Visual inspection
The Chieftec Polaris 650W has a good design that is reminiscent of the Seasonic Focus series. However, there is so much you can do design wise to a metal box, so we can’t complain. The fan grill is painted in a glossy black and is attached to the casing of the power supply with simple screws. There are no ventilation cutouts on the sides of the unit and the honeycomb pattern at the back is the standard size.
The Polaris 650W has a length of 140 mm, a width of 150mm and a height of 87mm. The unit weighs in at around 2.1 kg.
The fan grill that protects the fan is simple yet follows the color combination found on the sides of the power supply. The center is covered by a golden Chieftec emblem while the background is a solid orange. While it is nothing special in terms of design, this fan grill is the same diameter as the fan impellers and should not restrict the airflow in any way.
The sides of the Polaris 650W have the same two-tone design as the packaging. With simple orange lines over a black and silver background. These are unfortunately just labels and not painted on graphics.
The back of the power supply has the standard cutout in the shape of a honeycomb pattern which acts as the exhaust of the unit. Apart from that, on this side there are also the AC slot and the On/OFF button of the unit.
The front side of the power supply has the modular slots for the cables, a total of 8 slots. Fortunately, these are clearly labeled and marked so no mistakes can be made when connecting the cables.
The top of the Polaris 650W has the usual label which the technical specifications of the power supply.
The cables of the power supply are all black and flat to ease the wire management process. The only cable that is not flat is the 24Pin power cable, however this is still covered in high quality sleeving.
The fan used on the Polaris 650W is made by PowerYear and is the model: PY-1225M12S. This fan uses a Sleeve bearing system and has a maximum rated speed of 2000RPM, at least based on its general specifications. Many times, a fan might have its general specifications but those can be altered to fit the needs of each power supply.
The fan is connected to the PCB with a 2-Pin connector, which makes it removable and easier to service.
The Polaris 650W uses a High-Power platform for its internal construction. High Power is the same company that is behind the Sirtec brand of power supplies.
The passive cooling for the internal components is done by three solid metal heatsinks.
At the back of the power supply there are a couple of X and Y capacitors attached to the line. Here there is also a relay installed which will disable the thermistor, limiting the charge current entering the unit.
The APFC section of the power supply has a single primary capacitor manufactured by Nichicon which has the following specifications: 400V, 560uF and a maximum operating temperature of 105°C.
The polymer capacitors are made by Rubycon and Teapo, and some other brand that I’m unable to identify.
The PMW controller is an ANPEC unit, with the model number: APW7159C. This one is installed on a secondary vertical PCB next to the input port of the power supply.
The APFC Controller used on the Polaris 650W Gold is made by Infineon and is the model: ICE3PCS01G.
