Cable reach
With each PSU's outputs tallied, we turn our attention to the cables—more specifically, how far they reach. PC enclosures come in all sorts of shapes and sizes these days, and depending on your motherboard and mix of components, some power supply leads can come up a bit short. Literally.

We can't tell you whether this or that power supply has enough cable length for a given enclosure or system configuration, but with the help of a trusty measuring tape, we can show the maximum cable reach for each PSU. The reach measurements shown for SATA and 4-pin peripheral connectors refer to the reach of the last connector on the longest cable.

These PSUs don't differ much when it comes to motherboard power connectors. The variances in cable length only amount to a few inches, although in some of today's upside-down cases, that could be the difference between a configuration that works and one that doesn't.

The Antec Neo HE, OCZ GameXStream, and Corsair HX provide the longest cable reaches here. Enermax's Infiniti has a long 12V connector, as well, but its primary power cable is among the shortest.

PCIe cable length is particularly important if you're running multi-GPU graphics configurations in taller enclosures. Somewhat surprisingly, the relatively modest Seasonic S12II has the longest PCIe power cables of the lot. The Silencer and Neo HE pull up a couple of inches behind, followed by models from Corsair and OCZ.

We really have to roll out the tape measure for the SATA and Molex plugs. OCZ's GameXStream can reach SATA devices up to 40 inches away from the PSU, while the Toughpower stretches its 4-pin peripheral plugs a full 38 inches. Those two units are joined in the top three by the Silencer, which gives you a 37-inch reach for SATA and 4-pin peripheral plugs.

The Antec, Seasonic, and Enermax units round out the bottom of the pack here, making them somewhat less appropriate for systems with a myriad of hard drives spread throughout a large enclosure.

Longer cable reach is obviously a good thing if you need it. However, in smaller cases it can be a liability, particularly if lots of unused leads must be zip-tied out of the way. That's not a problem with modular PSUs, of course, but it's something to keep in mind if you typically use mid-tower or smaller enclosures.