February 15th, 2011

Nesteq Xzero 500w

Results Continued

Prime95 (approx. 370W)

Nesteq Xzero 500w Review

Prime95 + 3Dmark Vantage (approx. 450W)

Nesteq Xzero 500w Review

Looking at the results on the whole, we must first point out that all the results are well within ATX specifications and most are very close to the stated rail voltage.
Compared to the other units, most of which have a high max
power output, the readings are not quite as tight as say the CP-850. The 5V rail particularly was always over 0.1V out; not a great deal it may seem but if we are nit-picking it could be a little tighter.

Power Consumption & PF rating

	PF Standby	PF Idle	PF Load	Watt Standby	Watt Idle	Watt Load
Antec CP-850	0.87	0.89	0.98	4	201	445
NOX Apex 700W	0.86	0.94	0.97	2	206	434
Seventeam V-Force 650W	0.88	0.93	0.96	5	211	428
Cooler Master Silent Pro M 500W	0.87	0.94	0.99	3	200	437
Nesteq ASM Xzero 500W	0.87	0.94	0.97	5	203	430

N.B. Load achieved here using Prime95 + 3Dmark Vantage.

In regards to efficiency, the results are about average and there’s not really much to say. It’s not going to wow you with very high efficiency but then neither is it going to shoot up your electricity bill.

Noise

The ASM mode does live up to its claim in being totally silent, well it would have been hard not too with the fan not spinning. However, when the fan does kick in at 65 degrees, it does churn out a fair bit of noise and this may, in part, be due to the older sleeve bearing which does produce a few vibrations too.

But, on the whole the ASM mode is very impressive indeed and much better than conventional PSUs which have fans spinning at all times.