by the ATX spec, which, although specified, is rarely met by contemporary PSUs, with 16 cm being the most common length. Such a small footprint will, without a doubt, be very convenient. Finally, the PowerX-550 is compatible with the previous ATX spec (v2.30) and the provided warranty does, for its price tag, look decent.


There are two +12V rails with unequal power distribution. The maximum current output of 5V looks, although the maxiumum combined power of the minor rails is normal for a contemporary PSU, kind of low compared to other units of similar capacity, but a 15A maximum is still enough for any system that a 550 W PSU can support. Finally, the 5VSB rail is a little stronger than the average.


Power distribution is good since the EPS connector is not mixed in with the PCIe ones, but we think the second +12V rail should also feed the ATX connector, or some of the peripheral ones, in order to take some of the burden off the 12V1 rail. The latter rail does have a higher OCP trigger point, which allows it to feed more connectors.

Cables & Connectors, Power Distribution

The number of connectors is good given the capacity of the unit and the power that the +12V rail can deliver. We would like to see another 4-pin Molex connector. As you can figure from the table above, the cables that hold the peripheral connectors include both types of connectors, with one of the three cables including another connector for the floppy. This may come handy in some instances, but it may also cause headaches during installation.

The general length of all cables is short, since this unit will most likely be installed into a small- or medium-sized chassis. We would, nonetheless, like the ATX- and PCIe cables to be at least 50-100 mm longer, but the distance among all connectors will, thankfully, suffice in most cases. Finally, all wires are of 18AWG size, which is the ATX spec standard for most connectors.