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Three 1000 W 80 PLUS Gold-Certified Power Supplies Tested

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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.

Sparkle GW-EPS1250DA: Measurements

Efficiency in accordance with the 80 PLUS specification

Efficiency, based on performance profiles

The 1250 W Sparkle PSU fails rather badly in the 80 PLUS Gold certification tests: all limits are missed by one to two percentage points. Even taking measurement tolerances into account cannot explain such a result. In short, it cannot quite keep up with the two other competitors in the energy efficiency department. Its efficiency does not drop as much as the Rosewill Lightning-1000 at low loads, though. But then again, it just barely misses the EuP 1 W limit too.

The Sparkle GW EPS1250DA is a PSU that can talk the talk, but not quite walk the walk. Its high performance and interesting details, such as its C20 16 A power connector and multi-rail design, do not protect it from avoidable mistakes.

52 Comments Comment from the forums
  • killbits 11 February 2011 12:46
    hmm, maybe next time include a super-high-end psu that doesn't suck.

    http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817139014

    takes any of the psu's in this review to school.
    Reply
  • mr_cb7 11 February 2011 13:37
    hmm, maybe next time include a super-high-end psu that doesn't suck.

    Seriously where is PC Power & Cooling,Corsair, or Antec!
    OCZ and Rosewill thats it? OCZ is alright, but Rosewill is crap.

    try theses next time:
    http://www.pcpower.com/power-supply/turbo-cool-1200.html (not GOLD I know but still)

    http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817139014

    http://www.ncix.com/products/?sku=56794&vpn=HCP-1200&manufacture=Antec
    Reply
  • one-shot 11 February 2011 14:09
    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.

    I also idle at 189 Watts with SLI enabled.
    Reply
  • iam2thecrowe 11 February 2011 14:14
    can you do a low-end psu review so we can see some stuff blow up!
    Reply
  • Chewie 11 February 2011 15:21
    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.
    Reply
  • alidan 11 February 2011 17:31
    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.
    Reply
  • tuhinz 11 February 2011 18:46
    9509055 said:
    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.
    Reply
  • alidan 11 February 2011 18:48
    than why can you switch between? thats what im not understanding.
    Reply
  • jimishtar 11 February 2011 18:49
    "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?
    Reply
  • tuhinz 11 February 2011 19:01
    9509057 said:
    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).
    Reply