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Protection Features
Check out our PSUs 101 article to learn more about PSU protection features.
Protection Features | |
OCP |
12V: 88A (141.94%), 12.058V 5V: 26.9A (134.5%), 4.971V 3.3V: 25.8A (129%), 3.293V 5VSB: 6A (200%), 4.921V |
OPP |
1069.3W (142.57%) |
OTP |
✓ (145°C @ 12V Heat Sink) |
SCP |
12V: ✓ 5V: ✓ 3.3V: ✓ 5VSB: ✓ -12V: ✓ |
PWR_OK |
Proper Operation |
NLO |
✓ |
SIP |
Surge: MOV Inrush: NTC Thermistor & Bypass Relay |
The OCP triggering point at +12V and the OPP are set a little higher than what we would like to see. The 5VSB rail also has a pretty high OCP triggering point, to deal with power spikes, most likely. Finally, the over-temperature protection is reasonably set, given this unit's semi-passive mode.
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.
DC Power Sequencing Scope Shots
There are no problems here since in all tests the 3.3V rail is 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
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.
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).
IR Images
The temperatures are kept at normal to low levels, so the fan speed profile could be more relaxed, without causing any issues, in the long run, in the PSU's reliability.
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Prev Page Load Regulation, Hold-Up Time, Inrush Current, Efficiency and Noise Next Page Transient Response Tests, Timing Tests, Ripple Measurements and EMC Pre-Compliance TestingAris Mpitziopoulos is a contributing editor at Tom's Hardware, covering PSUs.