EVGA GQ Series 750W PSU Review

EVGA teamed up with FSP once again to produce the new GQ line, which is one step below the highly popular G2 series. The four GQ PSUs feature 80 Plus Gold efficiency and semi-modular cabling, promising quiet operation.

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Cross-Load Tests And Infrared Images

Our cross-load tests are described in detail here.

To generate the following charts, we set our loaders to auto mode through our custom-made software before trying more than 1500 possible load combinations with the +12V, 5V and 3.3V rails. The load regulation deviations in each of the charts below were calculated by taking the nominal values of the rails (12V, 5V and 3.3V) as point zero.

Load Regulation Charts

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Image 1 of 3

Efficiency Chart

As you can see in the graph above, efficiency is quite high. The sweet spot is between 100W and 475W, with up to around 95W combined load on the minor rails.

Ripple Charts

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Image 1 of 4

Infrared Images

Toward the end of the cross-load tests, we took some photos of the PSU with our modified FLIR E4 camera that delivers 320x240 IR resolution (76,800 pixels).

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Image 1 of 6

The highest temperature our IR camera measured inside of the PSU was 72.7 °C, which is pretty low given our worst-case conditions.

Aris Mpitziopoulos
Aris Mpitziopoulos

Aris Mpitziopoulos is a Contributing Editor at Tom's Hardware US, covering PSUs.
14 Comments Comment from the forums
  • 10tacle
    Huh. Johnny Guru gave two variants of this PSU series recommended ratings back in Nov. & Dec (650, 850). I saw a 650W on sale at NewEgg last December for $50(US) after rebate and almost recommended it to a friend, but I didn't as I hadn't seen a JohnnyGuru review on the GQ series yet (they gave it a 9.4). They also gave the 850W version a 9.2 rating back in November.

    Not sure what happened with this 750W example, but it sounds more like what one would expect with a Corsair CX750 example. Definitely not the same results that Johnny Guru got with two different GQ variants.
    Reply
  • Aris_Mp
    The lower capacity GQ models use a different platform from the higher capacity ones (850W and more).

    The design of the 650 and 750 GQ models doesn't allow for better performance, especially in ripple performance.
    Reply
  • dstarr3
    Eh, I'd stick with the G2 series. That's a lot more quality for only a small price premium. And really, the PSU is probably the worst place to cut costs in a system build.
    Reply
  • basroil
    Oh god, another PoS EVGA unit that shares a similar name to the spectacular G2... I can see a flood of "my graphics card has coil whine", "my computer constantly crashes", and "my headphones have static/popping (only when playing games)" posts in the forum soon...
    Reply
  • joz
    Eh, I'd stick with the G2 series. That's a lot more quality for only a small price premium. And really, the PSU is probably the worst place to cut costs in a system build.
    Agreed. G2 550 and 650's are great. And the P2 750+ if you need that sort of power are great too. But these...."craptacularripplefail," units EVGA is tossing out is really hurting their image. I understand market catering and such, but they need to rethink their strategy. They aren't going to win any price/perf races while Corsair can continue to throw their shitty cx units out the window to customers. And EVGA I hold to higher standards then Corsair, so its kind of a shame to see the performance of these lower quality power supplies.
    Reply
  • Dark Lord of Tech
    I would take the EVGA G2 , P2 , T2 over any other POWER SUPPLIES including Seasonic.
    Reply
  • jonnyguru
    Agreed. G2 550 and 650's are great. And the P2 750+ if you need that sort of power are great too. But these...."craptacularripplefail," units EVGA is tossing out is really hurting their image. I understand market catering and such, but they need to rethink their strategy. They aren't going to win any price/perf races while Corsair can continue to throw their shitty cx units out the window to customers. And EVGA I hold to higher standards then Corsair, so its kind of a shame to see the performance of these lower quality power supplies.

    Unfortunately, you can't be too profitable selling only niche higher end product. At some point, if you want the board of directors to let you continue putting out power supplies, you have to put something out that can do volume. The B2 Series, The GQ Series, etc. Don't like them? Don't buy them. Is it hurting their reputation? No. Not as long as higher end units like the G2, P2, etc. continue to be solid. But if they start to slip for whatever reason, then you can say their reputation is in jeoprady. Seriously. Hardly anybody judges the Corvette because of the Chevy Spark (well... maybe some Ford fanboys, but still).
    Reply
  • Dark Lord of Tech
    I like the GQ's and recommend them , also love the Corsair RMx series and recommend those too.
    Reply
  • PureBlackFire
    Huh. Johnny Guru gave two variants of this PSU series recommended ratings back in Nov. & Dec (650, 850). I saw a 650W on sale at NewEgg last December for $50(US) after rebate and almost recommended it to a friend, but I didn't as I hadn't seen a JohnnyGuru review on the GQ series yet (they gave it a 9.4). They also gave the 850W version a 9.2 rating back in November.

    Not sure what happened with this 750W example, but it sounds more like what one would expect with a Corsair CX750 example. Definitely not the same results that Johnny Guru got with two different GQ variants.

    well, this is hardly the first time an FSP platform performed reasonably well at 650 watts and sucked at 750. sure it won't be the last either. as for the 850, like Aris said, based on a different (better) design.
    Reply
  • 10tacle
    17373323 said:
    well, this is hardly the first time an FSP platform performed reasonably well at 650 watts and sucked at 750. sure it won't be the last either. as for the 850, like Aris said, based on a different (better) design.

    That's just not right. A certain series should be of the same quality across the series offerings. There's a reason people shop for different series for their needs (budget vs. quality, etc.). Hell it's complicated enough already just trying to keep up with each OEM series line offerings and their quality tiers. I mean we all know the general quality difference between Corsair's CX line and EVGA's G2 line.

    Reply