Enermax D.F. 500W PSU Review

The Enermax D.F. 500W is a fully modular PSU featuring high efficiency, quiet operation, and individually sleeved cables. But are those enough to justify its premium price tag?

Early Verdict

The EPF500AWT features good overall performance and a very silent operation, however its huge price tag totally kills its performance per buck ratio. Only if you desperately want individual sleeved cables you should consider it, since in this price range there are lots of options.

Pros

  • +

    Full power at 45 degrees Celsius

  • +

    Efficient

  • +

    Ripple suppression (+12V)

  • +

    Load regulation (+12V)

  • +

    Hold-up time

  • +

    Accurate Power Ok signal

  • +

    Silent

  • +

    Fully modular

  • +

    4x PCIe connectors

  • +

    Twister Bearing fan

  • +

    Indy-sleeved cables

Cons

  • -

    Expensive

  • -

    Build quality

  • -

    Inrush current

  • -

    5VSB turn-on transient

  • -

    PCIe and EPS sockets are identical (on the PSU's side)

  • -

    OPP is set sky-high

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Enermax EPF500AWT Power Supply Review

Enermax is one of the oldest PSU OEMs around, and perhaps the only one that preferred selling designs under its own brand, rather than selling them to other companies. Only Sapphire has been allowed to use Enermax's platforms.

A series of unfortunate events forced Enermax to eventually shut down its manufacturing line, so now it relies on the work of other OEMs, including Channel Well Technology (CWT) and Yue-Lin. With its Platimax D.F. family, Enermax partnered up with Fortech Electronics, a division of Colorful Group (CFG). Chaintech and Segotep belong to CFG, the first brand dealing with graphics cards and mainboards, while the second sells cases and PSUs.

The subject of today's review is the Platimax D.F 500W. It's a mid-capacity PSU with interesting features like Dust Free Rotation (DFR) technology. According to Enermax, DFR allows the fan to automatically remove dust from its blades by spinning in reverse and at full speed during the PSU's start-up phase. Another catchy feature is the Sleemax cable design, which describes the individually sleeved cables and nice braiding that Enermax uses. Unfortunately, this feature is probably why the EPF500AW costs as much as $140, making it one of the most expensive 500W PSUs out there.

Enermax's second-gen Twister Bearing fan is notable as well, as it's rated for an exceptionally long 160,000-hour life. Most sleeve bearing fans are close to 30,000 hours, while good double ball-bearing and FDB/HDB fans exceed 50,000 to 60,000 hours. Besides its extra-long lifetime, this bearing type makes it easy to detach the fan's rotor thanks to the "Click Mechanism." This means you can clean the rotor and remove any dust that does accumulate. 

Specifications

The EPF500AWT is 80 PLUS Platinum-certified, and is able to deliver full power at up to 50°C, continuously. Most protection features are present with the exception of OTP, which we feel is essential to every PSU. We can't help but wonder why manufacturers find it so difficult to incorporate this protection capability in their designs. It really saves the day when a fan goes out, for example. Heat is a PSU's worst enemy, affecting its short-term stability and long-term reliability. The general rule is that a 10°C increase in a capacitor's operating temperature reduces its lifetime by 50%.

A seemingly odd-diameter 139mm cooling fan is used because 140mm fans are patented. This might sound unbelievable, but indeed someone was smart enough to patent the use of 140mm fans in PSUs. Of course, there's a workaround for everything. Despite the EPF500AWT's high efficiency, Enermax doesn't implement a semi-passive mode. This is absolutely fine with us. In fact, we prefer to keep the fan spinning at all times so at least some air is moving over heat-sensitive components.

Finally, the dimensions are normal for a 500W PSU. We would like to see a longer warranty given Enermax's premium price tag. The individually sleeved cables aren't cheap, but $140 for 500W of capacity is incredibly steep. That's going to negatively affect the EPF500AWT's performance per dollar score, to be sure.

Power Specifications

Swipe to scroll horizontally
Rail3.3V5V12V5VSB-12V
Max. PowerAmps1615412.50.3
Watts10349212.53.6
Total Max. Power (W)500

The minor rails have sufficient capacity, given the PSU's overall capacity, while the +12V rail is strong enough to support any high-end graphics card. Lastly, the 5VSB rail is rated for a maximum current output that's fairly typical nowadays.

Cables And Connectors

Swipe to scroll horizontally
Modular Cables
DescriptionCable CountConnector Count (Total)Gauge
ATX connector 20+4 pin (545mm)1118AWG
4+4 pin EPS12V (700mm)1118AWG
6+2 pin PCIe (550mm+150mm)2418AWG
SATA (450mm+150mm+150mm+150mm)2818AWG
Four-pin Molex (450mm+150mm+150mm)2618AWG
FDD Adapter (+100mm)1118AWG

The number of EPS and PCIe connectors is sufficient for a 500W power supply. You also get more than enough SATA and four-pin Molex connectors. Cable length looks good, and the distance between connectors is ideal.

Power Distribution

Since this PSU features a single +12V rail, we do not have anything to say about its power distribution.

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MORE: All Power Supply Content

Aris Mpitziopoulos
Contributing Editor

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

  • skoalreaver
    Sleeved cables are not justification for poor build quality and that crazy price.
    Reply
  • eglass
    I'd probably buy it. I like those cables and I'm running a 500W Enermax Liberty that is now 11 years old.
    Reply
  • Anathemata
    How well does the dust-removal feature work? I mean, Van der Waals force is still a thing, and you need more than just a simple fan to blow out dust. Wouldn't a simple filter suffice?

    The sleeved cables are a nice touch. It'll be cheaper than buying a different power supply and separate sleeved cables.
    Reply
  • daddywalter
    Build quality isn't bad but could be better; lack of OTP is troublesome; and I'll agree with the reviewer that sleeved cables would be better offered as an option for modders. 80 Plus Platinum rating is a plus, of course; and 500 watts is adequate for most general-purpose computers that don't require multiple GPUs -- this PSU would probably outlast most SOHO builds, but then the initial price becomes more of a factor. Nice PSU, but IMHO not worth $140 with only a five-year warranty; at ten years I might consider it since then it should be good for at least three builds.
    Reply
  • dstarr3
    19274544 said:
    I'd probably buy it. I like those cables and I'm running a 500W Enermax Liberty that is now 11 years old.

    11 years is plenty of time for a company to have since dropped an amount of build quality.
    Reply
  • Robert Cook
    I'll add my voice, that auto play video needs to go. It is obnoxious, and adds lag to weaker devices.

    I like that cable pattern, it reminds me of the cables on my Enermax revolution 85+ 850W. (a great PSU despite its lower efficiency and age.)

    How are poorly trimmed leads going to cause shorts if everything is locked inside a case? I only see that as an issue if you go dropping screws in there.
    Reply
  • Aris_Mp
    they aren't poorly trimmed only, some of them are really long and only a hair away from the other. Under extreme conditions this can cause problems (shorts) and there can be of course an EMI issue when leads are so close to each other. Also with such long leads the plastic shield under the PCB can get punctured or during the PCB's installation into the chassis, which applies pressure to the leads, the long ones will bend and probably get shorted; this means that some PSUs might be already broken. I don't think that every PSU that leaves the production line is tested, but only a percentage of them.

    There is a purpose behind the proper trimming of excessively long leads in every PCB that is installed into a metallic chassis. The use of a plastic shield under the PCB doesn't automatically solves all possible problems.
    Reply
  • WFang
    I'm hoping for a resurgence in power supply choices in the 500W and *LESS* category!

    I would rather see something like the amazing Seasonic Prime supplies in a 400W flavor than 600W and over...

    Before I go on, I realize that if you run two GPU's or you really like to OC, obviously you need more and want more.. Great.. you already have a ton of great choices for those use-cases... I just wonder why we don't have more great quality choices in the lower Wattage ranges where probably a good 75% of even the enthusiast group could live comfortably.

    I also realize that TDP - Thermal Design Power is NOT the same as power consumption, but it is easy to find TDP numbers, and a part that is designed to deal with e.g. 100W TDP is likely to consume around 100W (or less) even in peak. As such it becomes a handy metric for back of the envelope power budgeting that still ends up being fairly conservative.

    With CPU's now more often in the lower half of 45W, 65W, and 95W TDP and the more recent GPU's all sitting at 300W or less in TDP, I'd argue that for non-OC'ed systems with one GPU and 1 or 2 HDD's and maybe an SSD, a great high efficiency 350W to 400W PSU will be a great choice. Feeling like that is pushing it? Fine, go 500W... but I don't see why you'd shop higher than that (for this use-case). Yet, good quality Titanium, Platinum, or Gold efficiency PSU's seem so hard to find in the sub 500W range. :(

    On a side note, since I'm here complaining anyway: A looong time ago I heard Tom's mention the Seasonic Prime 600W fanless PSU, anyone know if/when that will become available in the US? (Or anywhere?)???
    Reply
  • Aris_Mp
    I am informed that the Prime 600W fanless will be available somewhere in 2017.
    Reply
  • Marcus52
    19274544 said:
    I'd probably buy it. I like those cables and I'm running a 500W Enermax Liberty that is now 11 years old.

    Enermax was my favorite PSU maker when they made their own, but unfortunately they've chosen OEMs that are "adequate" not "great" to replace their manufacturing facility. I've paid their premium in the past, but right now EVGA is on the top of my list. Super Flower makes their top-of-the-line PSUs and build quality is superb, as are test bench results.

    Seasonic is also on my list of "will buy", and several other brands use Seasonic or Super Flower, so I wouldn't be opposed to buying one from someone like Corsair - as long as it tested well on reputable hardware sites.

    Never buy a PSU that doesn't review well. I've learned that the hard way. Build quality matters.
    Reply