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Protection Features, DC Power Sequencing, Cross-Load Tests & Infrared Images
Protection Features
| Protection Features | |
| OCP | 12V: 83.6A (143.15%), 11.91V 5V: 29.5A 5.01V (134.09%), 4.977V 3.3V: 29.6A 3.28V (134.55%), 3.29V 5VSB: 4.4A (176%), 4.942V |
| OPP | 1018.9W (145.56%) |
| OTP | ✓ (110°C @ +12V heat sink) |
| SCP | 12V: ✓ 5V: ✓ 3.3V: ✓ 5VSB: ✓ -12V: ✓ |
| PWR_OK | Does not operate properly |
| NLO | ✓ |
| SIP | Surge: MOV Inrush: NTC thermistor & bypass relay |
Over-current protection at +12V is set high. However, we don't see any ripple or load regulation problems. The most impressive part is that the PSU delivered close to 1020W before the OPP mechanism shut it down. While 1kW of power from such a small unit is impressive, we'd like to see a lower OPP threshold for increased safety.
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.
The 3.3V rail is lower than the +12V and 5V ones at all times, so everything is fine here.
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°C (86°F) and 32°C (89.6°F).
Load Regulation Charts
Efficiency Chart
The efficiency sweet spot falls between 175W and 490W load on the +12V rail, with a combined load on the minor rails below 85W.
Ripple Charts
Low ripple translates to better system stability. It also puts lets stress on the power supply's components.
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).
Hot spots on the DC-DC converters responsible for generating the minor rails mean that, under high loads on the minor rails (5V and 3.3V), the fan has to spin faster to keep those components cool.
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