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.
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.
Not only is the measured hold-up time lower than 17 ms (the ATX specification's minimum allowed), but the power-good signal drops after the rails go out of spec. This is a great shame.
Inrush Current
For details on our inrush current testing, please click here.
The inrush current is low with 115 V and normal with 230 V input.
Load Regulation And Efficiency Measurements
The first set of tests reveals the stability of the voltage rails and the PSU's efficiency. The applied load equals (approximately) 10 to 110 percent of the maximum load the supply can handle, 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 0.1 A. 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 | 7.968A | 2.016A | 1.991A | 1.007A | 119.74 | 84.90% | 1610 RPM | 49.7 dB(A) | 40.79 °C | 0.955 |
| 12.317V | 4.970V | 3.310V | 4.951V | 141.04 | 43.45 °C | 115.1V | ||||
| 2 | 16.976A | 3.022A | 2.999A | 1.212A | 239.56 | 90.33% | 1650 RPM | 49.8 dB(A) | 41.21 °C | 0.975 |
| 12.294V | 4.957V | 3.299V | 4.937V | 265.20 | 44.27 °C | 115.1V | ||||
| 3 | 26.370A | 3.530A | 3.521A | 1.419A | 359.67 | 91.36% | 1820 RPM | 50.1 dB(A) | 42.13 °C | 0.983 |
| 12.273V | 4.945V | 3.291V | 4.923V | 393.67 | 45.59 °C | 115.1V | ||||
| 4 | 35.781A | 4.057A | 4.018A | 1.629A | 479.55 | 91.49% | 1975 RPM | 53.2 dB(A) | 42.96 °C | 0.988 |
| 12.251V | 4.933V | 3.282V | 4.906V | 524.16 | 46.86 °C | 115.1V | ||||
| 5 | 44.892A | 5.080A | 5.040A | 1.838A | 599.46 | 91.24% | 2090 RPM | 54.0 dB(A) | 43.18 °C | 0.991 |
| 12.229V | 4.919V | 3.272V | 4.892V | 657.04 | 47.43 °C | 115.1V | ||||
| 6 | 54.040A | 6.120A | 6.066A | 2.045A | 719.40 | 90.27% | 2140 RPM | 54.4 dB(A) | 43.44 °C | 0.993 |
| 12.206V | 4.905V | 3.263V | 4.878V | 796.93 | 48.20 °C | 115.1V | ||||
| 7 | 63.220A | 7.155A | 7.100A | 2.260A | 839.21 | 89.74% | 2140 RPM | 54.4 dB(A) | 44.55 °C | 0.993 |
| 12.182V | 4.890V | 3.251V | 4.863V | 935.13 | 50.05 °C | 115.2V | ||||
| 8 | 72.433A | 8.205A | 8.145A | 2.473A | 959.16 | 89.13% | 2140 RPM | 54.4 dB(A) | 45.19 °C | 0.994 |
| 12.160V | 4.874V | 3.241V | 4.847V | 1076.09 | 51.49 °C | 115.1V | ||||
| 9 | 82.112A | 8.750A | 8.695A | 2.478A | 1079.21 | 88.35% | 2140 RPM | 54.4 dB(A) | 46.50 °C | 0.994 |
| 12.137V | 4.861V | 3.231V | 4.837V | 1221.49 | 53.85 °C | 115.1V | ||||
| 10 | 91.788A | 9.285A | 9.220A | 2.588A | 1199.03 | 87.50% | 2140 RPM | 54.4 dB(A) | 47.57 °C | 0.995 |
| 12.113V | 4.850V | 3.220V | 4.823V | 1370.30 | 56.13 °C | 115.2V | ||||
| 11 | 101.886A | 9.303A | 9.248A | 2.595A | 1319.01 | 86.60% | 2140 RPM | 54.4 dB(A) | 49.07 °C | 0.995 |
| 12.090V | 4.840V | 3.211V | 4.813V | 1523.11 | 59.35 °C | 115.2V | ||||
| CL1 | 0.097A | 14.024A | 14.005A | 0.000A | 116.21 | 79.56% | 2140 RPM | 54.4 dB(A) | 45.30 °C | 0.953 |
| 12.319V | 4.909V | 3.297V | 4.975V | 146.07 | 49.10 °C | 115.2V | ||||
| CL2 | 99.923A | 1.003A | 1.003A | 1.001A | 1223.20 | 87.68% | 2140 RPM | 54.4 dB(A) | 47.99 °C | 0.995 |
| 12.111V | 4.892V | 3.234V | 4.873V | 1395.02 | 56.87 °C | 115.2V |
Load regulation is decent, but it doesn't compete with the other high-end PSUs in this demanding category. We would like to see results closer to 1% on the +12V rail.
When it comes to efficiency, the XP1200M satisfies the 80 PLUS Platinum certification's requirements at 20% load, but it fails the 50% and full load tests. We do test at higher ambient temperatures than the 80 PLUS organization, which definitely affects efficiency. However, we expected higher efficiency from a $280 Platinum-rated unit that has to compete with the similarly-priced Corsair, EVGA, and Seasonic offerings.
Again, the fan profile goes crazy at over 40 °C ambient, resulting in a lot of noise. You'll need earplugs if you plan on operating this PSU under the stresses we apply.
30-year-old Pentium FDIV bug tracked down in the silicon — Ken Shirriff takes the microscope to Intel's first-ever recall
Cyberpunk 2077 update 2.2 claims to improve Arrow Lake performance by up to 33%, theoretically matching the Ryzen 7 7800X3D
Empyrean Technology gives control to CEC after U.S. blacklisting — China’s top developer of chip design systems hands reins to state-owned firm
