Micronics Caslon II 600W PSU Review: A Low-Cost Gem?

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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 Caslon II’s rails. The limits, according to the ATX specification, are 120mV (+12V) and 50mV (5V, 3.3V, and 5VSB).

Swipe to scroll horizontally
Test12V5V3.3V5VSBPass/Fail
10% Load7.8mV5.3mV8.6mV8.6mVPass
20% Load9.0mV6.5mV10.9mV10.7mVPass
30% Load11.3mV8.4mV13.3mV13.4mVPass
40% Load15.4mV10.8mV15.8mV20.4mVPass
50% Load21.5mV14.4mV17.5mV18.6mVPass
60% Load25.5mV15.9mV19.4mV21.1mVPass
70% Load28.4mV17.9mV21.7mV23.6mVPass
80% Load30.2mV19.6mV24.0mV30.0mVPass
90% Load36.5mV22.1mV25.5mV34.0mVPass
100% Load44.7mV27.7mV27.3mV37.5mVPass
110% Load67.3mV34.5mV29.1mV42.7mVPass
Cross-Load 114.8mV41.7mV14.4mV7.5mVPass
Cross-Load 230.3mV23.1mV23.7mV29.1mVPass

Ripple suppression seems good for the budget category's standards. You just can't be picky with a $63 PSU. 

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 0.01V) 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


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Aris Mpitziopoulos
Contributing Editor

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