The New Kid starts strong

Montech is a relatively new player in the PC power and cooling market. Although they borrow experience from their parent company, Telon Co. LTD, Montech was only founded in 2016, making the Taiwanese company one of the youngest computer component manufacturers with an international presence. Today, Montech focuses on the production and marketing of PC cases, power supplies (PSUs) and CPU cooler solutions.

According to Montech, the company’s core philosophy is to provide quality products at a competitive price. Therefore, as expected, Montech is focused on the large-scale mainstream market, the needle between navigating an oversaturated market, while still grabbing a small piece of the pie thanks to the sheer size of the market.

Today we take a look at a product that might be a little outside the company’s core philosophy: the Century Gold 650W PSU. While definitely not a halo product designed for top-level competition, Montech designed the Century Gold series to be the brand’s standard-bearer. As a result, the $90 price tag is heavier than what most people would expect from a brand that focuses on cost effectiveness, and yet the Century Gold 650W proves to be a very interesting product.

Packing and Bundle

We received the Montech in a well-designed and sturdy cardboard box. The artwork is captivating enough to grab attention without being extravagant. Packaging foam and thick cardboard walls protect the device from damage during transport.

The Century Gold PSU bundle is economical, with the company clearly trying to keep costs as low as possible. Included in the package are just four standard mounting screws, a basic guide, and an AC power cord.

Montech turned the Century Gold into a completely modular design, allowing the removal of any DC power cable, including the 24-pin ATX connector. All cables are bare, ribbon-like, with black wires and black connectors.

The Montech Century Gold 650W PSU

External Appearance

Montech adhered to the ATX standard dimensions for their Century Gold PSU. The chassis measures 86mm × 150mm × 140mm (H × W × D), making it fully compatible with any ATX compatible chassis. The steel chassis has been sprayed with a satin black paint that resists fingerprints but scratches quite easily. The finger guard is part of the chassis itself, featuring a hexagonal design with the company logo above the fan motor.

The sticker with the certifications and specifications of the device covers the entire top. A significant portion of the sticker is yellow and it will likely discourage users who don’t enjoy the bold colors visible through the windows side panel of their systems. Stickers with the elegant series logo cover the sides of the device.

A typical on/off switch can be seen on the back of the unit, right next to the standard electrical outlet. Approximately half of the front of the unit is covered by the connectors for the modular cables, with a base legend printed above each connector.

Internal design

Yate Loon provides the 120mm fan responsible for cooling the Montech Century Gold 650W PSU. The D12BM-12 is a simple but very popular fan, with a ball-bearing motor and a maximum speed of 1700 RPM. It may not be the best or quietest option, but it is a widely used and proven quality design.

Montech uses a very popular platform for the Century Gold 650W unit, which immediately reveals that Channel-Well Technology (CWT) is the OEM behind the creation of this PSU. CWT is an established designer and manufacturer of PC PSU platforms, with a primary focus on the mid-market.

The filter stage of the Montech Century Gold 650W PSU is textbook, with a total of four Y capacitors, two X capacitors and two filter inductors. The rectifier bridge is placed on an ordinary heat sink with a very small heat dissipation area. Almost the same goes for the active APFC components, which are attached to a much longer but equally simple heat sink on the side of the unit. Nippon Chemi-Con supplies the 400V/390μF APFC capacitor, with a large filter coil.

Two transistors form a typical half-bridge inversion topology on the primary side of the unit, while six MOSFETs generate the 12V line on the secondary side of the transformer. The 3.3V and 5V lines are generated through the DC-to-DC conversion circuitry. This is a very typical configuration for an 80Plus Gold certified unit. The heatsinks of the active switches on either side of the transformer are more complex than those for the APFC circuitry and the primary bridge. All secondary capacitors, both electrolytic and polymer, are supplied by Nippon Chemi-Con and Nichicon, both highly reputable Japanese manufacturers.