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Pros, Cons And Final Verdict
EVGA made a name for itself as a quality PSU vendor in a short amount of time. A big part of that success is surely the company's close cooperation with Super Flower, one of the best PSU manufacturers. In the U.S. market, Super Flower doesn't have a retail presence. But you can find its products under EVGA's label.
The SuperNOVA P2 family consists of high-performance PSUs featuring Platinum-rated efficiency and low noise output, even under tough conditions. The 650 P2 that we reviewed today proved to be one of the quietest models we've ever tested. On top of that, it registered high performance in every discipline, including load regulation and ripple suppression. This unit is also tolerant of harsh environmental conditions; it isn't fazed by high operating temperatures, and rather continues delivering steady and ripple-clean output.
With the introduction of high-end graphics cards that don't require extremely powerful PSUs, even in SLI and CrossFire, mainstream power supplies are becoming popular alternatives to the high-capacity models that so many enthusiasts think are necessary. The 650 P2 can easily support a couple of Nvidia GeForce GTX 970s or 980s, allowing it to serve as the backbone of a powerful gaming system.
Thanks to its high efficiency, the 650 P2 doesn't dissipate much waste heat. As a result, it can operate in passive mode for a long time. Should you wish to keep internal temperatures down, you can deactivate passive mode to keep the fan spinning constantly. Since EVGA employs a low-speed fan and relaxed fan profile anyway, we'd prefer to keep air moving through the enclosure. Then again, if we take into account the 10-year warranty that EVGA provides, it's pretty clear the company is confident the 650 P2 will last.
If you can invest $120 in your next PSU and 650W of power covers your system's needs, then the 650 P2 is an excellent choice. It'll save you some money on electricity bills, that's for sure. On the other hand, if you don't want to spend more than $100 upfront, then EVGA's 650 G2 is also a strong performer offering a notably higher performance-per-dollar ratio. At the end of the day, though, we believe that the $20 difference between both models is easily covered by the Platinum-rated unit's higher efficiency. In addition, the 650 P2 comes with a warranty that's three years longer.
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Aris Mpitziopoulos is a Contributing Editor for Tom's Hardware, covering Power Supplies.
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