Why you can trust Tom's Hardware Our expert reviewers spend hours testing and comparing products and services so you can choose the best for you. Find out more about how we test.
Protection Features, DC Power Sequencing, Cross-Load Tests and Infrared Images
Protection Features
Check out our PSUs 101 article to learn more about PSU protection features.
| Protection Features | |
| OCP | 12V: 62.6A (134.33%), 11.9V 5V: 29.6A (148%), 4.982V 3.3V: 29.6A (148%), 3.242V 5VSB: 5.1A (170%), 4.852V |
| OPP | 764.5W (136.52%) |
| OTP | ✓ (126°C @ 12V heat sink) |
| SCP | 12V: ✓ 5V: ✓ 3.3V: ✓ 5VSB: ✓ -12V: ✓ |
| PWR_OK | Proper Operation |
| NLO | ✓ |
| SIP | Surge: MOV Inrush: NTC Thermistor & Bypass Relay |
There is no point for such high OCP triggering points on the minor rails, especially in a 560W PSU. The over power protection is also out of the 130% range that we suggest, but given this unit's low capacity, this might be beneficial for power spikes. In any case, though, you shouldn't exceed the unit's nominal capacity for prolonged periods.
DC Power Sequencing
According to Intel’s most recent Power Supply Design Guide (revision 1.4), the +12V and 5V outputs must be equal to or greater than the 3.3V rail at all times. Unfortunately, Intel doesn't mention why it is so important to always keep the 3.3V rail's voltage lower than the levels of the other two outputs.
No problems here, since the 3.3V rail is always at a lower voltage level, compared to the other two.
Cross Load Tests
To generate the following charts, we set our loaders to auto mode through custom-made software before trying more than 25,000 possible load combinations with the +12V, 5V, and 3.3V rails. The deviations in each of the charts below are calculated by taking the nominal values of the rails (12V, 5V, and 3.3V) as point zero. The ambient temperature during testing was between 30 to 32 degrees Celsius (86 to 89.6 degrees Fahrenheit).
Load Regulation Charts
Efficiency Chart
For a large enough region, of the PSU's operating range, efficiency is higher than 92%. This platform is optimized for high efficiency under higher loads and this is clearly depicted in the graph above, where even with full load the PSU is within the 90-92% region. High Power should improve the efficiency levels with lower than 40W loads.
Ripple Charts
The lower the power supply's ripple, the more stable the system will be and less stress will also be applied to its components.
Infrared Images
We apply a half-load for 10 minutes with the PSU's top cover and cooling fan removed before taking photos with a modified FLIR E4 camera able to deliver an IR resolution of 320x240 (76,800 pixels).
As usual, the hottest spot is on the DC-DC converters. In general the PSU's internal temperatures stay low, thanks to the efficient platform.
MORE: Best Power Supplies
MORE: How We Test Power Supplies
MORE: All Power Supply Content
