Apexgaming AG-850M PSU Review

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Ripple Measurements

To learn how we measure ripple, please click here.

The following table includes the ripple levels we measured on the AG-850M’s rails. The limits, according to the ATX specification, are 120mV (+12V) and 50mV (5V, 3.3V, and 5VSB).

Swipe to scroll horizontally
Test12V5V3.3V5VSBPass/Fail
10% Load8.2mV11.7mV13.8mV26.9mVPass
20% Load14.0mV14.0mV15.9mV35.4mVPass
30% Load17.1mV14.9mV17.7mV35.4mVPass
40% Load18.6mV16.5mV18.4mV38.1mVPass
50% Load21.5mV17.6mV20.7mV51.7mVFail
60% Load23.0mV19.0mV22.0mV51.2mVFail
70% Load25.0mV20.4mV23.7mV60.2mVFail
80% Load26.7mV22.4mV25.5mV68.5mVFail
90% Load30.7mV24.1mV26.9mV66.0mVFail
100% Load37.3mV28.7mV31.7mV70.1mVFail
110% Load38.7mV28.9mV31.8mV74.6mVFail
Cross-Load 115.0mV31.4mV28.7mV41.6mVPass
Cross-Load 237.0mV24.5mV27.8mV76.8mVFail

The first sample we tested had a problem with its 5VSB rail, where ripple was clearly out of control. Since we had a second sample at our disposal, we tested its ripple and measured significantly better performance. The following table shows the second AG-850M sample's ripple results.

Swipe to scroll horizontally
Test12V5V3.3V5VSBPass/Fail
10% Load8.5mV13.2mV12.9mV5.6mVPass
20% Load16.1mV15.6mV15.4mV5.8mVPass
30% Load21.4mV17.0mV17.6mV6.5mVPass
40% Load25.7mV18.3mV19.3mV7.4mVPass
50% Load26.6mV20.5mV21.0mV8.9mVPass
60% Load30.4mV22.1mV23.0mV9.9mVPass
70% Load36.4mV23.9mV25.7mV10.6mVPass
80% Load39.2mV26.7mV29.2mV11.8mVPass
90% Load43.1mV28.7mV31.0mV13.2mVPass
100% Load53.5mV32.7mV36.3mV17.5mVPass
110% Load56.6mV34.4mV37.0mV17.8mVPass
Cross-Load 116.1mV30.0mV30.8mV12.0mVPass
Cross-Load 250.4mV25.7mV29.1mV16.2mVPass

The second sample fares much better in our 5VSB measurements. But that's not the case for all rails, particularly the always-critical +12V one.

Ripple Oscilloscope Screenshots

The following oscilloscope screenshots illustrate the AC ripple and noise registered on the main rails (+12V, 5V, 3.3V and 5VSB). We usually set 0.01 V/Div (each vertical division/box equals 0.01V), but in some cases we use a smaller setting as well, if the registered ripple is very low.

Ripple At Full Load

Ripple At 110-Percent Load

Ripple At Cross-Load 1

Ripple At Cross-Load 2


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Aris Mpitziopoulos
Contributing Editor

Aris Mpitziopoulos is a contributing editor at Tom's Hardware, covering PSUs.

  • logainofhades
    Hopefully they will take what was criticized for this unit, and learn from it, to make an even better product down the line. Some more competition in PSU land would be nice.
    Reply
  • Aris_Mp
    This is part of a reviewer's job. Some companies listen, some not, unfortunately.
    Reply
  • Aris_Mp
    This is part of a reviewer's job. Some companies listen, some not, unfortunately.
    Reply