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Performance, Performance Per Dollar, Noise & Efficiency Ratings

Performance Rating

The following graph shows the SDA600's total performance rating, comparing it to other units we have tested. To be more specific, FSP's 600W PSU is shown as 100 percent, and every other unit's performance is shown relative to it.

The 3.3V rail's lousy ripple performance keeps FSP's SDA600 from placing higher on this chart. If the company fixes the issue we observed, its 600W Dagger should end up closer to Corsair's SF600, although we can't see the two PSU's switching places. Really, FSP needs to adjust its price to help the SDA600 compete more aggressively.

Performance Per Dollar

The following chart may be the most interesting to many of you because it depicts the unit's performance-per-dollar score. We looked up the current price of each PSU on popular online shops and used those prices and all relative performance numbers to calculate the index. If the specific unit wasn't available in the United States, we searched for it in popular European Union shops, converting the listed price to USD (without VAT). Note that all of the numbers in the following graph are normalized by the rated power of each PSU.

Although FSP's price isn't bad, both Corsair units land in front of the SDA600.

Noise Rating

The graph below depicts the cooling fan's average noise over the PSU's operating range, with an ambient temperature between 30°C and 32°C (86°F to 89.6°F).

Unfortunately, we don't have recent noise measurements from competing SFX units. We recently had to wipe out our database of comparison data due to a different methodology enabled by a fully featured hemi-anechoic chamber that we use (courtesy of Cybenetics). However, we can safely state that the SDA600 is quiet enough to satisfy enthusiasts sensitive to noise.