Ripple Measurements
To learn how we measure ripple, please click here.
The following table includes the ripple levels we measured on the SuperNOVA 850 T2's rails. The limits, according to the ATX specification, are 120mV (+12V) and 50mV (5V, 3.3V and 5VSB).
| Test | 12V | 5V | 3.3V | 5VSB | Pass/Fail |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 10% Load | 3.7mV | 4.2mV | 4.7mV | 4.5mV | Pass |
| 20% Load | 4.8mV | 4.6mV | 5.6mV | 5.3mV | Pass |
| 30% Load | 6.2mV | 5.4mV | 5.9mV | 6.1mV | Pass |
| 40% Load | 6.1mV | 5.6mV | 6.6mV | 6.7mV | Pass |
| 50% Load | 6.7mV | 6.6mV | 7.6mV | 8.7mV | Pass |
| 60% Load | 7.4mV | 7.1mV | 8.3mV | 9.6mV | Pass |
| 70% Load | 7.0mV | 7.9mV | 10.0mV | 8.1mV | Pass |
| 80% Load | 8.4mV | 8.5mV | 10.6mV | 9.7mV | Pass |
| 90% Load | 7.7mV | 9.3mV | 10.8mV | 10.4mV | Pass |
| 100% Load | 9.3mV | 10.9mV | 12.2mV | 11.6mV | Pass |
| 110% Load | 10.1mV | 11.4mV | 13.2mV | 12.3mV | Pass |
| Cross-Load 1 | 5.6mV | 5.5mV | 6.0mV | 12.2mV | Pass |
| Cross-Load 2 | 8.5mV | 10.6mV | 12.6mV | 10.6mV | Pass |
Again, as we'd expect from a Super Flower platform, ripple suppression is great. If every PSUs fared this well, our important ripple measurements wouldn't be needed.
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 0.01V/Div (each vertical division/box equals 0.01V) as the standard for all measurements.
Ripple At Full Load
Ripple At 110-Percent Load
Ripple At Cross-Load 1
Ripple At Cross-Load 2
Also @Aris, are you sure there's only 4 y caps? I thought those blue sleeves store multiple y caps? Or do they not?
The unit would fail to meet the ATX spec at 5%, and this comes in at a rather dismal 4.5 %... yes, this does vary from unit to unit (and this is a bad thing) If the unit that winds up in the hands of a review site gets two outta 3 rails at 4.5%, I shudder to think what we might get ordering off newegg. In the review graphs, it's the bottom of the chart against all the other PSUs with which its compared.
The focus on efficiency in the ranking of PSUs in an enthusiast box is a criteria which escapes me ... I never walked into a Porsche dealership where the salesman's first pitch was "this model is great, it has the best gas mileage in our entire line'.