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Part 1: Four Cheap 80 PLUS Bronze Power Supplies, Reviewed

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Power supply manufacturers condition us to think that efficiency is the one variable you need to pay the most attention to. But we have a suite of tests that more thoroughly taxes PSUs. Can these four inexpensive units under $70 make it through unscathed?

Enermax Triathlor 385W: Measurements

Efficiency According to the 80 PLUS Spec

Efficiency by Load

Once we ignore those brief spikes mentioned in the introduction, the results look good. Enermax's Triathlor surpasses the ATX spec on all voltage rails. The PSU also complies with the 80 PLUS Bronze spec, passing the other tests in our suite, too.

At 40 W of load, the Enermax PSU is less noisy than all other test candidates; it registers a mere 30.4 dB(A). At 200 W, the reading is 31.9 dB(A), which is still really good.

A Close Look at the PCB

Although the Triathlor series sits at the low end of Enermax's power supply portfolio, it doesn't look like corners were cut in building this model. The components inside are all high-quality hardware. The important capacitors are made in Japan. The primary one comes from Panasonic, and all capacitors on the secondary side are manufactured by Nippon Chemi-Con. The layout resembles the Pro82+ series; for instance, all heat sinks are mounted in the middle of the PSU, which improves cooling. The soldering quality and component composition seem good. The input filter consists of four Y capacitors, two common mode chokes, one X capacitor, and one MOV.

56 Comments Comment from the forums
  • wolley74 28 August 2013 04:04
    no love for the EVGA 500B?
    Reply
  • computer_nugget2 28 August 2013 04:20
    ALWAYS judge a power supply by its weight. especially if its Chinese.
    Reply
  • InvalidError 28 August 2013 04:31
    11435905 said:
    always judge a power supply by its weight.
    Some Chinese OEMs put rocks, small concrete blocks, lumps of steel or other stuff like that disguised as a transformer with bits of wire that aren't connected to anything to trick people into believing their heavier PSUs are better.

    So weight alone is not a reliable indicator.

    Also, at high frequencies and high efficiencies, the size of inductors, capacitors, transformers and heatsinks along with the associated weight shrink. While light weight and high quality may rarely be seen together, they certainly are not mutually exclusive.
    Reply
  • dudewitbow 28 August 2013 04:38
    11435841 said:
    no love for the EVGA 500B?

    a good chunk of Tom's physical hardware reviews generally are conducted in europe. This goes for a good handful of the gpu tests as well. EVGA rarely ever shows up on review sites because of it(and possibly due to lack of EVGA response to a hardware review pitch)

    Reply
  • computer_nugget2 28 August 2013 05:03
    11435944 said:
    11435905 said:
    always judge a power supply by its weight.
    Some Chinese OEMs put rocks, small concrete blocks, lumps of steel or other stuff like that disguised as a transformer with bits of wire that aren't connected to anything to trick people into believing their heavier PSUs are better.

    So weight alone is not a reliable indicator.

    Also, at high frequencies and high efficiencies, the size of inductors, capacitors, transformers and heatsinks along with the associated weight shrink. While light weight and high quality may rarely be seen together, they certainly are not mutually exclusive.

    do you have pics to prove this?
    Reply
  • envy14tpe 28 August 2013 05:37
    This is PART 1. Which means more PSUs to come, so let's hope for no dumb comments asking why not this PSU or this one...
    Reply
  • jimmysmitty 28 August 2013 05:42
    11436142 said:
    This is PART 1. Which means more PSUs to come, so let's hope for no dumb comments asking why not this PSU or this one...

    They have already listed the PSUs for part 2 and I didn't see a part 3 listed. I wonder where the Corsair CX430 is. Its a 85+ Bronze PSU and is $39.99 on Egg right now. Its one of the best entry level PSUs I have actually used as well and compared to other PSUs at the same price point or higher (within 550W and may or may not be 80+ at all) I have seen less of them come back bad.
    Reply
  • razor512 28 August 2013 05:47
    11435905 said:
    always judge a power supply by its weight.

    While weight is an important factor, overall weight is 100% useless

    for example check out the SIGMA SHARK SP-635

    http://www.ocia.net/reviews/sigma635/page2.shtml

    it is probably one of the heaviest power supplies you will find (with the exception of some of the 1200 watt ones)

    I purchased it a while back and was disappointed at the internals. they used an insanely thick case that made the power supply weigh a lot but the insides were were the result of the owner of the company asking while walking around china, what are the cheapest items we can find on the shenzhen market today.

    (at least the power supply can double as a flail or a boat anchor)
    Reply
  • pyro226 28 August 2013 05:47
    Hoping to see the CX430 and other corsairs reviewed. I like the little thing since it powers my PC. :D It originally rang a bit when the computer was suspended or at random after a few hours of use, but that went away with age.
    Reply
  • sanilmahambre 28 August 2013 07:13
    Nice basic testing method
    Reply