Lian Li PE-750 SFX-L 750W PSU Review

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Ripple Measurements

To learn how we measure ripple, please click here.

The following table includes the ripple levels we measured on the PE-750's rails. The limits, according to the ATX specification, are 120 mV (+12V) and 50 mV (5V, 3.3V and 5VSB).

Swipe to scroll horizontally

Test	12V	5V	3.3V	5VSB	Pass/Fail
10% Load	26.4 mV	7.5 mV	18.9 mV	6.0 mV	Pass
20% Load	13.5 mV	8.9 mV	19.6 mV	8.1 mV	Pass
30% Load	15.7 mV	9.7 mV	22.0 mV	9.4 mV	Pass
40% Load	16.7 mV	11.3 mV	24.0 mV	11.5 mV	Pass
50% Load	19.2 mV	13.7 mV	27.2 mV	13.7 mV	Pass
60% Load	22.6 mV	15.8 mV	29.2 mV	15.4 mV	Pass
70% Load	24.4 mV	17.5 mV	30.8 mV	18.0 mV	Pass
80% Load	27.1 mV	19.0 mV	32.1 mV	19.3 mV	Pass
90% Load	29.0 mV	21.1 mV	33.8 mV	21.1 mV	Pass
100% Load	31.8 mV	24.0 mV	37.2 mV	23.9 mV	Pass
110% Load	35.3 mV	27.4 mV	48.3 mV	27.6 mV	Pass
Cross-Load 1	21.0 mV	8.9 mV	20.9 mV	6.1 mV	Pass
Cross-Load 2	31.7 mV	23.4 mV	36.6 mV	23.1 mV	Pass

Image 1 of 4

Ripple suppression at +12V is very good, especially if we take into account this unit's SFX-L form factor, which doesn't allow the use of an increased number of filtering caps on the secondary side. Ripple is normal on the 5V and 5VSB rails, though it should be lower at 3.3V (less than 30 mV, worst-case).

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 0.01 V/Div (each vertical division/box equals 0.01 V) as the standard for all measurements.

Ripple At Full Load

Image 1 of 4

Ripple At 110-Percent Load

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Ripple At Cross-Load 1

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Ripple At Cross-Load 2

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Aris Mpitziopoulos is a contributing editor at Tom's Hardware, covering PSUs.

9 Comments Comment from the forums

blazorthon

That's an embarrassing showing from Lian-Li.
Reply
Aris_Mp

For the SFX-L standards actually it is quite good. There is next to zero competition in this field. With a few part changes this platform has potential, however I don't know if it could keep efficiency at the same high levels.
Reply
shrapnel_indie

Lian Li is supposed to be a premium brand. Just look how expensive (and the usual quality of) their cases are when you can find them. By the numbers and its internals, this doesn't look like a premium brand product, regardless of how much or how little competition they got in a given market.

Lian Li, have you decided to no longer be a true premium brand?
Reply
Valantar

Definitely disappointing. Looks like Lian Li is going for the "money to burn, don't care" market. This PSU had amazing promise, but the choice of fan, the too-small caps and the short warranty make this unbuyable. Now, I don't have empirical data to base this on, but I'd guess most people springing $160 on a PSU - SFX or not - want it to last more than 2-3 years. And using a fan that's both short-lived _and_ unsuitable for horizontal mounting? That's just idiotic.
Reply
Virtual_Singularity

Solid review, as always, great job Aris. Even if this isn't an ideal psu, Lian Li is a quality brand, a quality case brand. However, its worth noting that of the ample (edit: particularly sfx/sfxl) PSU's Enhance has OEM'd for various brands, this one has to be among the best of them. Even if Lian Li introduced an absolutely horrible psu, wouldn't matter much to their fans, its the quality they put into many of their cases that's most important. Even if they cave more than they already have to the recent case trends, I hope they still keep producing no nonsense cases for that niche market that still values them.
Reply
Valantar

18666014 said:
Solid review, as always, great job Aris. Even if this isn't an ideal psu, Lian Li is a quality brand, a quality case brand. However, its worth noting that of the ample PSU's Enhance has OEM'd for various brands, this one has to be among the best of them. Even if Lian Li introduced an absolutely horrible psu, wouldn't matter much to their fans, its the quality they put into many of their cases that's most important. Even if they cave more than they already have to the recent case trends, I hope they still keep producing no nonsense cases for that niche market that still values them.

Sure, Lian Li makes great cases (although IMHO they too often screw up their nice minimalist looks with unnecessary clutter, and they're way behind the times in a few usability/ease of build areas today). But how does this relate to this PSU? In no way at all. Lian Li might be "a quality brand, a quality case brand", but that does nothing to change the fact that this is a premium priced PSU built with mind-boggling cost cutting in key areas, making its lifetime radically shorter than it should be. This would barely be okay for a $60 PSU. For a $160 unit, it's not only a deal breaker, it's about on the same level as the engineers shouting "F*ck you!" to every individual buyer.
Reply
Virtual_Singularity

18670375 said:
18666014 said:
Solid review, as always, great job Aris. Even if this isn't an ideal psu, Lian Li is a quality brand, a quality case brand. However, its worth noting that of the ample PSU's Enhance has OEM'd for various brands, this one has to be among the best of them. Even if Lian Li introduced an absolutely horrible psu, wouldn't matter much to their fans, its the quality they put into many of their cases that's most important. Even if they cave more than they already have to the recent case trends, I hope they still keep producing no nonsense cases for that niche market that still values them.

Sure, Lian Li makes great cases (although IMHO they too often screw up their nice minimalist looks with unnecessary clutter, and they're way behind the times in a few usability/ease of build areas today). But how does this relate to this PSU? In no way at all. Lian Li might be "a quality brand, a quality case brand", but that does nothing to change the fact that this is a premium priced PSU built with mind-boggling cost cutting in key areas, making its lifetime radically shorter than it should be. This would barely be okay for a $60 PSU. For a $160 unit, it's not only a deal breaker, it's about on the same level as the engineers shouting "F*ck you!" to every individual buyer.

Fwiw, I've no need of this form factor in a psu, so I'm really not bothered by it so much. But take the comment Aris made above into account. TBH, it'd be very easy to come to your conclusion if not for this psu being in the SFXL category. It really is one of the better ones I've seen reviewed, despite the short warranty. A shorter warranty is typical of the latest comparable units, (Silverstone, for example, has 2-3 years depending on location) the exception being Corsair, possibly. I say possibly because I don't know how their latest sfx units, despite having a longer warranty, compare with this one in overall efficiency, performance. and size.

The latest platinum/titanium rated SFX/SFX-L units carry a price premium. For those demanding a sfx-l unit, the one reviewed above is among the best performers, regardless of it's short warranty.
Reply
blazorthon

Problem is that it has multiple issues that are not inherent of being a smaller form factor such as SFX. Lian Li could have simply used a better, same-sized fan. There is also enough room for better caps. Being expensive just because of its efficiency with no regard for long-term reliability is idiotic and contradictory to being a high-end PSU in the first place.
Reply
gadgety

Great to highlight the weaknesses of this PSU. How does it compare to the Silverstone SX700-LPT? Which one is best. Do a shootout, or do an comparison piece.
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