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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 PSU’s rails. The limits, according to the ATX specification, are 120mV (+12V) and 50mV (5V, 3.3V, and 5VSB).

Swipe to scroll horizontally

Test	12V	5V	3.3V	5VSB	Pass/Fail
10% Load	5.9mV	11.2mV	11.4mV	7.7mV	Pass
20% Load	5.1mV	11.6mV	11.6mV	9.0mV	Pass
30% Load	6.2mV	12.4mV	12.4mV	8.4mV	Pass
40% Load	7.3mV	13.2mV	12.4mV	9.1mV	Pass
50% Load	8.6mV	14.3mV	13.7mV	9.1mV	Pass
60% Load	11.0mV	15.1mV	14.6mV	8.3mV	Pass
70% Load	13.6mV	16.4mV	16.2mV	9.3mV	Pass
80% Load	16.2mV	17.6mV	18.1mV	9.9mV	Pass
90% Load	19.1mV	18.7mV	18.6mV	10.5mV	Pass
100% Load	23.1mV	20.2mV	20.0mV	11.0mV	Pass
110% Load	27.1mV	21.6mV	19.8mV	10.8mV	Pass
Cross-Load 1	16.2mV	17.8mV	25.1mV	13.4mV	Pass
Cross-Load 2	24.4mV	18.6mV	13.3mV	9.3mV	Pass

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Right out of the box, we observed excellent ripple suppression. However, there's no way to know how long the 450 BT can maintain that performance, since its secondary side is populated with low-quality filtering caps. Those will age much faster than the Japanese caps found in EVGA's more expensive PSUs.

Ripple Oscilloscope Screenshots

The following oscilloscope screenshots illustrate the AC ripple and noise registered on the main rails (+12V, 5V, 3.3V and 5VSB). The bigger the fluctuations on the screen, the bigger the ripple/noise. We set 0.01 V/Div (each vertical division/box equals 0.01V) as the standard for all measurements.

Ripple At Full Load

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Ripple At 110-Percent Load

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Ripple At Cross-Load 1

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Ripple At Cross-Load 2

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

16 Comments Comment from the forums

Onus

This looks like a decent choice for a business-class PC, or even a light gamer, which probably won't pull more than half its rated output.
Reply
chimera201

Could you measure hold up at lower loads(20%, 50%, etc)?
And why isn't inrush results included in cybenetics database?
Normally "S" is considered higher than "A++"
Reply
Aris_Mp

S stands for standard. As for the hold-up time, it is measured only in the worst case scenario, which is full load. Unfortunately there is no time to take extra measurements, especially since we want to implement some other tests.

About the inrush current, Cyben''s pdf report covers only the basic in order to be kept at a normal size.
Reply
chimera201

Just curious how the values for hold up would look like at lower loads (I know it's higher). If you do plan on testing it even once at-least do it on a cheaper PSU unit. Testing it on a higher-end unit would defeat the purpose.

And I thought Cybenetics was supposed to give a detailed report. Not including inrush results, etc kind of defeats the purpose.
Reply
Aris_Mp

The main role of Cybenetics is to provide efficiency and noise certifications. The extra results are just to let people know a little more about a PSU's quality. If Cyben provided everything then it would be a review and not a certification.
Reply
HERETIC-1

Quality,low power PSU's are hard to find-Reason-Quality components cost money.
PSU IS THE MOST IMPORTANT PART OF ANY BUILD.....................
RECOMENDED-
Seasonic G360 or G450
Corsair SF450
Reply
Marlin Schwanke

Read the list of cons again. This thing is junk. There is no such thing as a decent $25 power supply.
Reply
fry178

so more cons than pros, calling it decent build quality when almost all cons are related to quality.
lol.
less respect with every review like this..
Reply
Aris_Mp

Every product is judged based on its price.

"Almost all cons are related to quality". Actually two our of the six have to do, in a degree, with build quality. Thin cables and overated MOV. Transient response, lower hold-up time, noise and old platform are not build quality related. Build quality has to do with the quality of the components and the craftsmanship unless you imply/understand something else.

You know what I also call decent build quality? A PSU that has a 25C rating and manages to finish all of my tests at much higher ambient temperatures. If its components were crappy then it wouldn't even last a minute under the overload tests, as many other PSUs that have died in my hands so far.
Reply
fry178

cables are still components.
and as well as everything else, it's still directly/indirectly related to quality, no matter if physical parts or design/engineering.
especially since this isnt a box sold by a 12y living in the grandparents basement.

i dont expect a semi modular unit with a 140mm silent fan on this, but i doubt lots of ppl would consider this type of "quality" product, if it was anything else they are using, not even talking about the fact its a name brand that sells very good units.

when did it start to be ok for a product to have more cons than pros?...
doesnt make any sense to me to call it "amazing value".
but i guess thats just me.

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