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Tuniq is a part of the Sunbeam Company, a company with the better part of a decade in the computing market. Tuniq makes a number of modder and enthusiast focused computer components. Their line includes cases, coolers, thermal compounds, and, of course, power supplies. Today we have one of those Tuniq PSUs; the 950 watt Miniplant. Is it a small powerhouse as the name suggests? Can it really dish out 950 watts from a PSU enclosure the size of a typical 500 watt unit? We're gonna find out.
Contents and Features
The 950 watt Tuniq Miniplant comes SLI and 80+ certified. The unit is a quad 12V rail as is popular these days. The retail package includes the PSU, a detailed manual, a package of ten zip ties (that's right, ten!), a reusable Velcro strap (bonus!), and 2 PCI-E 6-pin to 8-pin adapters. That's the basics and then some!
The unit itself is a 135mm single fan design dressed in a very glossy black slate finish. Honeycomb mesh sports on the exhaust side and, a little touch we've been seeing show up on quality PSUs, the on/off switch actually says “on/off” for those of us that are symbol impaired. Nice!
The specifications panel on the unit tells us this unit may actually be a bit bigger than 950 watts. The combined +5V, +3.3V, and +12V rails are reported to handle 950 watts alone. “So what,” you say? Well, most PSU makers also include the 20+ watts the minor rails can handle in the PSU rating. Under those rules, this unit would be labeled as a 970 watter. Something else that hits us as “honest John,” is the 12V rail amperage ratings. Tuniq rates all four of the 12V rails at 20A (240 watts) each. This is a breath of fresh air in honest design. With most of the 12V power from a single rail going through 3 or 4 wires that can only take 6 amps each, we've wondered why some PSU makers insist on putting 30 amp 12V rails on a unit when the wires can't take it and the end user will never use it. 20 amps per rail is more than sufficient and the 12V banks total can put out an impressive 68 amps (810 watts). The 5V and 3.3V rails are also rather beefy with a combined wattage output of 170 watts. That's along the higher end of the wattage we typically see for these rails.
Cables, Connections, Dimensions
The Miniplant is a not a modular PSU, but with the included zip ties, Velcro strap and the tip to toe black nylon mesh sleeving, cable management should be a breeze - and your cooling will benefit as well.
| Harness | Connectors and Lengths |
| 1 | ATX 24/20 Pin mainboard connector. 19" long. |
| 2 | SATA power cable with connectors at 19”, 27" and 36”. |
| 3 | SATA power cable with connectors at 19”, 27" and 36”. |
| 4 | Peripheral power cable with 4 pin connectors at 19”, 36" and 31" w/floppy connector at 36". |
| 5 | Peripheral power cable with 4 pin connectors at 19”, 36" and 31" w/floppy connector at 36". |
| 6 | PCI-E 6 pin connector. 19" long |
| 7 | PCI-E 6 pin connector. 19" long |
| 8 | PCI-E 8 pin connector. 19" long |
| 9 | PCI-E 8 pin connector. 19" long |
| 10 | 12V 8 pin CPU power cable. 19” long. |
| 11 | 12V/P4 cable with 4 pin connector at 19” long. |
| Harness | Extender / Adapter Connectors and Lengths |
| 1 | PCI-E 8-pin to 6-pin adapter at 4" long. |
| 2 | PCI-E 8-pin to 6-pin adapter at 4" long. |
The cable lengths in the Miniplant are more than adequate. Connector wise, the end user is covered and then some. With the added adapters, you could hook up a four card graphic system with this unit! That's not all either. Tuniq saw fit to label the connectors with the 12V rails that supply each of them. In a complicated power hungry system, this kind of information is pretty important. It's good to see Tuniq go the extra mile.
The dimensions of the Miniplant really drove home this unit's moniker (erm…”Miniplant”). For a 950 watt PSU, this unit is small. In fact, if it were any smaller, the 135mm fan wouldn't fit. The dimensions are 3.4” tall x 5.9” wide x 6.2” deep (long). That's just a tad deeper than the ATX specification, but it's very close. If you need a large PSU in a small case – the Miniplant may be just the ticket.