Enermax Revolution87+ 850W Power Supply Unit Review
Enermax Revolution87+ 850W Power Supply Unit Review
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Those are proven evidence of our top-notch quality and design competency recognized by the professionals. To develop an intensive sales network and better service customers around the world, Enermax has set up branch offices in Germany, France, U.S.A., Japan and China. We also have service offices and distributors in countries across Europe, America, Asia and Oceania. Our farsighted R & D capability is our key strength. The elite teams of Enermax always strive to come up with the best and most satisfactory PSU, thermal solution and peripheral products with cutting-edge design that meets the needs of the market and customers. We will stick to our R & D spirits of “Technology Innovation” and “Quality First” to constantly create products which transcend international standard and requirements to keep up on our product and brand value as well as competitive edge.
On the other hand because the 85+ line existed i didn’t really expect Enermax to launch a whole new line with 87+ (instead of the 85+). It does however make sense since there’s a very thin line between the 80 Plus Silver (85%) and Gold (87%) certifications (as it makes sense to continue using a successful line such as the Revolution one) and also because Enermax had to launch something slightly less costly than their Platimax line. So this time over the Revolution87+ units feature an 80 Plus Gold energy efficiency certification, ErP Lot 6 support, Dynamic Hybrid Transformer Topology for increased efficiency and Future Proof 12P Modular design. The 850W variant we have here with us is the 2nd best of the Revolution87+ line (currently) right after the 1KW version and comes with a total of 6 PCIex connectors and according to Enermax it can deliver up to 935W for no more than 60s.
Performance PSU Group Test — Coolermaster Corsair Enermax Antec — Enermax Revolution 85+ 850W
Article NavigationPage 1: IntroductionPage 2: Cooler Master’s Test Lab A Brief HistoryPage 3: Cooler Master’s Test Lab The EquipmentPage 4: Antec CP-850W — OverviewPage 5: Antec CP-850W A Closer LookPage 6: Antec CP-850W Features and SpecificationsPage 7: Corsair HX850W — OverviewPage 8: Corsair HX850W A Closer LookPage 9: Corsair HX850W Features and SpecificationsPage 10: Enermax Revolution 85+ 850W — OverviewPage 11: Enermax Revolution 85+ 850W A Closer LookPage 12: Enermax Revolution 85+ 850W Features and SpecificationsPage 13: Cooler Master Silent Pro Gold 800W OverviewPage 14: Cooler Master Silent Pro Gold 800W A Closer LookPage 15: Cooler Master Silent Pro Gold 800W Features and SpecificationsPage 16: Testing MethodologyPage 17: Antec CP-850W Test ResultsPage 18: Corsair HX850W Test ResultsPage 19: Enermax Revolution 85+ 850W Test ResultsPage 20: Cooler Master Silent Pro Gold 800W Test ResultsPage 21: Overall Results & ConclusionsPage 22: Final Words and Awards
Performance PSU Group Test — Coolermaster Corsair Enermax Antec
?by Simon Green
Comments
?07-06-10
Enermax Revolution 85+ 850W — Overview
Manufacturer and Sponsor:Enermax
Product on Review:Enermax Revolution 85+ 850
Street Price:173.
20
A little about Enermax:
| Enermax Technology Corporation was founded in Taiwan in 1990 and today is one of the leading manufacturers of PC components (power supplies, PC cases, cooling fans, keyboards, HDD enclosures and other peripherals). Since 2000 the head quarter is located in Taoyuan, Taiwan.
Six subsidiaries and numerous affiliates around the world provide an excellent network for ODM/OEM and retail business. Enermax has subsidiaries in Germany, France, Italy, USA, Japan and China. Worldwide, over 600 employees work for Enermax. Since 2004, the Enermax Technology Corporation is listed at the Taiwanese stock exchange. Enermax was not only the first PSU manufacturer which broke the barrier of 1kW but also forces the development of energy efficient technologies and solutions. All PSU series of current product range possess international energy saving certificate 80PLUS. At the beginning of the year 2010, Enermax launched the 80PLUS Gold certified Modu87+ and Pro87+ PSU series. |
They reach up to fabulous 93 per cent at 230V and set new standards in the popular 500 to 800W wattage range. Furthermore Enermax supports international Climate Savers Computing Initiative, a non-profit organisation of consumers, businesses and conservation groups. Its goal is to improve computers efficiency and energy consumption especially in standby mode.Packaging
Enermax have opted not to put a picture of their product on the front of their packaging, rather to simply emblazon the ‘Revolution 85+‘ name across the front along with a slew of awards and certification labels. We have at top left a variety of prestigious design awards that they have won from 2009 and 2010. To the bottom right we have the NVIDIA SLI-ready certification logo and the 80 PLUS SILVER certificate first proof of this unit’s efficiency.
The rear of the box has information on what Enermax consider to be 8 of the most salient features in a total of 10 languages! (more about these in the Features and Specifications page later).
You do also get a small picture of the power supply itself showing a very stylish and robust looking unit.
The sides of the box give a lot of additional information about such things as the power and load specifications, number and type of modular cables provided, and further info on the 80 PLUS SILVER certification which this unit has.
22 pages
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Page 1: IntroductionPage 2: Cooler Master’s Test Lab A Brief HistoryPage 3: Cooler Master’s Test Lab The EquipmentPage 4: Antec CP-850W — OverviewPage 5: Antec CP-850W A Closer LookPage 6: Antec CP-850W Features and SpecificationsPage 7: Corsair HX850W — OverviewPage 8: Corsair HX850W A Closer LookPage 9: Corsair HX850W Features and SpecificationsPage 10: Enermax Revolution 85+ 850W — OverviewPage 11: Enermax Revolution 85+ 850W A Closer LookPage 12: Enermax Revolution 85+ 850W Features and SpecificationsPage 13: Cooler Master Silent Pro Gold 800W OverviewPage 14: Cooler Master Silent Pro Gold 800W A Closer LookPage 15: Cooler Master Silent Pro Gold 800W Features and SpecificationsPage 16: Testing MethodologyPage 17: Antec CP-850W Test ResultsPage 18: Corsair HX850W Test ResultsPage 19: Enermax Revolution 85+ 850W Test ResultsPage 20: Cooler Master Silent Pro Gold 800W Test ResultsPage 21: Overall Results & ConclusionsPage 22: Final Words and Awards
Enermax REVOLUTION DF 850W Power Supply Review
Posted inPower Supplies
by Paul Johnson
Conclusion
The Enermax REVOLUTION DF 850W is the first Enermax power supply we have seen here at TheFPSReview.
However, it is by no means the first power supply Enermax has produced as they have been a long-time staple in the enthusiast sphere. However, while Enermax has a long history that includes a lot of high-quality units pricing has sometimes been an issue. So, with a new REVOLUTION on our hands, has the REVOLUTION DF 850W gone the way of the world-changing revolutions that people think fondly of, or has it gone the way that oh so many more have gone and descended into chaos? Let’s see.
Build Quality
Today’s Enermax REVOLUTION DF 850W starts things off with a build quality that is excellent. The finish that this unit has is exactly what we have come to expect from Enermax units over the last number of years. This includes their much more textured finish, characteristic REVOLUTION branding, and flat FlexForce style cables. The topology is very modern, and the component selection is generally very high quality. Among these components, we find Nippon Chemi-con and Nichicon standard capacitors coupled with FPCAP solid capacitors.
The fan is an Enermax branded “Twister Bearing” fan. The actual integration is excellent, though some of the leads need to be trimmed, and the soldering is excellent. Lastly, this unit is covered by a 5-year warranty and decent documentation.
Load Testing
Today’s Enermax REVOLUTION DF 850W provides us with excellent results overall. Indeed, we saw voltage regulation of up to 0.08v on the 12v rail, 0.04v on the 5v rail, and 0.04v on the 3.3v rail. The unit’s efficiency ranged from 86.44% to 91.68% at 120v and 84.79% to 90.52% at 100v. When we look at the 80 Plus tests, we see that the REVOLUTION DF 850W posted efficiency values of 89.24%-91.68%-87.40% using 80 Plus’s load testing parameters The voltage regulation is certainly well within the ATX12v specification limits and the efficiency is excellent by absolute numbers, but we have not seen a comparable product to date. Lastly, this unit passed our Torture Test in fine shape which is good to see from this unit given the extra constraints placed on it.
When we look at the Transient Load Tests results for the Enermax REVOLUTION DF 850W today, we see results that look a lot like what we saw above. When directly loaded, the 12v rail showed a peak change of ~320mV and the 5v rail had a peak change of ~60mV. During the 12v load, the unloaded 5v rail saw a peak change of ~30mV. In absolute terms, these results are very good/excellent. In relative terms, we have not seen any other 850W units here at TheFPSReview yet. However, among others on the market, this unit is easily up there with the best in this regard. So, we aren’t just seeing a passing unit today, we are seeing a very solid unit.
DC Output Quality
The DC Output Quality results for the Enermax REVOLUTION DF 850W were passing and, overall, excellent. Indeed, we saw peak values of just ~25mV of ripple/noise on the 12v rail, ~15mV on the 5v rail, and ~15mV on the 3.3v rail. When it comes to absolute values, these values are well within specification limits with the minor rails being the worst overall.
When it comes to relative values, there are other 850W units out there that will do better than this but not by much and they are few and far between. As such, this is another very solid outing from Enermax today and we have to say “well done”.
Noise
Today’s Enermax REVOLUTION DF 850W is a middle of the road, to the upper end, in capacity unit which means that quiet is normally not the name of the game. However, this unit does have a large overhead fan type that is known for being quiet and it has a very open design along with very good efficiency. Those items together mean that this unit could be quiet even though the unit is an 850W unit. So, what was the noise like?
In our testing, this unit was very well behaved. It was not until the full load tests that we could discern the fan adding noise to our load testing environment. Given the circumstances that we used to reach that noise output, this unit seems to be very nicely behaved and should work out well for most users.
Final Points
The Enermax REVOLUTION DF 850W is an excellent unit today as Enermax has come out of the gate rocking a rather impressive REVOLUTION. The REVOLUTION DF 850W gave us excellent build quality, excellent voltage regulation, excellent DC Output Quality, and excellent Transient Load results while also being relatively quiet. Indeed, this unit seemed to score top marks in all of the categories we evaluate with ease! Now, that does leave us with the question of price but, let’s be honest, that isn’t as pressing as it could be since this unit did do so well.
Today, we find that the REVOLUTION DF 850W can be had for around $134.99. As it turns out, that is a very solid price. It is not the best price, mind you, but it is definitely a good price and much more competitively priced than we have seen from some Enermax products in the past. All in all, that means this unit is definitely a winner and hopefully a sign of things to come from Enermax!
Enermax REVOLUTION DF 850W Power Supply
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Tagged: 850w, Enermax, power supply, psu, revolution df
Paul is a long time PC hobbyist and tech enthusiast having gotten his start when he broke his first C64 quickly followed by breaking his first IBM XT.
Most notably however, for 12 years, he served as the…
More by Paul Johnson
Four killer PSUs go head to head
I’ve tried to pen the introduction for this latest power supply round-up at least half a dozen times now. Each time I sit down to write, I draw a blank. The stack of PSUs to my left provides little inspiration, and although our beastly load generator remains one of the most impressive pieces of hardware in my lab, the sight of its chunky switches, imposing banks of resistors, and massive fans has failed to get my creative juices flowing. I’ve even tried imbibing various intoxicants, to no avail. Such is the tortured life of a hardware reviewer.
The problem, I think, is the subject matter at hand. PSUs just aren’t that exciting, especially when compared to CPUs, graphics processors, chipsets, motherboards, hard drives, notebooks, netbooks, sound cards, enclosures, coolers, and just about everything else we cover here at TR.
Don’t hit the back button on your browser just yet, though, because what PSUs lack in excitement they more than make up in importance.
A power supply may look like little more than a glorified AC-to-DC converter, but the flow of electrons it generates is the lifeblood of a modern PC. If that stream of current is dirtied, either by too much AC content or sagging DC voltages, system stability and even overclocking potential can suffer. Substandard PSUs can fail in epic fashion, too, sometimes taking other components with them in a puff of very expensive smoke. I guess that qualifies as excitement, just not the sort you’d actually want.
As in many markets, the new hotness comes to PSUs at the high end before trickling down to lower-wattage units. Today, we’ve gathered four new enthusiast-oriented models from Corsair, Enermax, Seasonic, and XFX to see how they fare against our beastly load generator. With wattages between 750 and 850W, these PSUs easily have enough power to fuel a high-end system.
Read on to find out which one does the best job.
Rounding ’em up
We’ll of course look at each of these PSUs in greater detail, but first, let’s set the stage with a wider view of how they compare. Many important attributes make up a good PSU, and we’ve crafted a simple comparison chart that summarizes some of the basics for the models we’ve assembled.
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Wattage |
Cooling |
Modular? |
80 Plus? |
Warranty |
Price |
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Corsair HX750W 750W |
750W | 140 mm bottom | Yes | Silver | 7 years | |
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Enermax Revolution85+ 850W |
850W | 135 mm bottom | Yes | Silver | 5 years* |
$219. 99
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Seasonic X Series 750W |
750W | 120 mm bottom | Yes | Gold | 5 years | $179.99 |
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XFX Black Edition 850W |
850W | 135 mm bottom | Yes | Silver | 5 years |
As you can see, we’re looking at 750 and 850W units. Corsair and Seasonic will square off at 750W, while Enermax and XFX will do battle 100W up the line.
Don’t put too much stock into these total output ratings, though. Each PSU divides its power differently, and where the watts flow is arguably more important than the sheer number available.
But what about the fact that we’re testing 750W units against others with a 100W advantage? Worry not, because our testing methodology is designed to take into account such differences. In addition to putting each PSU inside a real system, we’ll be probing its performance at 25, 50, 75, and 100% of its rated capacity.
A power supply’s efficiency is one of its most important attributes and something we’ll test ourselves in a moment. However, the 80 Plus program also provides efficiency certifications for the industry. Three of these four units are 80 Plus Silver certified, which means they achieved 85-88% efficiency in the tests conducted by the program. Only the Seasonic X Series has an 80 Plus Gold rating, denoting an efficiency of 87-90% in the program’s standardized tests. You can view the 80 Plus testing protocol here (PDF).
The energy lost due to less-than-perfect efficiencies generates heat that must then be expelled from the PSU. All the models we’ve gathered employ bottom-mounted fans, but the sizes of those fans range from 120 to 140 mm. Interestingly, what should be the most efficient PSU also has the smallest fan. In a moment, we’ll see how these slightly different approaches to PSU cooling affect system temperatures and noise levels.
We can easily measure degrees and decibels, but quantifying a PSU’s longevity is considerably more difficult. A good power supply can last for years, persisting through multiple upgrade cycles in a primary system before ending its days tucked away in a closet file server. We can’t test for long-term durability and still produce reviews in a timely manner, but we can get a sense of how long each company will stand behind its product by looking at warranty coverage. Seasonic and XFX both cover their PSUs for five years, which is about standard for high-end enthusiast models.
Corsair kicks in an additional two years of coverage for the HX750W, while Enermax skimps with a three-year warranty.
The Revolution85+’s shorter warranty would be easier to forgive if it were one of the more affordable models, but it’s actually the most expensive by $30. The Corsair, Seasonic, and XFX units are all priced within $30 of each other, with the HX750W ringing in as the most affordable of the bunch.
*Update 01/15/10 — Enermax has decided to extend the warranty coverage on a number of its PSUs, including the Revolution85+, to five years. What’s more, it seems that this very round-up may have inspired the change. Regardless of the motivation, we applaud Enermax for improving the Revolution85+’s warranty coverage.
Counting connectors
All of the units we’re looking at have modular cabling, but each offers a different assortment of plugs and connectors. We’ve untangled the mess and summarized the connector counts for each PSU below.
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Main power |
Aux 12V |
PCIe |
4-pin peripheral |
SATA |
4-pin floppy |
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Corsair HX750W 750W |
20/24-pin | 4/8-pin | 4 x 6/8-pin | 6 | 12 | 2* |
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Enermax Revolution85+ 850W |
20/24-pin | 4-pin, 8-pin | 4 x 6/8-pin | 6 | 12 | 1 |
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Seasonic X Series 750W |
20/24-pin | 4-pin, 8-pin | 4 x 6/8-pin | 8 | 8 | 2* |
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XFX Black Edition 850W |
20/24-pin | 4-pin, 8-pin | 4 x 6/8-pin | 8 | 11 | 2* |
First, the easy stuff.
All of the units have hybrid 20/24-pin primary power connectors, and they can all provide auxiliary 12V power with a four- or eight-pin plug. The HX750W’s auxiliary 12V line uses a hybrid 4/8-pin connector, while the others have separate plugs for each.
On the PCI Express front, four hybrid 6/8-pin connectors extend from each PSU. Official CrossFire and SLI certifications aside, you should be able to power a couple of high-end graphics cards from either camp with any of these PSUs.
Things get a little more interesting when we turn our attention to SATA and peripheral connectors. All but the Seasonic are biased towards SATA connectivity, with the Corsair and Enermax units offering twice the number of SATA connectors that they do Molex plugs. The Corsair and Enermax PSUs can make use of all the Molex and SATA connectors listed above. However, the Seasonic and XFX models don’t have enough modular plugs for all of their included cables. You’ll have to sacrifice two Molex or two SATA plugs with each PSU.
Floppy drives are rare these days, but PSU manufacturers still support their mini four-pin connectors. The Revolution85+ has a built-in floppy connector, while the others come with Molex adapters. Corsair’s adapter will cost you a single Molex plug for each floppy. The adapters included with the Seasonic and XFX PSUs are less wasteful, attaching two floppy connectors to a single Molex plug.
Cable reach
The number of connectors provided is only one part of a power supply’s cabling equation. How far those connectors reach is also important, especially if you’re running a larger tower enclosure or one of those exotic upside-down cases that puts the PSU below the motherboard. Even if you have a relatively small, traditional case, longer cables can provide more routing flexibility.
With the help of our trusty measuring tape, we’ve determined the maximum cable reach for each PSU. The measurements shown for SATA and four-pin peripheral connectors refer to the reach of the last connector on the longest cable.
Only a few inches separate the longest motherboard power cables from the shortest ones. Corsair provides the longest reach here, outstretching the Revolution85+’s cables by half an inch. The XFX unit’s primary power cable is a little on the short side, which could create problems in upside-down cases in particular.
The PCIe power cables provided by each PSU are closer in length than the motherboard power leads. Again, Enermax and Corsair lead the field.
Despite having the shortest primary motherboard power cable, the XFX Black Edition’s Molex and SATA plugs offer several more inches of leeway than the competition. Enermax pulls up particularly short when we look at four-pin Molex connectors, but at least it offers plenty of reach for SATA devices.
Rated capacities
We’ve already discussed the total output wattage rating of each of the PSUs in the spotlight today, but that’s only one component of the output rating story.
Modern PSUs divide power across three main lines at 3.3, 5, and 12 volts, with each of those lines carrying a maximum current rating. As if that weren’t complicated enough, many PSUs also spread 12V power over multiple individual lines.
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DC Output |
+3.3V |
+5V |
+12V |
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Corsair HX750W 750W |
25 | 25 | 62 |
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Enermax Revolution85+ 850W |
25 | 25 |
30, 30, 30, 30, 30, 30 |
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Seasonic X Series 750W |
25 | 25 | 62 |
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XFX Black Edition 850W |
24 | 30 | 70 |
Of these four models, only the Enermax splits its 12V line between multiple railsa whopping six of them, to be exact.
The rest of the units consolidate their 12V power on single rails.
Don’t get married to these current ratings, though; they’re only the tip of the iceberg. To get a handle on each PSU’s true capacity, we have to determine the maximum output wattage of each voltage line. The math is easy enough thanks to Ohm’s Law, which allows us to calculate wattage given voltage and amperage. However, power supply units with multiple rails are typically limited by how much power can be spread across those multiple linesa total that’s usually less than the sum of each rail’s output capacity. Most PSUs also place limitations on how much power can be shared between the 3.3V and 5V lines. And then there’s the maximum output wattage across the 3.3, 5, and 12V lines, which often falls short of the PSU’s total output rating in order to reserve capacity for lesser-used voltage lines like the -12V and 5V standby rails.
To make sense of it all, we’ve put together a table showing the maximum output power for each PSU’s 3.
3, 5, and 12V rails. Where applicable, we’ve also indicated the maximum combined 3.3 and 5V power, the maximum combined 12V power, and how much wattage the PSU can spread across all three main rails.
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DC Output |
+3.3V |
+5V |
+12V |
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Corsair HX750W 750W |
82.5 | 125 | 744 |
| 150 | |||
| 750 | |||
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Enermax Revolution85+ 850W |
82. 5
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125 |
360, 360, 360, 360, 360, 360 |
| 160 | 840 | ||
| 850 | |||
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Seasonic X Series 750W |
82.5 | 125 | 744 |
| 125 | |||
| 750 | |||
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XFX Black Edition 850W |
79.2 | 150 | 840 |
| 150 | |||
| 850 | |||
Interestingly, the Corsair and Seasonic PSUs have identical output ratings for their individual 3.
3, 5, and 12V lines. However, Corsair is more optimistic about how much power can be shared between the 3.3 and 5V rails. The maximum sustained output across all three rails is identical at 750W, though.
The Revolution85+ has a little more combined 3.3 and 5V capacity than the 750W units. About 100W of additional 12V output power is also spread over its half-dozen rails. That total 12V capacity neatly matches the XFX Black Edition, whose single 12V line can likewise handle up to 840W. The Black Edition actually has a less powerful 3.3V rail than even the 750W units, though. It also has less combined 3.3 and 5V power than the Enermax PSU.
As one might expect from a collection of high-end PSUs with loads of PCI Express graphics card connectors, there’s a clear bias toward 12V power. Each model is capable of reaching very close to its total output wattage on just the 12V line alone. CPUs and graphics cards demand more from the 12V line than any other component, a fact clearly not lost on these vendors.
Loading up The Beast
A cornerstone of our power supply testing methodology is a custom-built load generator created by forum regular just brew it! that we like to call The Beast. If you’re unfamiliar with its frightening array of resistors, I strongly suggest checking out this page from our first round-up to use The Beast, which details the rig’s internals and our testing methodology.
We recalibrated each and every one of the variable-load resistors inside The Beast prior to testing for this round-up. None of the resistors needed more than a minor adjustment, but since we did tweak things some, the results in this article aren’t directly comparable to those from our previous PSU round-ups.
Behold The Beast!
We use The Beast to push each PSU to 25, 50, 75, and 100% of its output capacity while measuring DC voltage, AC ripple content, and gathering data that can be used to calculate overall efficiency. This creates a kind of level playing field on which each PSU is pushed to its individualand advertisedlimits.
We should note, however, that our testing methods are not identical to those used by the 80 Plus program or by vendors who publish their own efficiency ratings. The Beast is a different breed of load generator than those used by the folks at 80 Plus; it only taps the 3.3, 5, and 12V rails, leaving -12V and standby 5V lines unused. To ease confusion, we’ll be referring to efficiency ratings gleaned from our own testing as Beast efficiencies. Those figures shouldn’t be compared to efficiency ratings posted by PSU makers.
The Beast is also limited to applying loads in 2A increments, so we borrow a page from The Price is Right and use amperage loads that come as close as possible to our targets without going over. The chart below shows the amperage loads applied to each PSU.
|
Total loads (Amps) |
||||||||||||
|
25% |
50% |
75% |
100% |
|||||||||
|
3.  3V
|
5V |
12V |
3.3V |
5V |
12V |
3.3V |
5V |
12V |
3.3V |
5V |
12V |
|
Corsair HX750W 750W |
2 | 2 | 12 | 6 | 6 | 26 | 10 | 10 | 38 | 14 | 14 | 52 |
Enermax Revolution85+ 850W |
4 | 4 | 14 | 8 | 8 | 28 | 12 | 12 | 44 | 16 | 16 | 58 |
Seasonic X Series 750W |
2 | 2 | 12 | 6 | 6 | 26 | 8 | 8 | 40 | 12 | 12 | 52 |
|
XFX Black Edition 850W |
2 | 4 | 14 | 6 | 8 | 30 | 10 | 12 | 44 | 12 | 16 | 60 |
When testing with The Beast, each power supply was hooked up using its primary and auxiliary 12V connectors, and when available, two PCIe power connectors and six 4-pin peripheral connectors.
We used a Pico ADC-212 digital oscilloscope to probe the 3.3 and 5V wires on the primary power connector. The 12V lines were probed at the primary power connector and also at one of the PCIe power connectors. In the graphs on the following pages, 12V power from the primary connector will be marked 12V1, while power from the PCIe connector will be marked 12V2.
Rather than calculating efficiency based on static 3.3, 5, and 12V, er, voltages, our calculations take into account the actual DC voltage delivered on each line during testing. This should compensate for any voltage fluctuations that some PSUs exhibit under load.
Our testing methods
Testing was conducted in two parts. First, the PSUs were run in the system detailed below for a series of power draw, temperature, and noise level tests. They were then hooked up to The Beast to test power delivery and overall efficiency.
All tests were run three times, and their results were averaged.
| Processor |
Athlon 64 X2 5000+ 2. |
| System bus |
HyperTransport 16-bit/1GHz |
| Motherboard |
Asus M2N32-SLI Deluxe Wireless Edition |
| Bios revision | 0906 |
| North bridge | nForce 590 SLI SPP |
| South bridge | nForce 590 SLI MCP |
| Chipset drivers | ForceWare 9.35 |
| Memory size | 1GB (2 DIMMs) |
| Memory type |
Corsair CM2X512A-5400UL |
|
CAS latency (CL) |
5 |
RAS to CAS delay (tRCD) |
5 |
|
RAS precharge (tRP) |
5 |
|
Cycle time (tRAS) |
12 |
| Audio codec |
Integrated nForce 590 SLI/AD1988B with 5.  10.1.4530 drivers
|
| Graphics |
GeForce 8800 GTS 640MB with ForceWare 162.18 drivers |
Hard drives |
2 x
Western Digital Caviar RE2 400GB SATA |
OS |
Windows XP Professional |
OS updates |
Service Pack 2 |
6GHz
We used the following versions of our test applications:
- The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion 1.1
- Intel IOMeter v2004.07.30
- Prime95 v24
The test systems’ Windows desktop was set at 1280×1024 in 32-bit color at an 85Hz screen refresh rate. Vertical refresh sync (vsync) was disabled for all tests.
All the tests and methods we employed are publicly available and reproducible. If you have questions about our methods, hit our forums to talk with us about them.
Corsair’s HX750W 750W
A surprising bargain
|
Corsair’s HX620W took home a TR Editor’s Choice award in a massive 11-way PSU round-up some two years ago. Seeing Corsair come out on top in a round-up is hardly surprising; the company has been building quality enthusiast-grade products for years.
However, the HX620W was the company’s very first power supply, making its excellent overall performance and smart feature set all the more impressive.
There are now 14 different models in Corsair’s PSU lineup. The latest to arrive in our labs is the HX750W, which, as you’ve astutely observed, has a 750W output rating. Among our group of four PSUs, the HX750W is the cheapest of the bunch by a good $20.
Despite being the most affordable unit in the pack, the HX750W doesn’t cut any corners. Heck, its seven-year warranty is the longest of the lot by two years, and Nvidia’s even blessed the unit with an official SLI endorsement. The HX750W sports the largest fan of the bunch, tooa variable-speed 140-mm fan occupies the unit’s bottom panel accompanied by plenty of venting at the rear.
PSUs rarely offer much in the way of visual flair, but Corsair’s use of matte black finish throughout gives the HX750W a stealthy look. I like the understated aesthetic, although you’re only going to see it if your case happens to have a windowand a tall one, at that.
More important than the HX750W’s choice of exterior colors is its modular cabling. The primary motherboard connector and auxiliary 12V line are the only cables you can’t remove from the unit. They’re also the only cables that you really can’t build a modern system without, so it doesn’t make much sense to have them modular, anyway.
All of the PSUs we’re looking at today have some degree of modular cabling. However, only Corsair does something original with the cables themselves. The blacked-out leads match the PSU’s Vader motif, and Corsair says their thin profiles are designed to maximize airflow within a system.
The HX750W delivered solid DC voltages across all four load levels we generated with The Beast. The 12V rail trends a little high and the 3.3V line a little low, but only by the slimmest of margins. We’re talking about deviations of less than one tenth of a volt here.
Regardless of the load level, the Corsair PSU’s AC ripple content remains flat at around 45 millivolts, which is well within tolerances.
Under our Beast-generated loads, the HX750W never dips below 89% efficiency. Impressive, especially when you consider that the PSU’s efficiency doesn’t change by more than a percentage point across our 50, 75, and 100% loads.
Enermax’s Revolution85+ 850W
Talkin ’bout a revolution
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With a $220-280 street price, Enermax’s Revolution85+ is the most expensive PSU in this round-up.
We’re not averse to pricey hardware here at TR, just so long as you’re getting what you paid for. The question for the Revolution85+ is a simple one, then: is it worth the extra scratch?
At first glance, one might be inclined to say no. Sure, the Enermax brings 100W more than the Corsair and Seasonic units. However, the XFX Black Edition also packs 850W, yet it’s at least $30 cheaper. You’re not paying a premium for additional warranty coverage, either. The Revolution85+’s three-year warranty looks positively stingy next to the five- and seven-year coverage offered by the competition.
Update 01/15/10 — Enermax has decided to extend the warranty coverage on a number of its PSUs, including the Revolution85+, to five years.
Dive a little deeper into the Revolution85+’s design, and you can see why Enermax might be inclined to charge extra. Most high-end PSUs these days consolidate their 12V power on a single rail, but Enermax spreads it across half a dozen lines, a design the company claims offers the best safety and compatibility.
The PSU’s dedicated 3.3 and 5V DC-to-DC conversion circuitry is said to offer better efficiency than generating 3.3 and 5V power with a transformer, as well.
The Revolution85+ also supports zero-load states on all of its rails. This capability is apparently necessary for future CPUs that will employ ultra-low-power C6 sleep states and upcoming graphics cards that will offer “hybrid” hibernation modes that cut power substantially.
Even the Revolution85+’s variable-speed fan has received special attention. A small lip on the fan’s frame is designed to reduce turbulence, which should lower noise levels. Another nice touch: the fan will keep running for 30-60 seconds after a system is powered down to ensure that hot air doesn’t stagnate inside an enclosure once the case fans stop spinning.
The Revolution85+ has a textured, almost speckled finish that’s unique, if nothing else. I like the indentations on the side panels, although again, you’ll never notice unless you happen to have a case window.
You will notice the status light at the rear, however. It glows in three different colors to indicate normal operation, standby mode, and failure.
From here, we can also see a healthy dose of ventilation on one of the PSU’s internal panels. This is the only model in the bunch that offers internal and external ventilation holes.
Most of the Revolution85+’s cables are modular, but the primary motherboard, auxiliary 12V, and two PCIe power connectors are not. If you’re building a system and don’t need at least two power cables running down to PCI Express graphics cards, you probably shouldn’t be using an 850W PSU.
Although Enermax sheathes all of the Revolution85+’s cables, it leaves a rather large gap between the sheathing and the first plug on each line. There’s no sheathing between multiple connectors on a line, either.
DC voltages are nice and stable on the Revolution85+, and very close to the target value for each line.
The Revolution85+ keeps its DC lines relatively free of AC ripple content.
We’re looking at only about 50 millivolts of AC content here.
Interestingly, the Enermax unit’s Beast efficiency peaks under a 75% load, just topping 89%. The Revolution85+ does no worse than 86%, reaching that mark under our lightest load.
Seasonic’s X Series 750W
One of its very own
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Seasonic is one of the largest PSU manufacturers around.
In fact, Seasonic builds PSUs for a good number of other firms that then sell those units under their own names. The X Series is Seasonic’s very own product, though, and its most advanced model to date. This is the first power supply we’ve tested with 80 Plus Gold certification, toothe highest standard the program sets for ATX PSUs.
The X Series carries a bit of a premium thanks to its Gold certification; the 750W model costs $20 more than Corsair’s HX750W. The Seasonic unit is also considerably harder to find online. Our price search engine doesn’t list it, but Newegg does have units stock, with free shipping, to boot.
Seasonic PSUs have never been particularly flashy, and neither is the X Series. The combination of matte black with gold trim reminds me a little of old-school stereo equipment for some reason. The look is a classy one, although there’s less of it, simply because the X Series is the shortest PSU of our pack by about an inch. None of the PSUs in this round-up are too large to squeeze into most mid-tower cases, though.
Perhaps because the X Series has a smaller casing, Seasonic uses a Sanyo Denki San Ace fan that measures just 120 mm across. This is the smallest fan in the bunch. Still, given Seasonic’s pedigree, it’s hard to question the decision. Seasonic’s focus seems to be on lower noise levels, which is why the fan doesn’t spin up at all until the PSU is loaded up to at least 20% of its capacity. From there, the fan spins at a constant “silent” speed until the PSU load reaches 50%, at which point the fan really starts to ramp up.
Internally, the X Series uses a patented DC connector module with an integrated voltage regulator that the company claims offers “near perfect” DC-to-DC conversion for 3.3 and 5V power. According to Seasonic, this design allows the PSU to run lower currents to supply its 3.3 and 5V lines, reducing loss and improving overall efficiency.
All of the PSUs in this round-up may be modular, but the X Series is the only one that’s completely so. Each and every one of its cables, including even the primary motherboard connector, can be completely detached.
While this arrangement may offer questionable utility for end users who are probably always going to need a primary motherboard and auxiliary 12V line connected, the lack of attached cables does make the X Series a little easier to squeeze into tighter enclosures. The cables are nicely sheathed, toonot just down to the first plug on each line, but in between the subsequent ones, as well.
The X Series 750W offers consistent DC voltage delivery that’s well within the company’s +/- 3% tolerances.
AC ripple is low, as well, averaging about 50 millivolts across all rails and load levels.
Like the HX750W, the Seasonic X Series is most efficient under the lightest load generated by The Beast. There’s little difference in efficiency between loads at 50, 75, and 100% of total capacity.
XFX’s Black Edition 850W
Another one jumps onto the bandwagon
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For the most part, we’ve seen a great deal of consolidation in the PC market in the last few years.
The PSU market, however, has exploded with new entrants. The latest player to throw its hat into the ring is longtime graphics card maker XFX, which is starting at the high end with the Black Edition 850W. Go big or go home, I guess.
Speaking of going big, XFX has gone with quite a bold design for its very first power supply product. The slate-gray enclosure has lots of angular detailing, especially around the fan guard, which seems to be inspired by a spider’s web. Behind the guard lies a 135-mm cooling fan that’s been dipped in an apparently radioactive shade of lime green. There’s a real sense of distinctive industrial design here, and while it’s not the sort of look I want in my living room, it should fit right in within the confines of a high-end gaming rig.
The Black Edition has the perfect color scheme for SLI certification, which it boasts alongside a CrossFire-ready badge. Energy Star 4.0 certification also solidifies this PSU’s, ahem, green credentials.
With the aid of DC-to-DC voltage regulator modules for the 3.
3 and 5V lines, XFX says that the single-rail Black Edition offers up to 90% efficiency. The PSU’s advertised voltage tolerance is +/- 3% for all rails, which is pretty standard for high-end units.
XFX has wisely gone the modular route with the Black Edition, and it leaves the primary motherboard, auxiliary 12V, and two PCIe power connectors permanently tied to the PSU. Even the modular connection panel has some subtle cosmetic detailing, complete with another shot of that neon green.
The modular cables are a little more run of the mill. They’re sheathed nicely in black, but look like they could’ve been built for any other PSU. I suppose you can’t have everything, especially when this 850W unit costs just $10 more than the Seasonic 750W. And XFX delivers where it counts, serving up the five-year warranty one expects from a premium power supply.
Even a budget PSU should deliver impeccable DC voltages, and the Black Edition has no problem on that front.
The PSU’s AC ripple content is also minimal, hovering around 50 millivolts like all the other units we’ve looked at today.
The Black Edition does even better on the efficiency front, hitting nearly 98% when subjected to the lowest load generated by The Beast. Once more, we see the Beast efficiency level off across 50, 75, and 100% loads.
Efficiency
We don’t want to make too many direct comparisons between test results gathered from The Beast, because each PSU was run under different loads corresponding to its individual specifications. However, efficiency is important enough to make an exception. Here we’ve graphed the efficiencies of each PSU at 25, 50, 75, and 100% capacity to see how they stack up against each other.
Yeah, so these PSUs are all pretty efficient when connected to our load generator. The Seasonic and Corsair units fare the best overall and offer nearly identical efficiencies across all four load levels.
The Enermax and XFX units aren’t far behind, either.
Only the Revolution85+ fails to reach its highest efficiency with our lightest 25% load. Interestingly, it’s also the only one that uses multiple 12V rails rather than a single beefy one, which could be responsible for what we’re seeing here.
System temperatures
Our next batch of tests deployed the PSUs in a real-world system with a pair of GeForce 8800 GTS cards in SLI and a couple of hard drives. For these tests, the systems first sat at idle for 10 minutes. They were then subjected to a 10-minute load consisting of Prime95, Oblivion, and an IOMeter file server test pattern. Finally, the systems were allowed to idle for a 10-minute cool-down period.
System temperatures were measured using Everest Ultimate Edition.
At idle, the Seasonic PSU seems to be doing the best job of keeping the chassis cool, which is somewhat amusing considering that it has the smallest fan of the bunch.
The HX750W isn’t far behind, but the Black Edition doesn’t appear to be moving nearly the same amount of air as its competitors.
The Black Edition registers the highest system temperatures under load, too. The others are a little more closely matched, with the Enermax offering the lowest CPU temperatures and the Corsair keeping our motherboard the coolest.
After ten minutes of cool-down, the field actually looks pretty even. The Revolution85+ cools the CPU faster than any of the other PSUs, and even the Black Edition drags itself into first place in motherboard temperatures. However, the XFX PSU still leaves our system’s hard drives a few degrees warmer.
Noise levels
Noise levels were measured at idle and under load using a TES-52 digital sound level meter placed 1″ from the rear of the system and out of the direct path of airflow.
Only a couple of decibels separate the field at idle, with Seasonic and Enermax tying for the lead. The HX750W is the loudest of the lot here, although not by enough of a margin that my ears noticed the difference.
The spread shrinks down to just over a decibel under load, and although the HX750W redeems itself according to our sound level meter, it’s very difficult to actually hear differences in noise levels this small. None of the fans have high-pitched or otherwise annoying noise characteristics, either.
Power consumption
Power consumption was measured at the wall socket for the entire system, sans monitor and speakers.
Our 850W units predictably draw more power than the 750W ones, particularly at idle. However, those differences shrink under load, where we’re only looking at a five-watt spread. Corsair and Seasonic trade the lead at 750W, while Enermax seems to have a more consistent edge over XFX at the higher wattage.
Conclusions
Round-ups like this one can be difficult to judge because we looked at four very competent competitors today. Each and every one of them has modular cables and plenty of connectors, including four 6/8-pin PCI Express plugs. Power delivery was excellent across the board, with tight DC voltage tolerances and very little AC ripple. For the most part, all the units were plenty cool and quiet, too.
I wouldn’t have reservations about running any of these units in my own systems. However, I do think that some are better than others, especially when you consider overall value.
The most questionable value in the bunch is Enermax’s Revolution85+. With a $220 street price, you’re looking at about a $30 premium over the XFX Black Edition. Granted, I think Enermax has a little more going on under the hood with support for zero-load states on all rails. But the measly three-year warranty simply isn’t good enough when less expensive competition gets at least five years of coverage.
And the competition does a better job of cable sheathing, too. With the Revolution85+ offering largely equivalent performance to its rivals, it’s difficult to justify the price premium for what is otherwise a great PSU.
Update 01/15/10 — Enermax has extended the Revolution85+’s warranty coverage to five years, improving the PSU’s value proposition substantially.
Part of what makes the Revolution85+’s price so hard to swallow is the fact that an XFX Black Edition with the same output rating costs only $190. I love the design direction XFX has taken here, and for a first entry into the market, the Black Edition is a very solid PSU. There is room for improvement, though. The ultra-long Molex and SATA cables are great, but the Black Edition needs some more length on its primary motherboard and auxiliary 12V lines. Based on the higher system temperatures we observed, the fan profile could use some tweaking, too. Otherwise, the Black Edition offers good value for a high-wattage PSU.
Seasonic’s X Series may have a capacity rating 100 watts lower than the XFX and Enermax units, but it should still be capable of powering a high-end system. 80 Plus Gold certification doesn’t come cheap, of course, but the unit’s $180 street price is reasonable considering its low noise levels and power consumption. The completely modular design is also an interesting twist, although I can’t see it delivering any actual benefits in a real-world system unless you’re using the X Series as a secondary PSU to power peripherals or graphics cards exclusively. Still, of all the PSUs in this round-up, the X Series is the one I’d pull off the shelf to build a system with right now just because it’s slightly quieter than the others.
Corsair HX750W
January 2010
With that said, it’s not the PSU I’d go out and buy with my own money. That would be Corsair’s HX750W, which rings in $20 cheaper than the Seasonic yet offers an additional two years of warranty coverage. The HX750W’s performance is comparable to that of the Seasonic unit, but its cables are longer, thinner, and more plentiful overall.
Yes, the HX750W’s idle noise levels are a couple of decibels higher at a distance of 1″, but put my ears a couple of feet away, and they don’t notice a difference. While it may not be the most interesting or exciting PSU in the bunch, the HX750W does offer the best mix of features, performance, and value. That earns it our coveted Editor’s Choice award.
Enermax Revolution 85+ 920w Power Supply
A new revolution in PC gaming is coming, and we highly suggest you’re prepared.
Not just a clever name, Enermax Revolution 85+ 920w Power Supply is indeed a revolutionary new way to supercharge your PC and keep you gaming at maximum potential long into the future. Offering unmatched efficiency, the Enermax Revolution 85+ not only outperforms the existing competition, but is also designed to be Future CPU & GPU Ready, implemented with everything you need to be ready for whatever the next generation throws at your PC.
This 920W Power Supply features four 12p sockets for possible connector changes, as well as six massive 12V rails of 30A each, offering perfect load distribution and flexibility no matter what you have on-deck.
In addition, it’s ZERO LOAD Design assures compatibility by needing absolutely no load at all. If you’re looking for a serious lack of issues to come your way when you load up your new CPU or GPU, the Enermax Revolution 85+ 920w Power Supply is the definitive component for you.
| Max Power | 920 Watts | Modular | Yes |
| Motherboard Connectors |
1 x 20/24-pin | PCI-E Connectors | 6 x 6+2P PCI-Express |
| Overall Dimensions |
150 x 86 x 190mm | Noise Level | Low |
| Fans | 1 x 135mm Fan w/ RPM Control | Efficiency | 86% — 93% |
Features:
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85PLUS ready! |
World’s leading modular PSU series with 86-92.9% efficiency @ 20-100% |
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FUTURE CPU ready! |
Ready for most upcoming CPU generations by 12P sockets for possible |
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FUTURE GPU ready! |
Ready for most upcoming GPU generations by 12P sockets for possible |
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24/7 @ 50C ready! |
Non-Stop industrial class performance at 50C/122F ambient. |
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CordGuard |
Fixing the AC cord tightly to avoid accidental shutdowns of your PC. |
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SafeGuard |
Industrial-leading octuple protection circuitry of OCP, OVP, AC UVP, DC |
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AirGuard |
Patented air-inlet with optimal aero-dynamical design reducing noisy air |
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HeatGuard |
Keeping PSU fan running for 30-60 seconds after shut down to dissipate |
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World’s leading EPS12V PSU with 99% 12V output capability. |
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SERVER ready! |
SSI |
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DXXI ready! |
100% 6+2P (8P) PCI-E connector to support new generation DXXI graphic |
Certified by 80 PLUS organization.
0, EPS12V v2.92,Specifications:
- Connectors:
- 6 x 6+2P PCI-E
- 12 x SATA
- 6 x 4P Molex
- 1 x FDD
- Supports:
- Latest Intel Core Extreme/ i7 / Xeon / AMD Opteron / SLI / CrossFireX / AMD GAME! / AMD GAME! Ultra
- Downward Compatible w/ SSI PSDG 2008 1.0, EPS12V 2.92, 2.91, 2.8.
- Temperature:
- Operation ambient: 0~50oC/32~122oF (for full rated output)
- Storage ambient: -40~70 oC/-40~158 oF
- Humidity:
- Operation: to 85% relative humidity, non-condensing at 25 oC/77 oF
- Storage: to 95% relative humidity, non-condensing at 50 oC/122 oF
- Cooling: 1 x 13.5cm Two-Ball Bearing Fan (Auto-Controlled Speed)
- Power: 850W: 700-1500RPM
- MTBF: > 100,000 hours at 70% of full rated load, 230VAC/50Hz, 25 oC
- Dimensions: 150 x 86 x 190 mm
- Weight: 2.
95kg (w/o Modular Cables) 50g - Safety: UL/cUL(Level 6), TUV, CCC, GOST, CB, BSMI (850W only)
- EMC: CE, FCC, MIC
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Enermax Revolution SFX 550W review – SFF.Network
The SFX power supply market must be growing, because it seems like every few months now there are companies announcing new PSUs aimed at SFF enthusiasts.
It was late last year that Enermax announced their Revolution SFX series, and today we’re now looking at the Revolution SFX 550W. While Enermax is no stranger to power supplies – and has even sold SFX units in the past – this is their first one aimed at the compact gaming rigs that have become significantly more prevalent nowadays.
At a high level, the Revolution SFX 550W features fully modular cables, Gold-rated efficiency, all-Japanese capacitors, and is a 550W unit (as you might have guessed). There is also a 650W version that is part of the same series. But there’s a lot more going on here, and the underlying performance and noise characteristics are to be seen.
Ready to dive in?
Table of Contents
- The Box
- Accessories
- Cables
- Pinout
- The Power Supply
- Testing
- Fan
- Fan Controller
- Noise
- Protections
- Internals
- Conclusion
A disclaimer first before we get started: SFF Network does not currently possess the expertise or equipment to fully test the electrical performance of PC power supplies, and as such, this article should not serve as the sole data point in determining whether to purchase this product.
We’ll be able to contextualize the utility and experience of using this unit with others in the market place, but we’d suggest having our own review supplement those by others who have the hardware and capability to do more thorough analysis of electrical performance, especially at higher wattages.
The Box
As always, we start with the packaging that the unit arrived in. For the Revolution SFX 550W, we find that the front of the box is a straightforward affair, with the model series and wattage listed, and a few basic marketing points – as well as a a hint at a freebie! Very exciting.
The back of the box expands on those aforementioned marketing points:
- Standard 100mm deep SFX form factor
- Fully modular and flat cables
- 80 PLUS Gold efficiency
- All Japanese electrolytic capacitors with 105°C ratings
- Smart semi-fanless operation
- 2013 ErP Lot 6 capable for low standby power draw
- DC-DC design for today’s 12V heavy systems
- Wide input voltage for international compatibility
- ATX adapter bracket
- Multiple safety protections
Demonstrating that Enermax’s marketing department understands product synergy, one of the pictures here shows the PSU in a fully loaded SteelWing case, which we recently reviewed.
The chart for the semi-fanless functionality could use some work, however; it plots PSU load against fan voltage, but without knowing the voltage/RPM curve of the fan it’s a fairly meaningless bit of information on its own.
Moving along, we see that below the marketing material, there’s a chart with the connector list.
…And just in case you didn’t realize it from looking at the rest of the box, there’s an amusing disclaimer on the left side that says “This is a computer power supply”. Interestingly, this “warning” is repeated in quite a few languages, although all the marketing copy on the rest of the exterior is only in English.
While it’s marketed as the Revolution SFX 550W, the UPC and SN stickers show this PSU’s actual model number: ERV550SWT.
Anyhoo, over on the right side of the box is the AC input specs, as well as the output table. As mentioned in the marketing, this is a DC-DC design, so the full 550W rated wattage is available on the 12V rail alone.
Finally, as we crack the box open, we can see that while the Revolution SFX 550W ships in a fairly large box, there is little wasted space.
Accessories
Once spread out, it’s pretty easy to see what was taking up so much space! There’s the power cord, a flyer (warning the user that this is a semi-fanless power supply), a user manual, an ATX adapter bracket in black, 3 x countersunk screws (for attaching the PSU to the adapter), 4 x regular screws (for either mounting the PSU directly or for mounting the adapter to the case), and two short and two long velcro straps for cable management.
The velcro straps are a very nice touch, and now I wish more SFF power supplies came with them. I’m constantly tweaking my system, so having something reuseable would come in handy in lieu of wasting zip ties. I also like how they’re branded, but without being obnoxious, as well as how they use Enermax’s signature colors, and come in two different lengths. All-in-all, they’re quite nice and handy.
Also included is a drawstring pouch for storing the unused cables. While not as luxurious as the (admittedly silly) velvet bag Corsair sometimes bundles with their high-end PSUs, it’s a big step up from any other SFX or SFX-L power supply I’ve reviewed thus far, of which I’ve only seen a really flimsy bag from Lian Li, and either nothing or (if I’m lucky!) just a cardboard box from SilverStone.
Ok, so moving right on along…
…Just kidding! I’m sure you all are wondering what’s up with that little box in the corner.
So apparently as a limited-time offer, these Enermax Revolution SFX units come with a Lepa Q-Boom BTS03 Bluetooth speaker in a random color! Why? I don’t know.
The contents of the box are pretty simple – just the speaker, USB cable, and quick start guide.
As appropriate for a SFX power supply, this is very much a SFF Bluetooth speaker.
Cables
Larger image
Cable lengths are as follows, from top to bottom:
- 4x 4-pin Peripheral (200mm / 150mm / 150mm / 150mm)
- 3x SATA (200mm / 150mm / 150mm)
- 3x SATA (200mm / 150mm / 150mm)
- 4+4-pin CPU (400mm)
- 24-pin motherboard (300mm)
- 1x 6+2-pin PCIe (400mm)
- 1x 6+2-pin PCIe (400mm)
(The first number is from the PSU-side to the first connector, and the second number is from the first connector to the second, and so forth.
)
It would appear that Enermax has been paying attention to the competition, with cable lengths very comparable to other recent SFX/SFX-L units. This is something I’m very pleased to see, though, because while there always be some SFF builds where the stock cables are too short or too long, I think the convention of 300mm for the 24-pin and 400mm for the PCIe/CPU is a good compromise that provides a functional length for most.
Wire gauge is suitable, and the wires are okay in regards to flexibility. They’re not nearly as good as what SilverStone ships with their modern SFF power supplies, but not as bad as the stock cables on the Corsair SF600.
I would have liked to see a 4-pin to floppy power adapter bundled for hooking up fan controllers and the like, but otherwise the connector selection is good for the wattage, as well.
A pleasant surprise is the motherboard power connector, which is not of the typical 20+4 type, but rather a solid 24-pin block. The motherboard ATX power connector is unwieldy enough as it is, and having to also line up the two separate pieces of a 20+4-pin connector just makes plugging it in that much more annoying.
To add insult to injury, the ATX12V 2.0 revision (that added the specification for the 24-pin connector) came out a full 14 years ago, in February of 2003! Consumer motherboards have not used the 20-pin connector in almost as long, so why PSU manufacturers keep accommodating that archaic standard simply baffles me.
In any case, they do, so I had given up hope that things would ever change. But now that Enermax has shown the way, I’ll be looking for it on all future power supplies that come my way.
Pinout
Thanks to Phuncz for the diagram template!
Sadly for the cable sleevers out there, the Enermax ERV550SWT has several doubled wires. It appears to be compatible with at least some of the Corsair SF450/SF600 cables, but I would highly recommend checking very carefully before attempting to use any of those Corsair cables on this power supply.
The Power Supply
The Enermax Revolution SFX 550W is a sharp looking unit, with a lightly-textured black paint job and a matching label with grey text that blends in.
The modular connectors stick out about 4.0mm past the housing.
The unit itself weighs 0.908kg.
The main label, serial number, and QC stickers are all condensed onto one face of the PSU. No surprises here, and I like that the label has a slight texture to it to match the paint.
On the other side is a similarly textured label with just the company name, PSU family name, and wattage. The font makes the 550W look like 660W, though, at least to my eyes.
The back of the Revolution SFX 550W is very extensively ventilated, though part of what makes that possible is the lack of a power switch. While a switch can be convenient, many of the SFF cases coming out these days have the PSU mounted internally where the switch wouldn’t be accessible anyway, so I don’t consider the lack of one to be a big deal. Still, worth nothing.
Rather than just the corners, the entire rear edge of the PCB is inset from the rear of the housing. There is a plastic shield, but the PCB isn’t inset that far and the shield could get bent out of the way, so take care if using non-standard screws.
The modular connectors are clearly marked, and the cutouts for the clips are not too big.
While I’ve been very impressed with what I’ve seen from Enermax so far, here I’m a bit disappointed. The cooling fan is only an 80mm, which would have been acceptable 2-3 years ago, but the Corsair SF450 and SF600 feature a 92mm fan, as well as the upcoming SilverStone SX500-G and SX650-G. That the fan is offset all the way to one side suggests that the inside must be pretty cramped as well. Also, the fan vent is just stamped from the housing instead of using a less restrictive wire grill. This is generally done as a compromise towards cost in expense of performance.
But there’s still hope. With a robust fan controller implementation to keep the fan off (or at least quiet) under low load conditions, the smaller fan may not be all that disadvantaged.
Testing
As mentioned at the beginning of the review, we currently lack the expertise and equipment to properly evaluate the electrical performance of power supplies to a complete extent, so the following data is more to demonstrate that the Enermax Revolution SFX 550W is capable of powering the test system with no issues.
Test hardware:
| CPU | Intel Core i7-5930K |
| Motherboard | Asus X99-M WS |
| Cooling | Noctua NH-C14S with black NF-A14 PWM |
| PSU | Enermax EVR550SWT |
| RAM | Crucial Ballistix Sport 16GB (2x8GB) DDR4 2400 |
| Video Card | 2x MSI Radeon R9 280X Gaming |
| Storage | Samsung 840 EVO 500GB |
| Case | Lian Li PC-6X tray |
| OS | Windows 10 64-bit |
Test equipment:
- Brand Electronics 4-1850 power meter, used to measure the AC draw of the system.
- Reed AT-6 non-contact tachometer, used to measure the fan RPM.
- Pax Instruments T400 temperature datalogger with Omega thermocouples, used to measure ambient, intake, and exhaust temps.
- Fluke 83 III multimeter to measure voltage.
Methodology:
Each test is run for 10 minutes, and then readings are taken before moving on to the next test. Both video cards were installed for all tests, but on the fourth test CrossFire was disabled and FurMark was run on a single GPU. For the fifth and last test, CrossFire was enabled and FurMark was run on both cards.
Test Results:
| Wattage (AC) | Ambient Temp | Intake Temp | Intake Delta | Exhaust Temp | Exhaust Delta | Fan RPM | 12V | Test |
| 73W | 20.6°C | 26.3°C | 5.7°C | 23.6°C | 3.0°C | 0 RPM | 12.05V | Idle |
| 130W | 20.6°C | 25.3°C | 4.7°C | 33.0°C | 12.4°C | 0-800 RPM* | 12.04V | 2 threads of Prime95 Blend |
| 190W | 20. 8°C |
25.0°C | 4.8°C | 35.0°C | 14.2°C | 0-1100 RPM** | 12.03V | 10 threads Prime95 Blend |
| 440W | 20.7° | 22.4°C | 1.7°C | 29.8°C | 9.1°C | 2120 RPM | 12.03V | 10 threads Prime95 Blend, FurMark 1x 280X 720p no AA |
| 600W | 20.9° | 22.9°C | 2.0°C | 30.2°C | 9.3°C | 3030 RPM | 12.04V | 10 threads Prime95 Blend, FurMark 2x 280X 1080p 4x AA |
*Fan started cycling between 1-2 seconds on and 1-2 seconds off about 8 minutes into the test.
**Fan cycling continued through whole test though by the end the fan was staying on for 3-4 seconds instead
The Enermax Revolution SFX 550W powered my test setup with no issues.
Fan
As mentioned earlier, the cooling for the Revolution SFX 550W is provided by a slim 80mm fan. As usual, the silver rectangle on the bottom blade is a piece of reflector tape for the non-contact tachometer.
The fan is a Yate Loon D80SH-12B, and for once there are manufacturer specs available, though the details are a bit lacking. From the label we know it is a 12V 0.70A fan, and from the product page we also learn that it has sleeve bearings, a rated speed of 3000 RPM, 29.0 CFM, and 32dB of noise.
As per the rating, the Yate Loon D80SH-12B tops out at just a bit over 3000 RPM. The fan starts at 2.68V at 870 RPM, but from 2.64V up to when it starts, the fan makes some spurious buzzing/crackling noises.
Fan Controller
The marketing on the box touted a “Smart semi-fanless control” and a “Fanless mode before 30% of system load for silent operation”, so that means a load-based controller that keeps the fan off under that 30% load mark, right? Unfortunately, no.
The fan controller on the Enermax Revolution SFX 550W is actually just a simpler thermistor-based design. The fan header spikes to 12V when the PSU powers on (so users know the fan isn’t defective due to the semi-fanless functionality), but then it drops to around 1.
25V and the fan stops. From there, as the inside of the unit heats up, the thermistor heats up and the fan voltage rises accordingly, until it meets the fan’s start threshold of about 2.68V (also transitioning through those annoying noises right before spinup), and the fan turns on.
So far, this is the same behavior as the SilverStone SX600-G. The fan will stay off at first, but even while idling, the internals will eventually warm up enough for the fan to start. Unlike that SilverStone, though, the Enermax’s fan will turn back off on its own. Which would be a big improvement, except that this unit has no hysteresis and a sensitive thermistor that seems to be in the direct airflow path of the fan.
Consequently, what happens is that the residual heat inside the PSU warms the thermistor back up within a few seconds, causing the fan to spin up for 1-2 seconds (and thus cooling off the thermistor), causing the fan to shut off. With the fan off, the thermistor warms up once again, and the process then repeats until either the computer is turned off, or the load (and thus heat) increases until the fan simply stays on continuously.
To be fair, I encountered this behavior with the PSU in open air and the fan facing up. This particular configuration may be more susceptible to this hysteresis issue, and this is also only a sample size of one. When I asked Enermax about this, they confirmed that hysteresis didn’t make the cut during product development due to the extra cost and lack of space, but they also noted that they had not run into this exact issue during their verification process.
Noise
At least in my experience with my unit, I’ve not been very impressed with the noise levels. The noise of the fan cycling on and off is annoying, mostly due to the spurious noises the fan makes as the header voltage rises and the fan turns on. This woudn’t be so bad if the fan turned on and stayed on like the SX600-G, but instead the fans turns on and off, making those strange noises every 4-6 seconds for hours on end. Again, to be fair though, with the PSU inside a case and in a noisier environment, it may not be noticeable at all.
At high loads the fan is quite noticeable, though, with the fan reaching its full speed of around 3000 RPM in Test 5 at full load. This is the problem with using a slim 80mm fan in a high-wattage SFX PSU with a crowded interior – in order to generate the airflow and static pressure necessary, it has to spin at much higher speeds than would be ideal. The consequence is a lot of noise.
Protections
Using a blowdryer, I was able to verify that Over Temp Protection works, and the PSU shut off as expected. The system would not power back up right away, but after unplugging and replugging the power cord, the system then was able to turn on.
According to Enermax’s product specs, this unit also features Over Power, Over Voltage, Under Voltage, Short Circuit, and Surge & Inrush protections. Quite a comprehensive list.
Internals
Larger image
As I suspected the inside of the unit is pretty cramped, though it’s actually not as bad as I thought it would be.
The general layout is similar to the Enhance platform that the SilverStone SX600-G uses, with the large offset of the 80mm fan necessary because the AC inlet and filtering sits to the side of the fan. The OEM for the Enermax though is CWT (Channel Well Technology).
(Here’s the AC section, if you were curious!)
Conclusion
If the Enermax Revolution SFX 550W had been released 2-3 years ago, I feel that it would have been competitive against the only other high-wattage SFX unit available – the SilverStone SX600-G. They are both of similar wattages, efficiency, noise levels, and both have somewhat flawed semi-fanless implementations.
The landscape for SFX and SFX-L looks much different today than it did even two years ago, though. The packaging and accessories Enermax used here definitely stand out from the crowd, but the unit itself falls short in comparison to today’s competition, namely the Corsair SF600 (which we reviewed here). At 600W, the Corsair falls right in between this Enermax and its 650W brother, but for most SFF builders the 50W difference either way won’t matter much.
The Revolution SFX 550W is currently listed at its MSRP of $109.99 on Amazon, while the SF600 is $116. So for price of a nice latte, you get a 92mm fan, much better (but not perfect in my experience) semi-fanless behavior, a smooth-sounding 92mm fan with rifle bearings, and a slightly longer 7-year warranty instead of 5 years on the Enermax. You would give up the ATX adapter bracket, velcro straps, and mini Bluetooth speaker (though that’s a limited time offer anway), but those are just niceties that are not relevant to the actual performance and operation of the power supply.
Overall, I really wanted to like the Enermax Revolution SFX 550W. The presentation is well-done and the bundled accessories are more comprehensive than anything else I’ve reviewed thus far (though the BT speaker is a weird addition, if not a neat one)… but the fan controller and noise levels lag behind the current state of the art of SFX power supplies.
Even so, it’s great to see more companies jumping on the SFF PSU bandwagon, and Enermax has certainly proven their competence and capacity to build solid all-around units, replete with generous and thoughtful accessories.
As such, I do hope to see future products in Enermax’s SFX line that can address these issues and make their SFX offerings more compelling to more SFF enthusiasts.
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Thoughts? Share them in the forum here.
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Review sample provided by Enermax.
Here at SmallFormFactor.net we give manufacturers the ability to be part of the community. We offer a right to reply to hardware reviews. If a manufacturer responds, their comments will be posted here.
Feb 28 edit: The warranty is actually 5-years, not 3-years and the MSRP is $109.99. The article has been updated accordingly.
Philips Brilliance 240P4QPYNS GECID.com review and test.
::>Monitors
>2014
> Overview and testing of the Philips Brilliance 240P4QPYNS
monitor 25-08-2014
Until 2003, the aspect ratio of most monitors produced was 4:3 or 5:4.
From 2003 to 2006 widescreen devices with a ratio of 16:10 began to enter the market and already until 2008 they occupied a dominant position. This rapid success is due to two reasons. Firstly, it allowed companies to reduce production costs and produce models with a larger diagonal. Secondly, this format was better suited for working with documents: in office applications, it allowed placing two A4 pages side by side for easy collaboration, in graphic editors and CAD systems, displaying large drawings and necessary toolbars, increasing work efficiency.
In 2008, another “revolution” began to take shape, but less significant: monitors with a ratio of 16:9 entered the market, which already until 2010 occupied a dominant position. They further reduced production costs. In addition, it was this format that was established on television and in the film industry as an international standard, which made it possible to display high-quality video regardless of the size of the diagonal (from a smartphone to huge home TVs).
However, it’s also not worth talking about the complete «extinction» of devices with an aspect ratio of 16:10. After all, in certain situations they are really more convenient and practical. Take at least office tasks, programming, working with databases, etc.
Understanding this, many manufacturers continue to produce such solutions. One of these new products is Philips Brilliance 240 P 4 QPYNS from a famous Dutch company.
Specification:
|
Manufacturer |
Philips |
|
Model |
Brilliance 240 P 4 QPYNS |
|
Matrix type |
IPS |
|
Illumination type |
W-LED |
|
Screen diagonal, inches / mm |
24 / 610 |
|
Visible screen area, mm |
518. |
|
Aspect ratio |
16:10 |
|
Optimal resolution and frequency, Hz |
1920 x 1200 @ 60 |
|
Pixel size, mm |
0.27 x 0.27 |
|
Brightness, cd/m 2 |
300 |
|
Contrast (static / dynamic) |
1000:1 / 20,000,000:1 |
|
Matrix response time (GtG), ms |
7 |
|
Number of displayed colors, million |
16.7 |
|
Horizontal frequency, kHz |
24 — 94 |
|
Vertical frequency, Hz |
48 — 85 |
|
Viewing angles (horizontal / vertical) up to contrast > 10:1,° |
178 / 178 |
|
Video outputs |
1 x DisplayPort 1 x D-Sub |
|
Audio outputs |
No |
|
USB 2. |
4 |
|
USB 3.0 |
No |
|
Built-in speaker power, W |
No |
|
Energy consumption level, W |
17 |
|
Additional features |
Availability of sensors for determining the presence of the user near the computer, touch control |
|
Wall mountable |
Yes (VESA 100 mm) |
|
Dimensions (with stand), mm |
555 x 388 (555) x 65 (244) |
|
Weight (with stand), kg |
4.64 (6.97) |
|
Manufacturer website |
Philips
|
4 x 324 
0 Packaging and scope of delivery
The Philips Brilliance 240P4QPYNS comes in a sturdy cardboard box that protects it from shock and possible mechanical damage.
The manufacturer made it quite informative, indicating not only the main features of the monitor, but also describing the technologies used and the functionality of the leg.
The package includes the following components that the user may need in the process of connecting the device and its further operation:
- leg and stand assembled;
- power cord;
- cable with DVI connectors;
- cable with D-Sub connectors;
- CD with documentation and software;
- user manual.
Appearance and operation features
At the first glance at the Philips Brilliance 240P4QPYNS monitor, its office orientation is immediately felt. This is evidenced by the wide frames around the screen, and the presence of matte plastic on all panels, and the angular shape of the case. Obviously, when designing this model, the manufacturer has relied on reliability, practicality and ease of maintenance.
In our case, the colors used for the monitor are silver and black. If you prefer the classic, all-black color, then you should look for a model with a “B” index at the end of the name (Philips Brilliance 240P4QPYNB) on the market.
The screen diagonal is 24 inches or 61 cm. At the same time, its aspect ratio is 16:10 instead of the traditional 16:9. This fact once again eloquently hints that this model is primarily focused on office workers who deal mainly with textual information. Indeed, when viewing modern films, black bars will inevitably appear at the bottom and top of the screen. Of course, this does not apply to games, since they scale without problems to a resolution of 1920 x 1200.
The design of the back of the monitor is designed in a similar style: a minimum of decorative elements, lack of gloss and massive body and leg designs. Although the latter has a slight bend at the base, which slightly brightens up the angular shape of the case. The Philips Brilliance 240P4QPYNS model turned out to be relatively heavy: its weight reaches almost 7 kg. However, by detaching the stand, it is reduced to 4.64 kg, so the monitor can be placed on the wall without any worries. Fortunately, the corresponding holes for mounting the VESA 100 mm standard are placed on the rear panel. Note that the power supply is located inside the case.
The monitor’s foot is made quite functional, which is an important factor for office devices. Here you can adjust the screen tilt angle (-5°…+20°), its height position (0…+130 mm) and spatial orientation (portrait / landscape).
In addition, it is possible to rotate the monitor around its axis by 65° in the direction of clockwise and counter-clockwise. As for the stability of the Philips Brilliance 240P4QPYNS, there were no complaints. Note that a metal structure is hidden under the plastic of the legs and stand. The swivel is made from the same material, so you don’t have to worry about their reliability.
Video connectors are represented by the analog D-Sub port, which is still relevant in many offices, and the digital DVI-D and DisplayPort interfaces. In all cases, image output is supported at a resolution of 1920 x 1200 at a refresh rate of 60 Hz. The Philips Brilliance 240P4QPYNS monitor is not equipped with any additional media. Although, if we are talking about using it within the office, then the built-in speakers would not hurt here.
But this model is equipped with a hub for four USB 2.0 ports, which are placed on the end of the case — a convenient and practical solution. On the opposite side is the power button of the device.
The rest of the controls are touch sensitive and traditionally located in the lower right corner of the monitor. The lettering reads fairly well even in a poorly lit room, so there shouldn’t be any problems during the monitor setup process. Looking ahead, let’s say that the menu is also quite simple and intuitive.
The device is indicated by a small bar at the bottom of the screen. In the active state of the display, it lights up in a white matte color, and in standby mode it flickers. At the same time, the brightness is moderate and does not distract at all from what is happening on the screen in the dark.
Two sensors can be found next to it, which determine the presence of the user in front of the computer. This technology is called Power Sensor and has already become a kind of hallmark of Philips monitors. Its essence is as follows: when you leave the workplace, Philips Brilliance 240P4QPYNS immediately «learns» about it and automatically lowers the brightness of the screen, thereby saving energy. As testing has shown, after the sensors are triggered, power consumption drops from 18 — 22 W to 11 W. True, the sensor itself is not configured correctly, because it does not always respond to the user’s absence in front of the screen. We do not exclude that this is a feature of only a particular instance that came to us for testing.
OSD menu and demonstration of proprietary technologies
It is very easy to understand it, even if you have not come across Philips monitors before. In addition, there is support for the Russian language. True, some points still remained untranslated.
The main parameters that affect the display of the picture on the screen are grouped in the “Image” sections. and «Color». Here you are traditionally invited to choose an image format, set the values for brightness, contrast, gamma, and set the balance of primary colors (R, G, B).
Preset profiles are not accessed from the menu, but by pressing the SmartImage button on the monitor.
Testing
Six modes are recorded in the monitor: Control, Photo, Cinema, Game, Economic and Off. First, let’s look at the profile indicators obtained during testing, and then, based on the graphs, we will analyze the results in more detail.
|
« Control » |
Photo |
Cinema |
Games |
Economy |
«Off» |
|
|
White field brightness, cd/m 2 |
193.6 |
214 |
249.5 |
283.4 |
80.7 |
261.2 |
|
Black field brightness, cd/m 2 |
0.161 |
0.217 |
0.236 |
0.236 |
0.068 |
0.218 |
|
Contrast ratio, x:1 |
1203 |
987 |
1057 |
1202 |
1187 |
1200 |
|
White point color temperature, K |
7738 |
7614 |
9347 |
7875 |
7681 |
7820 |
|
sRGB color space compliance, % |
98. |
91.5 |
84.2 |
98.3 |
98.4 |
98.5 |
|
Color Space Compliance Adobe RGB % |
73.1 |
65.7 |
61.7 |
73.2 |
73.0 |
73.2 |
|
Average deviation dE*94 (∆E) |
0.53 |
3.61 |
4.43 |
0.70 |
0.63 |
0.68 |
|
Maximum deviation dE*94 (∆E) |
2.83 |
11.90 |
11.16 |
2.88 |
3. |
2.99 |
|
Medium gamma |
2.01 |
2.52 |
2.49 |
1.81 |
2.00 |
2.01 |
|
Monitor power consumption, W |
18 |
21 |
22 |
22 |
12 |
21 |
Testing has shown that brightness and contrast levels fully meet the declared values (300 cd/m 2 and 1000:1 respectively), and in some cases even exceed them. Thus, the user can easily select the value he needs, depending on the ambient light. The picture itself will always have rich and saturated colors. As for power consumption, it did not exceed 22 W, which is quite a standard indicator for 24-inch solutions.
Judging by the brightness value in the «Economic» profile (80.7 cd / m 2 ), claims to be the «reading mode». However, in our opinion, it is not suitable for these purposes. The fact is that with such a high level of contrast (1187: 1), the eyes will still get very tired, and the color temperature should be underestimated, “dampening out” the blue component to the maximum. Again, when reading text from the screen, this will only give a positive effect. It is strange that the manufacturer did not pay due attention to setting the reading mode when the monitor was oriented towards the office. Therefore, the user, if desired, will need to carry out this procedure manually.
Let’s now see how things are with color rendering.
CIE –diagram profiles “Games”, “Economy” and “OTV”
9000 9000
CIE — -Diagram “
CIE profile diagram 98. 3 — 98.5%, which is an excellent result. By selecting the «Photo» and «Cinema» mode, this figure drops to 91.5% and 84.2%, respectively. In these cases, in addition to a slight lack of color range on red tones, problems are also observed on green and light green shades.
Chart of deviation of primary colors and shades from standards in profiles “Control”, “Games” and “Off”
Chart of deviation of primary colors and shades from standards in profile “Economical”
The deviation of the primary colors and shades from the standards in the profile “Photo”
The deviations of the primary colors and shades from the standards “
When measuring color accuracy, the best result was recorded in the «Control», «Games» and «Off» modes: the average deviation dE * 94 (∆E) of shades from the standards lay within 0.53 — 0.68 at an acceptable value 1. 5. Some professional monitors will envy such an indicator. Based on this, as well as the results obtained earlier, we can conclude that the scope of Philips Brilliance 240P4QPYNS is not limited to office tasks. It is also great for graphics processing and video content.
The Photo and Movie profiles performed the worst in terms of color accuracy. They have more than half of the shades several times the maximum deviation value defined by the CIE 1994 standard.
Level Graph RGB Profile Games
Once again, when using the «Economy» mode for a long time reading text from the screen, you need to reduce the saturation of the blue tint in advance. In this case, the load on the eyes will decrease, and they will be less tired.
Gamma-fry schedule in the profiles “Management”, “Economic” and “OTKL”
Gamma-fecal schedule in the profile “ Games ” 9084 ”
Gamma-fry schedule in the profile “ photo ”
Gamma-frying schedule “ cinema ” ”” ”” ”” “ Philips Brilliance 240P4QPYNS is not so good anymore. We have not recorded the coincidence of the gamma curves with the reference line (black) anywhere. And the value of the average gamma turned out either too small (1.81 — 2.01) relative to the reference indicator of 2.2, or too large (2.49- 2.52).
As a result, selecting the «Management», «Economy», «Games» or «Off» profile will make the picture look slightly lighter than it should be. There may also be a loss of some object detail in the light areas of the image. However, a high level of static contrast will still hide this drawback, and it will go unnoticed by the user’s eyes, especially if we are talking about a dynamic picture.
A slightly different effect will be obtained when the profiles «Photo» and «Cinema» are activated: in the dark parts of the scene, the details of objects in the shadows will disappear and only the lightest objects will look even brighter. In this case, a large static contrast ratio will only enhance the transition between dark and light areas of the picture. Fans of HDR photography should enjoy it, but for everyday work we still recommend using profiles that produce more natural colors: «Management», «Economy», «Games» and «Off».
Contrast stability and brightness range
In our opinion, of all the described modes, the most optimal is «Control». It was on its basis that it was decided to test the additional features of the Philips Brilliance 240P4QPYNS monitor.
The brightness range was 35 — 262 cd/m 2 , and the contrast ratio showed quite good stability: 1159:1 — 1201:1. The value of the upper limit of the brightness of the white point is sufficient to work with the monitor in a very bright room, and the lower one will help to significantly reduce eye strain when there is a lack of ambient light. At the same time, you will always receive a contrasting picture with saturated colors on the screen.
The calibrated profile file is available at this link. The results obtained before and after hardware calibration are summarized in the table:
|
«Control» |
Calibrated |
|
|
White field brightness, cd/m 2 |
193.6 |
100.5 |
|
Black field brightness, cd/m 2 |
0.161 |
0.093 |
|
Contrast ratio, x:1 |
1203 |
1079 |
|
White point color temperature, K |
7738 |
6505 |
|
sRGB color space compliance, % |
98.4 |
98.6 |
|
Color Space Compliant Adobe RGB % |
73. |
75.5 |
|
Average deviation dE*94 (∆E) |
0.53 |
0.46 |
|
Maximum deviation dE*94 (∆E) |
2.83 |
1.90 |
|
Medium gamma |
2.01 |
2.19 |
|
Monitor power consumption, W |
18 |
13 |
Hardware calibration slightly improved the already excellent color performance, while the sRGB color gamut and the level of static contrast were not affected. Most importantly, we managed to bring the state of the gamma curves back to normal. However, the effect of such an improvement will be barely noticeable in real conditions, so there is no point in specifically looking somewhere for a device to calibrate the monitor. Summing up the intermediate results, we can say that the manufacturer managed to set up the Philips Brilliance 240P4QPYNS model for a solid four.
Screen backlight uniformity
Backlight uniformity was studied using a calibrated profile as an example.
All areas of the screen have approximately the same brightness, and the deviations from the target value are relatively small (the difference does not exceed 16 cd/m 2 ).
When measuring the color temperature of the white point, problems were observed with the lower left corner. It is slightly «colder» than the rest of the display surface, which is well demonstrated by the 3D diagram.
The fill test showed a small amount of backlight bleeding near the right edge of the screen and a small smudge in the lower right corner of the screen. The dimensions of the problem areas are small, so in real conditions they should not particularly affect the perception of the picture displayed on the display.
Sensor speed
The Philips Brilliance 240P4QPYNS uses an IPS-type sensor with a claimed 7 ms (GtG) response time and 60 Hz refresh rate at 19 resolution.20 x 1200.
Judging by the received photos, this model is in no way inferior to 24-/27-inch IPS solutions with a response time of 5 ms. This suggests that a difference of a few milliseconds does not play a special role in practice. As for the monitor itself, it is quite suitable for displaying dynamic games, although it loses to devices based on a TN matrix.
Viewing angles
0841
Horizontal viewing angles
Vertical viewing angles
Horizontal and vertical angles of the Philips Brilliance Monitor 240P4QPYNS are very larger. As can be seen from the photographs, the picture does not lose its saturation at any position of the eyes relative to the screen. And only when viewed from almost «zero» angles, a change in image contrast is observed. Obviously, in real conditions, no one will look at the monitor like that.
Software
The Philips SmartControl utility is supplied with the display, which actually duplicates the capabilities of the on-screen menu, and some settings even carry additional functionality. In addition, in each case there are pre-selected photographs, where you can quickly evaluate the changes made. Obviously, adjusting the monitor this way is much more convenient.
One of the interesting and useful features of the utility is an add-on for MS Windows called «SmartDesktop». By activating it, an icon appears at the top of any window, with which the screen space can be divided into several work zones. It is very convenient if you work with several applications at the same time and you often need to switch between them or compare the information displayed in them.
Terminals
Model Philips Brilliance 240 P 4QPY NS with a screen of the widescreen monitors, however, with the structure of the parties 16:10, instead did not stop her from demonstrating quite good performance during testing, which will be envied by some standard solutions.First of all, I would like to note the excellent color accuracy and wide color gamut (at level 98.3 — 98.5% relative to sRGB reference space). Thanks to this, the Philips Brilliance 240P4QPYNS monitor is suitable not only for work in office applications, but also in professional packages, including graphics.
In addition, it has a fairly high brightness and static contrast ratio, which will allow you to enjoy rich and rich colors on the screen, regardless of ambient lighting conditions. It is also worth noting that the Philips Brilliance 240P4QPYNS is based on a modern IPS-type matrix with large viewing angles and an acceptable response time. That is, this model can also be used for entertainment, for example, for dynamic games or watching videos. True, in the latter case, black bars will most likely be observed on the screen below and above, since most films are optimized for viewing in 16:9 format.
The disadvantages of the monitor include the presence of a slight leakage of backlight at the right edge of the display and not quite correct gamma setting. However, as testing has shown, they are not striking and practically do not affect the perception of the picture on the screen.
One might say that the design of the monitor is too strict and inconspicuous, especially compared to «bezelless» solutions. And he will probably be right. But the Philips Brilliance 240P4QPYNS boasts a leg with a lot of adjustments, which monitors made in more elegant cases do not have. Therefore, yielding in appearance, it wins in functionality. We are sure that many users will not consider this a disadvantage, but rather an advantage of the monitor.
In summary, we can say with confidence that the Philips Brilliance 240P4QPYNS model is a worthy choice, combining high image quality and functional design.
Advantages:
- good build quality;
- the use of a high-quality IPS type matrix;
- acceptable matrix speed;
- high contrast;
- excellent accuracy of transmission of primary colors and their shades;
- large brightness range;
- excellent color gamut;
- large horizontal and vertical viewing angles;
- the presence of a built-in hub for four USB 2.0 ports;
- the ability to mount the monitor on the wall;
- functional leg-stand;
- the presence of sensors to determine the presence of the user at the computer;
- support for digital and analog types of video interfaces;
- touch controls;
- is quite functional software.
Features:
- classic office design;
- screen aspect ratio is 16:10;
- For everyday work, we recommend using the «Management», «Economy» or «Off» profiles;
- There are no properly configured reading modes.
Weaknesses:
- not quite correct gamma setting in all modes.
- white point temperature irregularity;
- There is a small amount of backlight bleeding at the right edge of the screen.
Author : Sergey Permanchuk
We express our gratitude to the company 0014 s a monitor provided for testing.
We express our gratitude to the company ZOTAC for the equipment provided for the test bench.
We also suggest reading:
PHILIPS Brilliance 272C4 monitor review and test
ViewSonic VG2433SMH monitor review and test
LG 24MP76HM-S monitor review and test
ENERMAX Revolution 85+ 1050W power supply review
With the increase in the amount of energy consumed by modern computers, the power of computer power supplies (PSUs) has also grown. At the same time, it became impossible to increase power only by increasing the number of blocks and / or power elements (diode assemblies, transistors), because if you leave the efficiency factor (COP) at the same level (60-70%), then on the power elements of the PSU 600 watts at full load will dissipate 180 watts. For comparison, only good processor coolers can dissipate such power. There was a need to use nodes with high efficiency. Also, more and more computer components (processor, video card) began to be powered from the 12 V channel. The requirements for the 5 V and 3.3 V channels became lower and lower. Therefore, in modern PSUs, the current through the 5 V and 3.3 V lines does not exceed 30 A in total. In addition, many PSUs (according to manufacturers) can deliver all the nameplate power through the 12 V lines.
For testing, a power supply for enthusiasts ENERMAX REVOLUTION ERV1050EWT came to our laboratory with a power of 1050 W.
The power supply is completed as follows:
Contains:
1) The power supply itself.
2) Cords for connecting devices.
3) Power cord.
4) Storage bag for unused cables.
5) Clamps for fixing the wires in the housing (very useful thing).
6) Instruction (including in Russian).
7) Mounting screws.
The configuration of the power supply cables is shown in the table:
The length of the supplied wires is more than enough to install the power supply even in bigtower cases.
A feature of the block is the presence of a fan tachometer connector for connecting to the motherboard.
The PSU is cooled by one fan with an impeller diameter of 130 mm on two ball bearings. Fan size 140 mm.
The fan is marked Silence RL4Z-B1352512LB-3M. A rough estimate of the power consumed by our bench was made using a calculator and was equal to 440 + 366 W (two overclocked benches) after 2 hours of running 3DMark06, the fan speed was 970 rpm, while the temperature of the exhaust air ) was 39 C 0 , the air temperature in the room was 23 C 0 . At such speeds, the fan is almost inaudible from a distance of half a meter, if you do not take into account the barely perceptible overtone of rubbing parts, which is typical for fans on ball bearings. Such noise from the PSU is not intrusive, and if we remember that a computer consuming 1000 W will make much more noise, then I consider the problem of noise to be inappropriate in this case. It is noteworthy that when the PSU is turned off, the fan continues to work for about 65 seconds. The first time we were shocked — it seemed that either the computer was not turned off, or the fan would always spin like that.
Now let’s move on to the consideration of the internal structure of the PSU.
The first thing that caught my eye was that the main board is made of textolite and the tracks are separated on both sides. Most budget PSUs and mid-range units, as well as some of the expensive products, are based on a getinax board. Textolite is more durable compared to getinaks, copper foil is also better glued to it, so the textolite board can withstand more soldering than the getinax board, besides, fiberglass has greater rigidity and, accordingly, is less susceptible to deformation, more heavy components. But this is a plus only for those cases when there may be a need for soldering parts of the PSU.
Now let’s sequentially describe all the features of the circuitry of this PSU.
The input is a 2nd order low-pass filter with a cutoff frequency of about 50 kHz. It attenuates high-frequency interference coming from the network to the PSU and vice versa. Next is the mains voltage rectifier, consisting of two GBU2006 diode bridges connected in parallel. We could not find documentation for them, but by analogy with the markings with diode bridges from other manufacturers, let’s assume that these are diode bridges 20 A, 600 V. With a small radiator installed, they can withstand a current of the order of 11-12 A for a long time, which is slightly more than the current consumed by the unit power supply, which, when powered from a network with a voltage of 100 V at maximum power, will consume a current of 12.5 A (effective value).
The straightened current goes to the power factor correction scheme (PFC — Power Factor Correction) on the ICE2PCS01
Controlle transistor are four parallel FQA24N50F 24 A, 500 B
9000 9000 9000 9000 9000 9000 9000 9000 9000 9000 power factor correction circuit increases the price, dimensions, weight of the PSU, but at the same time allows you to expand the operating voltage range of the PSU, use electrolytic capacitors and power transistors in the converter with lower voltage margins, reduce the requirements for the capacitance of smoothing capacitors, but at the same time increases the requirements to their quality. Capacitors should work well with impulse loads and have a low ESR (Effective Serial Resistance) — equivalent series resistance. The filter capacitors are three 220 microfarad capacitors connected in parallel, designed for a voltage of 400 V. Next comes His Majesty the converter. His Majesty, because before we got acquainted with this PSU, we had not seen such circuit solutions used in power supplies.
Fig. Figure 11: Converter
This is an in-series dual forward voltage converter circuit containing two forward voltage converters operating with a phase shift of 180 C 0 , Texas Instruments UCC28220 PWM controller used.
The PWM controller chip is located on the PFC controller board. As key transistors, field-effect transistors K20J60T (20 A, 600 V) manufactured by Toshiba are used.
This circuit solution allows to reduce current ripple of input and output capacitors [1]. This type of converter is called 2 SWITCH FORWARD (Figure 12). More details about the types of DC-DC converters can be found in the brochure.
The advantage of using two transistors in each converter instead of one is the ability to install transistors in the PSU with a lower drain-source voltage limit, which are not only cheaper (a pair of 600V transistors is cheaper than one for 1000V), but also have open resistance is 3-5 times lower than high-voltage counterparts. As a result, such a circuitry solution has a number of advantages over a FORWARD-type converter (higher efficiency, easier heat removal from key transistors, lower cost).
Let’s move on, and then the second pleasant surprise from this PSU. The output rectifier was not built on Schottky diodes, but according to the synchronous rectifier circuit.
Diagrams of the input and output voltage of the synchronous rectifier circuit (obtained during simulation in Micro-Cap 8 CAD system) are shown in the figure:
86%) and bring it up to 96% or more [2] . The power supply unit has 2 synchronous rectifiers, each of which consists of four field-effect transistors IRFB3307 (75 A, 20V) connected 2 in parallel.
The output filter consists of eight United Chemi-Con 2200uF 16V capacitors. Each of them has an internal impedance of no more than 9 mΩ (at a frequency of 100 kHz) and is capable of providing a peak current of 3.22 A.
A feature of this PSU is the presence of ceramic capacitors in the output filter.
Honestly, this is the first power supply in our practice, which initially has ceramic capacitors in the output filter, but sometimes they are so lacking there. We unconditionally write this fact as a plus.
Current consumption sensors are 6 shunts installed on the main PSU board.
The main converter generates only 12 V, the rest (3.3 V and 5 V) are generated by additional DC-DC converters located on the board with connectors for connecting cables.
This circuit solution allows you to almost completely eliminate the dependence of voltages on each other or the so-called «swing», which is certainly a plus.
The converters are based on the Anpec APW7073 PWM controller and assembled according to its typical switching circuit. As key transistors, field-effect transistors APM2510 and APM2556 are used, connected in pairs in parallel. It must be said that APMxxxx transistors have a bad reputation among iron repairmen [3] , but not the fact that in this case everything will be just as bad.
A couple more features that I would like to note:
1) The standby power supply is capable of delivering a current of 5 A, which is enough to power 10 USB channels with a maximum current (0.5 A for each channel). The converter is made on the chip ICE2A265
1. Installation and soldering of the power supply unit are performed at a high level. This is a must for a product of this class.
2. Due to the modularity of the power supply, the total length of the wires increases, which increases the output impedance, and the additional connector reduces the reliability of the circuit. On the other hand, the modular wiring allows you to use only those that will be used. This will reduce the number of wires inside the case, and hence the resistance to airflow created by the case fans. The connectors also indicate which of the «virtual» +12V lines they belong to, this helps to evenly distribute the load on the power supply created by video cards in multi-GPU systems.
Testing
Testing was carried out in 2 stages:
1) Resistive load test
Sections of a tungsten spiral acted as a load. Only the 12 V lines were loaded, while the total load current was ~ 4 * 22 A. The effective voltage after 30 minutes of operation was 12.19 V. But the effective voltage, in principle, does not matter because the DC-DC converters of the processor, video cards , memory, northbridge can function normally in the input voltage range from 11.40 to 12.6 V. Therefore, they are not demanding on the effective supply voltage. Of greater interest are voltage ripples:
You can clearly see spikes when each converter arm is turned on, but the ripple is 59 mV, which is less than 0.5% of 12 V and easily fits into the 120 mV range limited by the ATX12V Power Supply technical documentation Design Guide
for ATX power supplies. In the spectrum of the output voltage, 2 harmonics 73 kHz and 146 kHz are clearly visible.
The first corresponds to the frequency of operation of each of the converter arms, and the second corresponds to the second order harmonic.
It would seem that it remains to draw conclusions and finish the article, but if we consider the first part objectively, we can see that the testing conditions are far from real. Far away because in the system unit of the computer, the entire main load (CPU, GPU converters) is pulsed. And since the end user, on the drum, like a power supply unit, heats the spirals, but it is important how it works in the system unit. Therefore, another test was carried out.
2) Real life test
For «field» testing, a stand was assembled:
- — Processors: Core 2 Quad Q6600 @ 4100 MHz (1.65 V) and Core 2 Duo E8400 @ 4900 MHz (1.75 V)
- — Motherboards: 2xBiostar TPower i45
- — RAM: 2×512 Mb and 2×1024 Mb Micron
- — Disk subsystem: 3×320 Gb SAMSUNG SATA-II
- — Video subsystem: GeForce 9800GX2@770/1100 MHz, GeForce GTX260 216pp@750/1100 MHz and as a physics processor GeForce 9600gt
- — Light load fans
- — Cooling: running water on processors +4 C 0 , video cards on drain
- — Power supply: ENERMAX REVOLUTION ERV1050EWT, the motherboard of the second computer (slave) was powered by a separate PSU.
This configuration was chosen due to the fact that our laboratory did not have a stand capable of consuming the required power. Therefore, it was decided to assemble a test bench from two computers.
Photo of the stand with testers attached:
As expected, the results of these tests were completely different . ..
Well, that’s it … When working on a real load, the voltage ripple is no longer 59 mV, but 83 mV. Here is the PSU testing methodology.
Another noteworthy moment — during the change of the splash screen in 3DMark 2003 (when a high-frequency whistle is heard from the system unit), the ripples are not even 83 mV, but 103 mV, which is already very close to the border defined by the standard.
As you can see, when working on a real load, the PSU works worse. From these indications of the magnitude of the pulsations, one must build on.
Now we can sum up.
Terminals
Advantages:
- Modular.
- Low noise level.
- Low operating temperature.
- Quality assembly and soldering.
- A number of circuitry solutions to increase efficiency, reduce the ripple of the 12 V output voltage and eliminate the dependence of the output voltages on each other.
- High power and ability to deliver all of it through 12 V lines.
Disadvantages:
- Of the minuses, only a rather high cost can be noted.
Power supply ENERMAX REVOLUTION ERV1050EWT is an excellent choice for a powerful computer, including overclocking and even extreme overclocking, due to its high efficiency and low noise level. The use of this PSU in office machines is inappropriate, and it will certainly find a place for owners of powerful gaming systems.
Thanks and links:
I express my gratitude to the Russian representative office of Gigabyte technology for the provided power supply.
Thanks to Ivan aka Kim55 for providing a computer, help in photography and moral support.
And also Igor Svadkovsky aka White for sending the block and Maxim aka demiurg for help in preparing the material.
1. http://www.power-e.ru/2005_02_36.php
2. http://zpostbox.narod.ru/az10.htm
3. http://www.rom.by/search/ node/dead%20APM
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World of Warplanes GECID.com preview.
::>Games
>2012
> IT —
21-07-2012
World of Warplanes is rapidly approaching release. Having received the key to the closed beta test, we were able to play the new Wargaming.net game. Let’s see what awaits us in the world of combat aircraft. World of Tanks — a million players seemed to them an elusive ceiling. By October, this «ceiling» was easily and quickly reached, broken through and exceeded by the growth in the number of virtual tankers that did not slow down. By January 2011, the number of active players has exceeded three million and continued to grow uncontrollably… -to-play revolution. The concept developed by Wargaming turned out to be so successful that after the release of World of Tanks, to the delight of fans of big combat robots, even the long-dead genre of serious mecha simulators, which had long been dead on the PC, was resurrected, naturally in the form of online games on a shareware basis — how else! ?
Every success needs to be developed, grandiose success needs to be developed grandiosely — apparently Wargaming was guided by this logic, announcing the development of two more MMO-action games last summer: World of Warplanes and World of Battleship , dedicated as it is not difficult to guess, respectively, combat aircraft and warships of the 30s and 50s of the XX century. Moreover, it was promised that these three games would form together a kind of «Military MMO-series», where each project would be closely intertwined with another, the economy would be common, and a common global map would unite tankers, pilots and sailors in the struggle for military dominance.
No specific information about World of Battleship has been received yet — the game is in a closed development stage and Wargaming representatives do not cover it. On the other hand, World of Warplanes, , developed by Wargaming.net and Kyiv’s Persha Studia, is already in closed beta testing and, apparently, will finally become available to everyone in the coming months. Thanks to the CBT key kindly provided by Wargaming.net, we were able to play World of Warplanes . Today we will talk about the first impressions from getting to know the world of combat aircraft.
Let’s start with the fact that the game was made on the World of Tanks engine, which can be considered rather a minus. Still, the BigWorld engine produces a rather outdated picture, but it’s difficult to call it democratic — for a comfortable game in the same World of Tanks, even at minimal settings, you need a fairly powerful machine. On the other hand, the picture in the game, although it does not shine with extraordinary beauty and special effects, is very pleasant and does not cause any complaints, and the most powerful BigWorld network code allows you to simultaneously support over two hundred thousand people on one server, which is the case with the successor game World of Tanks is undoubtedly relevant.
World of Warplanes greets the player with a familiar look — a hangar, a shop, a table of development of the three nations currently represented in the game (USSR, USA, Germany), still a rather stupid chat … Except that there are not tanks in the hangar, but planes, yes some minor details have been changed, for example, the «To battle» button is located not at the top, but at the bottom. The rest — one to one World of Tanks. True, it’s worth pressing this button, as a self-satisfied confidence like “yes, I know everything here!” replaced by some confusion.
The aircraft is not a tank. It moves in space obeying completely different laws and principles, and the tactics of combat in the air are completely different from those on the ground. An airplane is more complicated than a tank — more difficult both as an idea and as a machine, it is also more difficult to manage. For these reasons, the threshold for entering the game in World of Warplanes, despite all the efforts of the developers to make the game as friendly to a beginner as possible, is still significantly higher than in World of Tanks. Well, a tank cannot “hit” on the corner of a shed — no matter how much it rams it, the plane that catches the same shed during an unsuccessful exit from a dive will not fly anywhere else.
A newcomer to World of Tanks can be seen right away — he does not know how to work with the hull and turret, does not understand how camouflage and cover work, goes straight to the enemy . .. A newcomer to World of Warplanes is also easy to notice — he incorrectly calculates the trajectory of approach to target and crashes at the first attempt to storm a ground object. Yes, newbies! With pilots of an average hand, such a nuisance also sometimes happens.
Learning to fly near the ground and not crash is half the battle, because you need not only to fly, but also to shoot, and, even, not only to shoot, but also to hit. With the latter, at first, there are problems — planes fly fast, and the battle goes on long distances and, despite the fact that the game has a lead calculator — a luxury not available to real pre-war and military pilots — to hit a target moving quickly at a large angle to the line of fire , is extremely difficult. It’s hard to hit somewhere when the target and sight are in contact for a fraction of a second.
Learning to shoot and fly is still half the battle, because you need to learn how to fly so that you don’t get shot down, assess the situation, not expose yourself to attacks, get out from under them, drop the pursuer from the tail — not to be a convenient target.
In principle, there is nothing truly specific and complex in World of Warplanes, for example, an aircraft cannot go into a tailspin in any way. Veterans of flight simulators will get comfortable here very easily. Players who do not have much experience in this genre will also figure it out very quickly. Just a couple of dozen fights are enough for even the most inexperienced beginner to stop making childish mistakes, and in a day he will already begin to fly at a very decent level. It is enough to understand the basic principles and mechanics, remember the basic rules of air combat during World War II, and everything becomes very easy, pleasant and fun.
Here we are at high altitude, looking for prey. Having found the enemy who was carried away by the attack, we dive at him, carefully go from the rear hemisphere, synchronize our speed with the speed of the enemy and begin to methodically shoot the enemy car, trying to stay on the tail and keep it in sight, while the panicking enemy is feverishly twisting maneuvers, trying to get rid of us. Explosion! And a smoking pile of debris rushes to the ground. It is difficult to describe the satisfaction and triumph of the winner at such moments.
But the tracers passing by indicate that now our plane is the target, which means that it is our turn to get out of the attack, twisting turns and cunning maneuvers. Maybe it will be possible to throw the enemy off the tail and, having changed the situation, explain to him what we think of him. Maybe a teammate will cover. And, perhaps, it will come out, maneuvering near the surface, to force the pursuer to make an unsuccessful maneuver that will slam his plane into the ground. Pilots of some attack aircraft and heavy fighters can also count on the help of the rear gunner, who will automatically pour fire on the attacking machine. With its help, skillfully maneuvering, even a heavy and clumsy attack aircraft can fight off a light and nimble fighter.
Speaking of stormtroopers. It is clear that these clumsy vehicles are poorly suited for maneuverable air combat. Their firepower is amazing, but to attack such a machine head-on — on powerful front guns, you can’t lure the enemy with any gingerbread, a light fighter will simply turn around and sit on the tail of an unmaneuverable slug, preferring a duel with a far less deadly one, clearly inferior to it in firepower gunner. What is the point of a stormtrooper?
The answer is simple — attack aircraft (as well as a slightly more versatile class — heavy fighters) are needed exactly for the same thing as in life — to attack ground targets. So that the battle would not drag out, Wargaming came up with, in addition to the simple destruction of all enemy aircraft, an original system of victory by domination. According to it, the destruction of an enemy aircraft brings the team one point. If the enemy team does not have points and the score becomes 1-0, the advantage scale begins to slowly fill up, and if the enemy does not win back the point, it will eventually reach 100% and the battle will end in victory. If the enemy destroys our plane, the scale is reset to zero and freezes, if another one — the advantage begins to accumulate in his favor.
The secret here is this, points are given not only for the destruction of aircraft, but also for the destruction of ground objects, various houses, tanks, boats, observation posts, radar stations and the like, generously scattered across the map. Some of them are green — ours, some red — the enemy. In principle, fighters can also shoot objects, but, in view of their lower firepower, it takes them more time, which could be spent on something more useful — hunting enemy aircraft, for example.
A skilled attack aircraft destroys ground targets easily and cheerfully, using not only cannons, but also such luxury as bombs and missiles, inaccessible to most fighters. Also, an attack aircraft, due to its good survivability and firepower, can easily win a confrontation with ground defense turrets, which, as a rule, is a problem for non-survivable fighters. Therefore, a good attack aircraft for the team is worth its weight in gold. He can create a huge advantage in points, which, with the skillful play of the team, the enemies simply will not be able to win back.
A great advantage more than once pulled out seemingly lost battles. For example, the only remaining fighter simply retreated under the fire of the defensive turrets of its base, and the enemies, whether you like it or not, had to follow it, and with support from the ground, fighting is much easier … In general, the attack aircraft is an interesting class, and the game for these deadly machines gives its own, incomparable pleasure.
The fascinating and dynamic carousel of air combat World of Warplanes is very good. Feeling like a pilot of the legendary cars of the first half of the last century is very interesting and cool. The choice of aircraft is traditionally very worthy, there are already more than sixty combat vehicles in the game.
Aircraft are divided into levels, illustrating the history of the development of aircraft engineering. At the first level, biplanes of the late twenties fly at the speed of a fast steam locomotive, at the last — the tenth, easily giving 1000 km / h jet aircraft of the early fifties. In principle, development is organized in the same way as in World of Tanks, but we still do not know the details of the real economic model.
The economy and research are not ready yet, although experience is earned for successful actions in battle, there is nothing to open for it yet, all vehicles are available for purchase initially, and credits for battle at higher levels are simply given a huge amount. At this stage of the CBT, nothing prevents the player from buying a plane of the tenth level by the end of the third or fourth hour of the game, and all the cash in the game of the tenth level — by the end of the second day. Of course, this will be changed by the release, but for now, beta testers are enjoying the «freebie». It is also impossible to see how the economy of World of Warplanes will be intertwined with the economy in World of Tanks.
Management deserves a separate paragraph. Trying to please everyone, Wargaming has implemented as many as four control schemes, you can fly on the keyboard, gamepad, mouse and joystick — as you like. Management, in general, raises no objections and is implemented very well. True, it can be said that a skilled player with a joystick apparently receives some advantages in terms of accuracy and smoothness of control. But, firstly, it becomes noticeable only at the level of real aces of World of Warplanes, and secondly, not a single flight simulator has passed this cup. The fact that “no joystick” players can fight with joystick owners almost on an equal footing — a big breakthrough and democracy. Those who tried to play IL-2 multiplayer on the keyboard will understand.
Finally, let’s say this: World of Warplanes will undoubtedly become a good and noteworthy game. Of course, the threshold for entering it is somewhat higher than for tanks, and besides, this game will no longer be the only and uncontested project of such a plan, which will probably prevent it from repeating the super success of World of Tanks. However, the game provides a wonderful opportunity to feel like a knight of the sky and fight with the same fans of aviation history and, of course, will be appreciated by the public.
Author: Nikolay Ilchenko
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Top 12 best power supply manufacturers of 2022 in the Zuzako ranking
review
Power supply for technology is the same as the circulatory system for a person!
Sergey Gladyrev
Quickly brings technique to tone
03/22/2021
10090
*Overview of the best according to the editors of Zuzako.com. About selection criteria. This material is subjective, is not an advertisement and does not serve as a guide to the purchase. Before buying, you need to consult with a specialist.
The power supply unit (PSU) is an important component of any technique. It supplies electrical energy to all working elements of the device and ensures its performance. Before choosing this component, we recommend that you carefully study the rating of the best power supply manufacturers in 2021, which Zuzako compiled based on customer reviews and expert opinions. It includes the most reliable brands that supply high-quality PSUs for computers and other devices to Russia.
9,0002 9.8 / 10
9000 /10 9000 9000 /10 9000 9000 / 10,000 9000 / 10,000 9000 9000 / 10,000 9000 9000 / 10,000 9000 9000 / all PSUs
9.6 / 10
9.5 / 10
9000 9000 9000 /10000 9000 9000 9000 9000 9000 9000 9000 9000 9 High performance and high quality cooling system
9. 4 / 10
This company specializes in the production of powerful PSUs designed for gaming computers. All of them are distinguished by high energy efficiency, high-quality assembly and the use of the best Japanese-made components. Another important benefit is the long service life of Sea Sonic units. Proof of this is a long-term company warranty for most PSU models.
9.6 /10
rating
Pros
- Good product quality
9.3/10
Rating
Plus
- Available prices
- Good reputation
- Many positive reviews
- High efficiency in most devices
- Certificates of international model
9000
sales
Go to website
ENERMAX (Taiwan)
9
AeroCool (Taiwan)
disadvantages
- Building Models
Go to the site
FSP (Taiwan)
9000 9000 9000 9000 9000 9000 9000 9000 9000 9000 9000 9000 9000 9000 9000 9000 9000 9000 9000 9000 9000 9000 9000 9000 9000 9000 9000 9000 9000 9000 9000 9000 9000 9000 Zalman a large number of patents.
9.1 /10
rating
Pros
- Great experience
- Good reputation
- Wide range of goods
- A small selection of PSUs
Go to website
GigaByte (Taiwan)Zuzako editorial advice on choosing a power supply manufacturer They will help you find the best OEM, whose products combine good quality and affordable price.
PSU for computer technology
In most cases, power supplies are used in PCs. Such devices are produced by almost all OEMs (Enermax, Delta Electronics, HEC, FSP, Chieftec, etc.). Here are some helpful tips to help you choose the best one.
Tips for choosing a manufacturer:
- When buying a PSU for your computer, try to give preference to Asian brands. It is the brands from this region that supply the highest quality components to Russia.
- Look out for manufacturers that offer a wide range of models with different power ratings (200 W — 900 W).
This will give you the opportunity to choose the best technique for your PC.
- Computer PSU gets very hot during operation. Therefore, we recommend that you buy models of those brands that pay special attention to the equipment of the cooling system. It should consist of one or more coolers, the size of which directly depends on the power of the device (the more powerful the PSU, the larger the fan is needed).
- The assortment of the selected company should include models with different efficiency rates (from 80% to 95%). Such a variety will make it possible to choose the best option that meets the needs of the PC and your financial capabilities.
- Buy products from companies that equip their PSU with a fan speed control circuit. In this case, the purchased device will work quietly even at maximum load on the PC.
PSU for other types of devices
Power supplies can be used not only in computer technology, but also in other types of devices (for example, car audio, various industrial equipment, etc.
). When buying them, you should pay special attention to the manufacturer. Only well-known brands produce the highest quality, reliable and durable devices.
Manufacturer selection tips:
- Give preference to products from those companies that equip their PSUs with reliable and efficient fans. Otherwise, the power supply unit will quickly overheat and the probability of its breakdown will increase significantly.
- Before buying a PSU, be sure to read reviews about its manufacturer. This information will help you learn about all the advantages and disadvantages of the products of a particular brand.
- The presence in the range of too cheap power supplies will give out a bad manufacturer. In most cases, such firms reduce prices due to the use of low-quality components in the production.
- Choose manufacturers that offer PSU models with high efficiency (at least 85%). Otherwise, the power supply will spend too much energy on its work, and send only its remnants to the rest of the structural elements.
- PSUs can make a lot of noise during operation. Therefore, we recommend that you choose models from those companies that pay attention to solving this problem (for example, they equip power supplies with a fan speed controller).
The purchase of a power supply for computer equipment and other types of devices should begin with the choice of the manufacturer. In order not to look for comparison tables and descriptions of top brands in various sources, we recommend that you read our article again. It provides reviews of the most popular brands that supply various PSU models to Russia.
Be sure to like and write interesting comments. Also, do not forget to share the information received in all available social networks.
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Reference article based on the expert opinion of the author.
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Poll: Which one would you choose?
Super Flower (Taiwan)
Cougar (Germany)
Sea Sonic (Taiwan)
)
Chieftec (Taiwan)
11 % (5 )
Corsair (USA)
7 % (3 )
HIGH Power
9000 (Germany)
13 % (6 )
ENERMAX (Taiwan)
2 % (1 )
Aerocool (Taiwan)
2 % (1 )
FSP (Taiwan)
% ( 3 )
Zalman (South Korea)
2 % (1 )
Gigabyte (Taiwan)
2 % (1 )
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Overview and testing of the goodram px500 nvme pcie gen 3 × 4 drive for 512 GB
Setting up the M.2 drive in the BIOS 90 020 , you may need to make a few settings on the motherboard in the BIOS. Specific settings depend on the capabilities of the motherboard. They may be necessary for the operating system to recognize the drive.
Go to the BIOS settings by pressing the Del button while the computer boots.
On it you need to open Advanced > Embedded Device Configuration > M.2 PCIe Mode and change the value to «Enabled» / «Enabled». On other Asus boards, open «Advanced», expand the drop-down menu «Bandwidth of the PCI Express X4_3 slot» and select the M.2 Mode value.
Save the setting and exit the BIOS.
Is your motherboard compatible with this drive
When you buy an M.2 SSD, you need to know if it will fit your motherboard. M.2 describes a thin drive form factor, but there are slower SATA M.2 drives and faster NVMe M.2 drives with different slots.
Even if the motherboard has an M.2 slot, its compatibility with the drive depends on whether the slot is for B Key, M+B Key or M Key drives.
B-Key on SATA M.2 and older NVMe drives
M+B Key on SATA M.2 drives and some NVMe drives
M Key — on new NVMe drives with PCIe x4 bus
You need to inspect the motherboard and understand which M.2 drives it is compatible with before buying a specific drive model.
Appearance and disassembly
The second-generation GOODRAM IRDM Pro Gen.2 solid-state drive received a recognizable dark black case design with a distinctive red logo of the Iridium Pro line. This design is the most versatile and will fit any PC build.
Pennywise approves.
GOODRAM IRDM Pro Gen.2 is a development of a popular model that has proven itself in the market. The updated version switched to the use of 3D TLC memory chips, which replaced the obsolete MLC, acquired a more efficient Phison S12 controller and a high-speed buffer DRAM memory. If not a revolution, then a noticeable evolution.
The novelty is made in the classic 2.5″ format with a case thickness of 7 mm, which makes the model compatible with laptops and ultrabooks.
On the back of the solid state drive there is an information sticker with technical information, model and serial numbers, registration address (Poland), amount and type of memory.
The case of the model has dimensions of 100 x 69.85 x 7 mm, weight is approximately 50 g. The connection is carried out according to the standard methodology and is located at the end of the device: an additional power connector paired with a SATA 6 Gb / s interface for data transfer, backward compatible with its predecessor the past generation.
One of the distinguishing features of the GOODRAM IRDM Pro Gen.2 drive is a metal case consisting of two halves and a screwless fastening — only a few latches around the perimeter.
Access to the filling is opened by prying on the right side of a small latch: on the left side, parsing is more difficult, because there is a tight metal tongue.
The solid state drive is based on the high-speed SATA controller PS3112-S12-27, better known as the Phison S12, manufactured in March 2019of the year. The novelty is made on a shortened blue printed circuit board with double-sided mounting of the element base and, in its layout, copies another model — Smartbuy Impact, which indicates a single production technology.
DRAM buffer D1216ECMDXGJD manufactured by Kingston with DDR3L standard acts as data exchange. It was not possible to find out the volume of the microcircuit and the clock frequency by marking
The drop-down list offers several models, but if we take into account the unsoldered footprint for an additional buffer chip, then we probably have a chip with a capacity of 2 GB with a clock speed of 1866 MHz cache).
We note the support of SMART, APM, NCQ, TRIM technologies.
The capacity of the GOODRAM IRDM Pro Gen.2 drive with a capacity of 1 TB is made up of an array of eight microcircuits located on both sides of the printed circuit board. Each chip contains four 64-layer 256-Gb TLC 3D NAND crystals manufactured by Toshiba and marked TA7AG55A1V. They were made on the 34th week of 2019.
The chip labeled Phison PS6102-22 is responsible for power management of the drive.
Taking into account the manufacturer’s capabilities and the potential of the printed circuit board to increase the DRAM buffer capacity and volume, the older 2TB GOODRAM IRDM Pro Gen.2 model is probably equipped with 4GB DDR3L and chips of eight 64-layer 256-Gigabit crystals.
Testing
To begin with, let’s look at the information that the well-known diagnostic program CrystalDiskInfo will provide us with. At the time of switching on, the 1TB GOODRAM IRDM Pro Gen.2 solid-state drive has worked for 6 hours and has been turned on 16 times, which indicates a detailed testing of the product in production.
In idle mode, the temperature of the model is at around 25°C.
The solid state drive comes in its pure form with no partitions created for file systems. After initialization, creating one partition for the entire available memory and formatting into the NTFS file system with standard parameters, the user has access to 953 GB.
Here are the results of popular test programs: AS SSD Benchmark, ATTO Disk Benchmark, CrystalDiskMark, HD Tune Pro and AIDA64 Disk Benchmark.
AS SSD Benchmark is a benchmark program for testing the read / write speed of hard drives and SSD drives. AS SSD Benchmark has become a de facto standard with its synthetic read and write speed tests, a scoring system, and three separate real-world data copy tests.
The AS SSD Compression Benchmark writes random test blocks of data using various levels of compression.
ATTO Disk Benchmark is an old but time-tested program for testing the read / write speed of hard drives and solid state drives (SSD), which allows you to set the block size and the number of files per block.
CrystalDiskMark is another very popular utility for benchmarking both hard drives and solid state drives. The peculiarity of the program is that in addition to the number of runs, you can set the amount of data with which it will work; in this case, 50, 500, 1000, 2000, 4000 and 16000 MB.
HD Tune Pro is a hard drive testing utility with an extensive set of benchmarks and a number of additional features.
AIDA64 Disk Benchmark is a set of tests for solid state drives that allows you to check the speed characteristics and temperature during long-term operations.
Linear reading, test duration 58 minutes, no drawdowns.
Linear write, one of the most difficult tests for a SATA-III SSD. Thanks to the increased cache and controller, the GOODRAM IRDM Pro Gen.
2 model successfully passes the test without speed drops.
During testing, according to monitoring, the temperature of the SSD was 25°C — 39°C, which is an excellent result. Low heating allows GOODRAM IRDM Pro Gen.2 with a capacity of 1 TB not to worry when operating the novelty in an unventilated case.
GOODRAM Optimum SSD Tool
To accompany its own GOODRAM SSDs, the manufacturer has a proprietary monitoring and diagnostic utility — GOODRAM Optimum SSD Tool.
The application stands out for its bright colors and pleasant design: the developers once again managed to effectively focus on their person. The GOODRAM Optimum SSD Tool is universal and allows you to monitor the main characteristics of a solid state drive, S.M.A.R.T. readings, perform diagnostics and update firmware, transfer data from one drive to another; It is possible to communicate with technical support.
The tab with additional characteristics allows you to monitor the vital parameters of the drive in real time and test speed indicators for compliance with passport values.
Over time, the latest firmware version brings improvements to the device and eliminates critical vulnerabilities, so it’s nice to see the corresponding option in the settings. The popular Acronis data disk cloning utility is slowly fading into the background: manufacturers are introducing this technology into proprietary applications.
Now you do not need to look for official mail to write a letter with technical questions or difficulties: a separate tab contains a direct connection with the developers.
Activation of the GOODRAM Optimum SSD Tool application is very simple and looked like this: “Russia” was entered as the country, the utility automatically read the serial number from the firmware and the process was completed successfully.
The utility found a fresh version of the program, so it was decided to check the update function. A small typo in the word «download» made us smile
GOODRAM Optimum SSD Tool downloaded the update very quickly and asked me to reboot.
At the first start, an error occurred with the content «Problems connecting with the server.» As it turned out later, the utility does not like a quick start after loading the PC, that is, after the shortcuts appear on the desktop, you need to wait 30-40 seconds, and then everything functions flawlessly.
The software update went almost perfectly. Summing up: the developers have accompanied their product with the necessary software, which increases brand trust and ease of use.
Install an M.2 drive in the system unit
The location of the M.2 slot on the motherboard varies between models and manufacturers. Most often, this slot is located between the video card connector and the CPU socket, or on the lower right side of the motherboard.
Some motherboards have a special metal plate that covers the drive and keeps it cool. Such a plate will first need to be unscrewed.
As you can see in the image above, the slot is rather awkwardly positioned between the graphics card and the processor.
To install a drive in it, you need to remove the video card.
When you have removed all obstacles, you need to insert the drive into the slot.
First, remove the screw next to the M.2 slot. If the drive has any fasteners, you need to screw them on now. As a result, during screwing, the drive will be parallel to the motherboard, and not at an angle.
After removing the mounting screw and the drive’s fasteners, if any, carefully insert the drive into the slot at a 30-degree angle to the motherboard
After installation, the drive must be adjacent to the motherboard.
Gently push the top end of the drive down towards the mounting. Then fix it with a screw. Do not overtighten the screw, but tighten it just enough so that the drive does not wobble.
Reinstall the graphics card and any other components you removed. Close the system unit and connect all necessary cables to it.
WD nvmeAppearance GOODRAM PX500 512GB
Before us is a classic 2280 NVMe drive with an M key.
On the plate itself is the inscription 3D NAND — in honor of guess what, as well as the company logo with a bluish stripe. Strict but cute.
Memory chips and a Silicon Motion SM2263XT controller were hidden under the heat spreader. He is already in his third year, and during this time he has already been retested by everyone who is not lazy.
This is a controller without a DRAM cache, and at first it was not clear to me why? Why did Goodram release a drive in 2020 without a DRAM cache? But then I realized. Coronavirus.
This SSD model will be very popular and is guaranteed to cover the needs of the population in a fast drive. Therefore, while competitors on more expensive controllers will inevitably raise prices, the PX500 will most likely remain the hit of the season. And this, in principle, is a worthy motive.
Specifications GOODRAM PX500
Regarding other parameters. Memory, as already mentioned, 3D NAND. The declared speeds are 2000 and 1600 MB / s for reading / writing, respectively.
Performance at random is 173,000 IOPS and 140,000 IOPS for reading / writing, respectively. MTBF — 1,500,000 hours, warranty — unlimited, 3 years.
The drive supports proprietary software — the Goodram Optimum application. Its functionality is almost standard — we have a check on the S.M.A.R.T. parameters, that is, temperature, the rest of life, free space. You can transfer data or get technical support.
Test stand
- AMD Ryzen 5 3600X
- motherboard MSI X470 Gaming Plus
- RAM Silicon Power DDR4 3000 MHz 2×16 GB
- cooler be quiet! Dark Rock TF
- be quiet! DC1
- case DeepCool Kendomen RD
- hard drives WD Blue 1TB 7200 RPM x2
- hard drive Seagate Barracuda 5TB
- SSD Goodram CX300 240GB
- SSD WD Black SN750 500GB
processor
The disk capacity displayed in the system is 477 GB. Although after initialization, 11 GB more becomes available to the user. Why this is so is not clear, but thanks for that.
Tests in various benchmarks below:
Regarding temperatures — the drive under heavy load, after 9 runs in CrystalDiskMark 7 with a 64 GB cluster size, the drive reached 72 degrees maximum, with a background temperature of 26 degrees Cesium. This is a little more than the recommended 70 degrees, but in games the heating was noticeably less — up to 67 degrees even in long sessions and heavy projects like Far Cry: New Dawn.
Conclusion
The first generation GOODRAM Iridium Pro SSDs were great workhorses and proved to be an interesting buy in terms of price, performance and volume. The creators were able to interest users, but the use of MLC-type memory chips and a small clipboard served as a deterrent in certain cases, and further modernization was required. It was promised to fulfill the devices of the second generation.
The updated GOODRAM IRDM Pro Gen.2 line is aimed at eliminating the weaknesses and shortcomings of its predecessors, and it is worth noting that the Polish company Wilk Elektronik SA succeeded in everything.
The novelty received a popular high-speed Phison S12 SATA controller paired with a more capacious and efficient DRAM buffer; models up to and including 2TB make the IRDM Pro Gen.2 one of the most interesting SSDs in its segment. But at the time of preparation of the material, the official cost in Russia was not announced, namely, it will further affect the fate of the new series.
To sum up: GOODRAM IRDM Pro Gen.2 is a worthy product with attractive features, user-friendly Optimum SSD Tool software, extended warranty — all from a reputable manufacturer that is steadily expanding its influence, driving out competitors.
Advantages:
- High speed performance for its class;
- Phison S12 controller;
- Low temperatures;
- Universal black design;
- Proprietary software;
- Extended five-year warranty.
Flaws:
Not found.
Peculiarities:
Slim metal housing.
Overview of the power supply Enermax Revolution 85+ 920 Watts.
What do we get for $330?
Introduction.
Enermax products are known to almost every user who has ever faced the question of choosing a power supply for his system unit. With today’s article we will try to replenish your knowledge regarding these power supplies, we will talk about the representative of the new line of Enermax Revolution 85+ devices.
The new line of power supplies is represented by solutions for 850 and 1250 watts. We will try to bring to your attention a product with a power of 920 watts, which, in our opinion, will be in the greatest demand. All power supplies of this line are distinguished by high efficiency rates, which are over 85%. All power supplies comply with EPS12V 2.92 standards, which guarantees the ability to use the device in any modern system unit.
Complete set.— picture is clickable —
The power supply comes in a large black box with the Revolution 85+ series written on the front in large letters.
In fact, there is nothing revolutionary in the efficiency over 85%, especially since the device meets the specifications of 80 Plus Silver. To date, there are series 80 Plus Gold and 80 Plus Platinum, which represent even more stringent requirements for devices.
— picture is clickable —
The power supply package includes:
— power unit,
— instruction,
— modular power system cables,
— power cable,
— fastening screws,
— power cable ties,
— case fan
Visual inspection of the power supply.
— picture is clickable —
Externally, the power supply looks quite massive, as it weighs a lot. I would like to note a large cooling fan, which completely rests on the side walls and has a dimension of 139 mm. The fan has a speed controller, which provides the device with almost silent operation.
The fan is covered with a black grill grate.
— picture is clickable —
Specifications are printed on the top of the device. I would like to highlight the presence of four lines of 12 volts with 35 amperes each. This power is more than enough even for popular gaming solutions.
— picture is clickable —
The body of the power supply is made of thick-walled steel painted black. The Enermax emblem is placed on the front wall, which is a relevant and popular solution for modding cases.
— picture is clickable —
Connectors for power cables are located on the back wall. The main cable 24+8 pin was already connected. I would like to note that the 24-pin connector for the motherboard does not have a 20 + 4 split. This circumstance may prevent the use of a power supply with old motherboards.
— picture is clickable —
The power supply package includes a 120mm case fan with a three-pin connector, which has several different lighting options. We really liked the fan. Its MTBF exceeds 100,000 hours and is based on two ball bearings.
Power supply specifications.
1. Compliance with standards: ATX12V v2.31 and EPS 2.92
2. Quiet 139mm cooling fan
3. Certificate: 80 Plus Silver
4. Input voltage: 115~264V
5. Dimensions: 175 x 86 x 150mm
6. MTBF: 100,000 hours
Power supply test.
The power supply was tested on an extended configuration, which was assembled based on the components of two system units:
1. Core I7 920.
2. 3×2 Gb Hynix ffR3-1333 Original.
3. 3xSapphire Radeon HD 5870 CrossFire.Test conditions:
1.The system is assembled in a case.
2. The room is 26 degrees.
3. The load is changed by changing the voltage and overclocking on the system components.
4. Evaluation of power consumption and voltages is carried out on the corresponding connectors of the Molex and ATX 24 connectors using a multimeter.Although we were not able to load the power supply at 100% of the rated power, the results obtained show that it provides an unsurpassed level of voltage stability on all three lines. This is especially important for maintaining system performance over the entire breadth of the operating range.
Conclusion.
This line of power supplies from Enermax complies with the 80 Plus Silver standard. The only drawback of the tested power supply is its cost; for the cost of this power supply, you can easily pick up a similar product from another manufacturer that meets the higher energy efficiency standard 80 Plus Gold.