Bgears b-Tarantula 650 Watt Power Supply Review

Conclusions
My testing results showed that the bgears b-Tarantula 650 is definitely enough power supply for a rig considerably larger than my test rig. A temporary voltage drop of .02v in a CrossFire setup is pretty impressive. I’d feel comfortable with a lower-high end video card such as a 9800GTX or HD 4870, and maybe a pair of 9600GTs in SLI or a pair of 4850s in CrossFire in this rig.

The bgears b-Tarantula shows that there still can be a little innovation in a PSU, the modular setup is simple but practical. It would look much more clean in a case with the power supply in the traditional location, but it didn’t look bad at all in my case with bottom-mounted PSU.

The cables are long enough for use in a full tower, not as long as some, but longer than others. They worked very well in the cable management department in my mid tower. Distances between the connectors was also nice, I have found some cables to not have a comfortable length between SATA connectors, for example.

During all of the testing, the PSU ran cool and quiet. The exhaust air never got what I’d call warm, much less hot. The massive heatsink array definitely does its job of dissipating heat.

I found nothing not to like about the b-Tarantula. I’m sure that some will have comments about the modular cables, but hey, you just can’t please some people.

The bgears b-Tarantula sells for $124.99 at my favorite online retailer. That puts it about midways in the 650-watt pricing, which ranges from around $50 to $200. The lower 25% of that list is mostly older PSUs that are still for sale and budget power supplies that I’m really not sure I’d trust. Considering the performance, I’d consider the b-Tarantula a value.

ThinkComputers gives the Bgears b-Tarantula 650W Power Supply a 10 out of 10 score.

rating10 10 small

Pros:
– Simple but innovative modular cable system
– Better heatsink setup than PSUs costing much more
– 80Plus efficiency
– Negligible voltage drop during testing
– Priced right

Cons:
– None that I found