Phanteks AMP Series 550W Power Supply Review

Protection Features

Check out our PSUs 101 article to learn more about PSU protection features.

Because of the low nominal capacity, the OCP triggering points are set higher than 130%. From the moment it doesn't cause any ripple issues, this isn't a concern for us.  The same goes for OPP, which is set a bit higher than 140%. 

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.

Image 1 of 3

DC Power Sequencing Scope Shots

There are no problems in these tests, since the 3.3V rail is always lower than 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

Image 1 of 3

Load Regulation Charts

Efficiency Chart

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.

Image 1 of 4

Ripple Suppression Charts

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).

Image 1 of 5

IR Images

No parts get overheated with a 50% load for ten minutes. This allows for a relaxed fan profile, as is the case in this power supply. 

MORE: Best Power Supplies

MORE: How We Test Power Supplies

MORE: All Power Supply Content