Load Regulation, Hold-Up Time, And Inrush Current
To learn more about our PSU tests and methodology, please check out How We Test Power Supply Units.
Primary Rails And 5VSB Load Regulation
Load Regulation testing is detailed here.
Hold-Up Time
Our hold-up time tests are described in detail here.
Since the hold-up time we measured comes very close to 17ms, we won't complain too much about the small difference. The power-good signal's hold-up time is over 16ms, but the delay is less than 1ms (the ATX spec's minimum required period). Obviously, the bulk cap is right on the edge of what this PSU needs.
Inrush Current
For details on our inrush current testing, please click here.
Measured inrush current is a little higher than average with 115V input, and with 230V it is quite high.
Load Regulation And Efficiency Measurements
The first set of tests reveals the stability of the voltage rails and the SuperNOVA 850 G3's efficiency. The applied load equals (approximately) 10 to 110 percent of the PSU's maximum load in increments of 10 percentage points.
We conducted two additional tests. During the first, we stressed the two minor rails (5V and 3.3V) with a high load, while the load at +12V was only 0.1A. This test reveals whether a PSU is Haswell-ready or not. In the second test, we determined the maximum load the +12V rail could handle with minimal load on the minor rails.
| Test # | 12V | 5V | 3.3V | 5VSB | DC/AC (Watts) | Efficiency | Fan Speed | Fan Noise | Temps (In/Out) | PF/AC Volts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 5.234A | 2.004A | 1.990A | 0.984A | 84.791 | 85.408% | 1590 RPM | 43.9 dB(A) | 38.51°C | 0.953 |
| 12.074V | 4.991V | 3.316V | 5.075V | 99.278 | 40.37°C | 115.08V | ||||
| 2 | 11.503A | 3.000A | 2.986A | 1.179A | 169.639 | 89.250% | 1630 RPM | 44.9 dB(A) | 39.86°C | 0.976 |
| 12.066V | 4.990V | 3.315V | 5.068V | 190.072 | 42.21°C | 115.07V | ||||
| 3 | 18.144A | 3.508A | 3.498A | 1.380A | 254.875 | 90.525% | 1680 RPM | 45.0 dB(A) | 40.53°C | 0.985 |
| 12.059V | 4.989V | 3.314V | 5.060V | 281.553 | 43.47°C | 115.12V | ||||
| 4 | 24.774A | 4.009A | 3.980A | 1.581A | 339.724 | 90.885% | 1690 RPM | 45.3 dB(A) | 41.19°C | 0.990 |
| 12.051V | 4.988V | 3.313V | 5.054V | 373.794 | 44.67°C | 115.22V | ||||
| 5 | 31.062A | 5.009A | 4.977A | 1.780A | 424.622 | 90.807% | 1761 RPM | 46.0 dB(A) | 42.06°C | 0.992 |
| 12.046V | 4.988V | 3.312V | 5.045V | 467.607 | 46.14°C | 115.24V | ||||
| 6 | 37.354A | 6.015A | 5.976A | 1.981A | 509.630 | 90.372% | 1830 RPM | 47.0 dB(A) | 42.51°C | 0.994 |
| 12.043V | 4.988V | 3.312V | 5.038V | 563.924 | 47.30°C | 115.09V | ||||
| 7 | 43.638A | 7.016A | 6.975A | 2.185A | 594.558 | 89.913% | 1895 RPM | 47.5 dB(A) | 43.39°C | 0.995 |
| 12.042V | 4.986V | 3.311V | 5.031V | 661.260 | 48.68°C | 115.12V | ||||
| 8 | 49.934A | 8.024A | 7.975A | 2.386A | 679.546 | 89.242% | 1925 RPM | 47.8 dB(A) | 43.77°C | 0.996 |
| 12.039V | 4.986V | 3.310V | 5.023V | 761.462 | 50.00°C | 115.09V | ||||
| 9 | 56.665A | 8.523A | 8.491A | 2.390A | 764.610 | 88.777% | 2015 RPM | 48.9 dB(A) | 44.67°C | 0.996 |
| 12.036V | 4.985V | 3.310V | 5.020V | 861.275 | 51.64°C | 115.11V | ||||
| 10 | 63.133A | 9.035A | 8.976A | 2.997A | 849.382 | 88.024% | 2025 RPM | 50.4 dB(A) | 45.55°C | 0.996 |
| 12.033V | 4.983V | 3.308V | 5.001V | 964.944 | 53.48°C | 115.18V | ||||
| 11 | 70.211A | 9.042A | 8.983A | 3.000A | 934.374 | 87.293% | 2130 RPM | 50.7 dB(A) | 46.67°C | 0.996 |
| 12.030V | 4.981V | 3.307V | 4.997V | 1070.390 | 55.29°C | 115.09V | ||||
| CL1 | 0.099A | 14.024A | 14.005A | 0.003A | 118.149 | 82.328% | 2015 RPM | 48.9 dB(A) | 44.16°C | 0.974 |
| 12.064V | 5.012V | 3.331V | 5.092V | 143.510 | 48.03°C | 115.09V | ||||
| CL2 | 70.794A | 1.002A | 1.003A | 1.001A | 864.929 | 88.437% | 2025 RPM | 49.4 dB(A) | 46.23°C | 0.996 |
| 12.029V | 4.968V | 3.299V | 5.055V | 978.020 | 53.70°C | 115.11V |
Load regulation is great on every rail. This is a fine example of what we call tight load regulation. Moreover, the PSU's efficiency levels easily meet the 80 PLUS Gold requirements, even under very high ambient temperatures like the ones we apply during our tests.
Our only complaint is the fan's noise, since it spins very fast starting with our first load test. We mentioned this earlier, but EVGA's fan profile is unfortunately quite aggressive. Contrary to older Super Flower implementations, there are many fan speed modes available now. But none of them keep the fan spinning at low speeds under high ambient temperatures.
