In Win Commander (1500W)

The In Win Commander (1500W) is a 1500 Watt PC power supply unit (PSU) equipped with quad +12V rails. Offering full support for multi-core processors, NVIDIA SLI/ATI Crossfire configurations and just about any component or peripheral you care to throw at it, it’s an incredibly powerful piece of hardware geared towards high-end gaming rigs.

Unfortunately, an expensive price tag coupled with a painfully pretentious design has slightly diminished its appeal — you'd have to be a gamer with serious gun-nut issues to want this thing. Nevertheless, it remains a good choice for said action game enthusiasts, many of whom are bound to love the Rambo-like aesthetic.

Now, we’ve long suspected In Win of having a military fetish, but the Commander (1500W) PSU really takes the ANZAC biscuit. Alongside the company’s B2 Stealth Bomber PC case (no prizes for guessing what the inspiration was there), this is probably the most overtly war-themed product we’ve ever laid eyes on — and that includes the entire G.I. Joe toy range. Modelled on a US Army ammo box complete with military logos and a camo pattern, it is perhaps also the nerdiest PC peripheral to be conceived by human beings. In other words, it will fit in perfectly with LAN-ers, who will doubtlessly want a chassis window to show it off.

Kidding aside, if you’re part of the modding scene and have a penchant for military-styled cases, you won’t find a more fitting PSU than this. Of course, its huge size means you'll need an equally extravagant case to house it, but this shouldn't be a problem for its intended user base.

The gung-ho approach to the In Win Commander also extends to power capacity — at 1500 Watts, it’s one of the most powerful PSUs on the market. Most users will never need this much juice, but hardcore enthusiasts are sure to appreciate the added collateral. Neon lights, water cooling kits, hydraulic pistons, multiple fans/graphics cards/speakers — bit by bit, all those doodads adds up (it ain’t easy being a pimp). As mentioned, the unit comes with four independent +12V rails, rather than the dual rails typically found on cheaper PSUs. Without getting too technical, this basically ensures greater stability for your system with loads being shared more evenly. It’s almost like having two power supplies in one.

The back of the unit has honeycomb-like ventilation holes to maximise airflow, along with a large LED power switch which lights up when the unit is on. For cooling, the Commander utilizes a 14cm fan that can occasionally get a teensy bit noisy. That being said, it wasn’t too distracting and only became noticeable when the system was under serious load. In any event, the pros of having a plus-sized fan far outweigh the cons — expect this baby to get quite hot.

The Commander comes with a multitude of detachable modular cables, including six PCI-E cables (three 6-pin, three 8-pin), two SATA cables with four connectors and two Molex power cables with four connectors and an FDD connection. The obvious benefit of a modular design is the ability to remove any cables you don’t need; this helps to free up room and air flow inside your chassis. All cables are colour-coded to make the novice’s life easier (although we’re not sure why a novice would want a 1500w power supply). Handily, In Win has elected to cover the modular connectors with small plastic covers to ensure they don’t collect dust while not in use.

In addition to the modular connectors, four native cables are also attached to the PSU, comprising a 20+4-pin ATX cable, a 4+4-pin EPS12V cable, an 8-pin EPS12V cable and an 8+6-pin PCI-E cable — the essential veins to any system. All of the included cables are encased in black sleeving for optimum protection. However, the sleeving on the native cables stops just short of the PSU case hole, with no protective plastic or rubber surrounding the metal. This could lead to chafing and eventual tearing, especially if you regularly tinker inside your PC. It's an unfortunate oversight, as a grommet could have been added for minimal extra cost.

The sales package also includes a pair of carry bags: one for cables and one for the PSU itself. The latter seems a bit bizarre to us — surely 99-per cent of users are going to immediately install the Commander inside their PC, where it will remain forever more? Nevertheless, if you need to store the device in-between chassis upgrades or something, this bag will get the job done.

The In Win Commander comes with guaranteed over-current, over-voltage, over-power, under-voltage and short-circuit protection. It also boasts a three-year warranty which can be extended to a lifetime warranty if you register the device with In Win.