We received a trio of 1000 W power supplies priced between $200 and $300, so we ran them through our usual suite of tests to see if they really live up to their 80 PLUS Gold certifications. Surprisingly, all three hiccuped during efficiency testing.
Test Configuration, Holdup-Time, Inrush Current, Peak, And Short Circuit Tests
Swipe to scroll horizontally
Test Hardware
AC Source
Chroma Programmable AC Source 6530
Power Meter
Yokogawa WT210 Digital Power Meter
Loads
4 x 600 W Chroma 63306 for 12 V testing 4 x 300 W Chroma 63303 for 5 and 3.3 V testing using Chroma HighSpeed- DC Load Mainframes 6334
Oscilloscope
Tektronix DPO3034 Digital Phosphore Oscilloscope (300 MHz)
Test Procedure
Voltages
110 and 230 V
Standby Power
0.25 A fixed current to simulate PC standby power on 5 Vsb
80 PLUS Efficiency Testing
100/50/20% load, relative to specified total output Load distribution across 12/5/3.3V rails at the same proportion as specified for 100% testing at 110 V according to ATX 2.3 specification
Efficiency at Fixed Loads
25, 50, 85, 300, 500 W loads Load distribution across 12/5/3.3 V rails at the same proportion as specified for 100%
Peak Load Test
110% Overload Testing at maximum combined 12 V
Temperature Test
Air intake vs. Outtake temperature delta tracking highest delta during all tests
Holdup-Time, Inrush Current, Peak And Shoirt Circuit Tests
Swipe to scroll horizontally
Short Circuit Protection Test (12 V)
Model
Test Passed
OCZ Z1000M (115 V)
yes
OCZ Z1000M (230 V)
yes
Rosewill Lightning-1000 (115 V)
yes
Rosewill Lightning-1000 (230 V)
yes
Sparkle GW-EPS1250DA (115 V)
yes
Sparkle GW-EPS1250DA (230 V)
yes
Stay On the Cutting Edge: Get the Tom's Hardware Newsletter
Get Tom's Hardware's best news and in-depth reviews, straight to your inbox.
I have a 750W Corsair PSU. When gaming with my i7 920 @ stock and SLI GTX 260s, I haven't come close to 400watts, according to my UPS. If you take the number the UPS gives and factor in the efficiency of the PSU, the power draw is much less. I've seen up to 360 watts with TF2 and Test Drive Unlimited 2 so far. Although running burn tests on GPUs and CPU will draw much more.
Running Bionc on CPU and F@H on both GPUs, I draw 441 watts with ALL components under HEAVY load. That's 100% on all CPU threads and GPUs. 1000W is enough for a lot of components.
Call me a noob if you like, but I didn't realise using 230V was more efficient 115V. I guess that's a bonus for those of us down under.
I just wish I could afford the kind of components that would require this kind of PSU.
ChewieCall me a noob if you like, but I didn't realise using 230V was more efficient 115V. I guess that's a bonus for those of us down under.I just wish I could afford the kind of components that would require this kind of PSU.
can someone explain this to me, because i dont get it.
can someone explain this to me, because i dont get it.
Its got to do with varying efficiency at different voltage levels.
Consider the following:
Power(P) = Voltage(V) X Current (I) X Power factor (Cos phi)
Now for the same amount of power transfer, at lower voltages, the current required is more (See the equation below):
P = V1 X I1 X Cos phi1 = V2 X I2 X Cos phi2
(Substitute for V1 = 230, V2 = 115, neglect the slight difference in Cos phi1 & Cos phi2)
The losses are given by :
H =I^2 X R X t (where R is the resistance of the current carrying conductor, t is time)
Thus losses increase in proportion to the current squared.
So you have higher losses (hence lower efficiency) at lower voltages.
"Max. temperature difference air intake to outlet - less is better "
where's the logic in this?
bigger temp difference means the cooling system is more efficient and it takes the heat away from the components. why is air temp so important to you? If you cannot measure temp from inside the psu case (the components) why bother with air temp?
than why can you switch between? thats what im not understanding.
You can't switch between the two. US & Japan & some S. American countries (IIRC) use 115V while the rest of the world uses 230V. PSUs meant for both markets often have a switch and you need to set it to the correct voltage for your country and plug it in. Many modern PSUs will often have a large input voltage range spanning both the voltage levels so you won't find the switch in them (My Corsair TX650 for instance).