Power Supply Roundup: 730W to 900W
by Christoph Katzer on November 22, 2007 3:00 AM EST- Posted in
- Cases/Cooling/PSUs
Product Comparison - Cable Length
As you can see below, we have a new cable length comparison chart now. This should make it easier to compare the various PSUs with all of the test units in each roundup appearing in each chart. We will have multiple images for the various connector types to keep things manageable. We've color coded the background from red to green as an indication of how well the cables will work in full-size towers. Naturally, if you have a smaller case and prefer not to have extra cable snaked into the crannies, you might prefer a PSU with shorter cables.
All of the test units in this roundup have a minimum length of 50cm on all harnesses, making them a good match for larger cases. Hiper and Cooler Master have slightly longer cables on some or all of the ATX harnesses, with a length of 60cm or 24".
The graphics power connectors (also called PEG connectors) present a very different approach from the companies. Hiper includes one long and one shorter harness, which make sense as the two graphics cards are above each other and therefore you won't need the same length for both of the harnesses. Unfortunately, the 730 and 770W models don't include any 8-pin PEG connectors.
The 880W unit has two harnesses with two connectors each. The first one is an 8-pin connector and the second is a 6-pin. The problem with this approach is the amount of power delivered on the individual wires. If the user attaches both connectors to a demanding GPU, you end up with a potential for 225W to come across a single rail - potentially enough to cause problems, though testing proceeded without incident. While no current graphics cards require this much power, a modified design would be appreciated.
Seasonic also has an odd design. Their PEG harness only has six cables, but they still utilize an 8-pin PEG connector at the end. Two of the wires serve double duty and connect to two pins, but ideally and 8-pin PEG connector would have eight wires from the PSU. Whether these cables are a higher gauge in order to deal with the additional demands is not clear, but again testing proceeded without any noticeable difficulties.
All the other units have real 8-pin PEG connectors to power up the latest graphics cards. Silverstone wins the longest 6-pin cable competition with their 70cm/28" harness, though the other three connectors are a more modest 50cm length.
Facebook
Twitter
RSS
31 Comments
View All Comments
engman - Wednesday, January 23, 2008 - link
Can you explain beter the Voltage Ripple and Noise graphs?I really cant get it! Where is the graph scale?
engman - Wednesday, January 23, 2008 - link
I was trying to find a good PSU and found this review.When you say: "The actual Power Supply Design Guide specifies that each +12V rail should not have any ripple over 120mV and the +3.3V and +5V rails should not have any ripple over ~50mV."
Means that each power rail should not go outside this interval:
11.88V < 12V < 12.12V 120mV
3.25V < 3.30V < 3.35V 50mV
4.95V < 5V < 5.05V 50mV
Correct?
How can 12.17V fall inside the specified range? "The 12V rails of the OCZ ModXStream tended to be high, but this is still acceptable as they fall inside the specified range."
4.75V is inside the specs? and 5.13?
"The 5V rails also remain within specs, but the last two units (OCZ and Amacrox) are very close to the lower boundary at 100% load."
So what are the exac boundaries, or the voltage interval for each power rail?
thanks
yelnatsch517 - Thursday, December 6, 2007 - link
I noticed the Cooler Master reviewed was the M850 ESBA modular version of the RS 850 EMBA. Seeing as how it is impossible to find that model in the US, I am wondering if the model reviewed was either a EU version or a new model Cooler Master is planning on introducing in the near future and also whether the internals of the US EMBA 850watt version are the same.jonnyGURU - Friday, December 14, 2007 - link
The Cooler Masters are identical. Cooler Master refrains from selling the modular version in the U.S. due to Ultra's patent on the modular interface and threats to sue. You CAN buy the Cooler Master modular here in the U.S. if you get it bundled with a case. I've seen it pre-installed in some Stacker units over at Newegg.stolennomenclature - Tuesday, December 4, 2007 - link
I know im getting old and the old brain isnt what it used to be, but did'nt i read somewhere about dwindling oil reserves, skyrocketing oil prices, depletion of the ozone layer, and the need to reduce energy counsumption and be the green movement? I even thought I saw a trend with cpu makers trying to lower energy counsmption of their cpu's.You would'nt think any of this stuff was real when you see the trend towards bigger fuel guzzling SUV's and now a article like this - why on earth do we need kilowatt power supplies for a PC!
If I was in government id have these things banned or else slap an enormous tax on them.
People need to wake up and smell the roses. Its obscene that a PC should need a power supply over 300 watts. Even thats extravagant.
jonnyGURU - Friday, December 14, 2007 - link
A PSU only puts out what's asked of it. So if you're PC only uses 300W, the PSU only puts out 300W. Really the only drawback here is that larger units typically cost more to buy, and neither you nor I are in the position to tell someone how to spend their money. ;)ShadowStryder - Monday, November 26, 2007 - link
Persoanally I like the new review layout.Toadster - Saturday, November 24, 2007 - link
850W of goodness for under $190http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N8...">http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a...=N82E168...
recently was on sale for $119 A/R
HexiumVII - Friday, November 23, 2007 - link
Who manufactures the Antec 750?Christoph Katzer - Saturday, November 24, 2007 - link
The 850? Enhance.