Why you can trust Tom's Hardware
Transient Response Tests, Timing Tests, Ripple Measurements and EMC Pre-Compliance Testing
Advanced Transient Response Tests
For details about our transient response testing, please click here.
In the real world, power supplies are always working with loads that change. It's of immense importance, then, for the PSU to keep its rails within the ATX specification's defined ranges. The smaller the deviations, the more stable your PC will be with less stress applied to its components.
We should note that the ATX spec requires capacitive loading during the transient rests, but in our methodology, we also choose to apply a worst case scenario with no additional capacitance on the rails.
Advanced Transient Response at 20% – 200ms
Voltage | Before | After | Change | Pass/Fail |
---|---|---|---|---|
12V | 12.003V | 11.926V | 0.64% | Pass |
5V | 5.081V | 5.017V | 1.26% | Pass |
3.3V | 3.293V | 3.190V | 3.13% | Pass |
5VSB | 5.067V | 5.016V | 1.01% | Pass |
Advanced Transient Response at 20% – 20ms
Voltage | Before | After | Change | Pass/Fail |
---|---|---|---|---|
12V | 11.998V | 11.890V | 0.90% | Pass |
5V | 5.081V | 5.007V | 1.46% | Pass |
3.3V | 3.293V | 3.171V | 3.70% | Pass |
5VSB | 5.067V | 5.014V | 1.05% | Pass |
Advanced Transient Response at 20% – 1ms
Voltage | Before | After | Change | Pass/Fail |
---|---|---|---|---|
12V | 12.000V | 11.907V | 0.78% | Pass |
5V | 5.081V | 5.004V | 1.52% | Pass |
3.3V | 3.293V | 3.164V | 3.92% | Pass |
5VSB | 5.067V | 5.013V | 1.07% | Pass |
Advanced Transient Response at 50% – 200ms
Voltage | Before | After | Change | Pass/Fail |
---|---|---|---|---|
12V | 11.993V | 11.915V | 0.65% | Pass |
5V | 5.070V | 5.002V | 1.34% | Pass |
3.3V | 3.285V | 3.175V | 3.35% | Pass |
5VSB | 5.050V | 5.001V | 0.97% | Pass |
Advanced Transient Response at 50% – 20ms
Voltage | Before | After | Change | Pass/Fail |
---|---|---|---|---|
12V | 11.996V | 11.894V | 0.85% | Pass |
5V | 5.070V | 4.987V | 1.64% | Pass |
3.3V | 3.285V | 3.155V | 3.96% | Pass |
5VSB | 5.050V | 4.998V | 1.03% | Pass |
Advanced Transient Response at 50% – 1ms
Voltage | Before | After | Change | Pass/Fail |
---|---|---|---|---|
12V | 12.001V | 11.903V | 0.82% | Pass |
5V | 5.069V | 4.984V | 1.68% | Pass |
3.3V | 3.285V | 3.152V | 4.05% | Pass |
5VSB | 5.049V | 4.989V | 1.19% | Pass |
The transient response is very good at +12V, which is the most important rail. In the rest rails, the deviations are also low, but the voltage levels at 3.3V drop lower than 3.2V once the transient load is applied, because of the low nominal (initial) voltage.
Turn-On Transient Tests
In the next set of tests, we measure the PSU's response in simpler transient load scenarios—during its power-on phase. Ideally, we don't want to see any voltage overshoots or spikes since those put a lot of stress on the DC-DC converters of installed components.
The turn-on transient slopes are almost perfect. There is only a tiny spike at 5VSB, which cannot spoil of course the overall picture.
Ripple Measurements
Ripple represent the AC fluctuations (periodic) and noise (random) found in the PSU's DC rails. This phenomenon significantly decreases the capacitors' lifespan because it causes them to run hotter. A 10-degree Celsius increase can cut into a cap's useful life by 50%. Ripple also plays an important role in overall system stability, especially when overclocking is involved.
The ripple limits, according to the ATX specification, are 120mV (+12V) and 50mV (5V, 3.3V, and 5VSB).
Test | 12V | 5V | 3.3V | 5VSB | Pass/Fail |
10% Load | 6.0 mV | 4.4 mV | 11.8 mV | 7.2 mV | Pass |
20% Load | 7.8 mV | 4.8 mV | 12.6 mV | 7.6 mV | Pass |
30% Load | 9.6 mV | 5.6 mV | 13.8 mV | 12.4 mV | Pass |
40% Load | 9.8 mV | 6.8 mV | 15.6 mV | 9.2 mV | Pass |
50% Load | 9.8 mV | 10.5 mV | 18.4 mV | 11.0 mV | Pass |
60% Load | 11.0 mV | 8.3 mV | 17.7 mV | 10.3 mV | Pass |
70% Load | 13.6 mV | 11.6 mV | 19.6 mV | 12.6 mV | Pass |
80% Load | 15.5 mV | 19.4 mV | 26.0 mV | 18.5 mV | Pass |
90% Load | 18.2 mV | 15.1 mV | 23.0 mV | 13.4 mV | Pass |
100% Load | 23.3 mV | 13.6 mV | 25.0 mV | 14.7 mV | Pass |
110% Load | 26.4 mV | 14.5 mV | 27.8 mV | 16.2 mV | Pass |
Crossload 1 | 9.7 mV | 5.4 mV | 21.9 mV | 8.1 mV | Pass |
Crossload 2 | 25.9 mV | 12.8 mV | 28.2 mV | 15.8 mV | Pass |
The ripple suppression is satisfactory. It could be a little better, though, at 3.3V, but this rail isn't heavily used nowadays.
Ripple At Full Load
Ripple At 110% Load
Ripple At Cross-Load 1
Ripple At Cross-Load 2
EMC Pre-Compliance Testing – Average & Peak EMI Detector Results
Electromagnetic Compatibility (EMC) is the ability of a device to operate properly in its environment without disrupting the proper operation of other close-by devices.
Electromagnetic Interference (EMI) stands for the electromagnetic energy a device emits, and it can cause problems in other close-by devices if too high. For example, it can be the cause of increased static noise in your headphones or/and speakers.
The conducted EMI emissions are increased at low frequencies. Still, none of them exceeds the limits.
MORE: Best Power Supplies
MORE: How We Test Power Supplies
MORE: All Power Supply Content
Current page: Transient Response Tests, Timing Tests, Ripple Measurements and EMC Pre-Compliance Testing
Prev Page Protection Features, DC Power Sequencing, Cross-Load Tests and Infrared Images Next Page Performance, Noise and EfficiencyAris Mpitziopoulos is a contributing editor at Tom's Hardware, covering PSUs.
Razer's high-end Huntsman V2 Analogue gaming keyboard drops to an all-time low of $79 at Woot
Valve now sells refurbished Steam Deck OLED for 20% cheaper than brand new — 512GB model for $439 and 1TB model for $519
Custom Raspberry Pi 5 case rebuilds Pi 5 open loop into the hyper-compact case with the loop still intact — system stays below 43ºC at max load