QPower 1050w
Testing
Methodology
Testing power supplies is a fairly simple process compared to other products. The unit is hooked up to the most powerful hardware we have available at the time, and left in an idle state for 30 minutes. After that time, we use a multimeter plugged into the ATX power connector, and a PF and wattage meter for their results respectively. Then, the PC(s) that the unit is powering are loaded as far as they can go to guarantee maximum power draw, and the results are taken again.
The software used to load the PC was S&M on 2 of the CPU’s cores, and our Crysis benchmark running at full tilt ("high" settings for everything, 8 x AA and 1600*1200) to load the GPU and the other 2 CPU cores.
Thanks to XFX, for the motherboard, and Sapphire for the GPU.
Test Rig
| Processor | Intel Core 2 Duo E9450 @ 3.2 GHZ, 1.475V |
|---|---|
| Motherboard | XFX 790i Ultra |
| RAM | Crucial DDR3 12800 2GB @ 1600 MHZ 2.0V |
| Graphics Card | Sapphire HD 4870 X2 |
| HDD | Hitachi Deskstar 250GB |
| OS | Windows XP Pro x86 |
Results
The Qpower manages to perform very well indeed, with it’s rails barely shifting when switching form idle to load states. The rails are also pretty tight with the 3.3v and 5v rails being out by only .1 and .2 under load as the worst results there. Unfortunately the 12v rail was far worse, being .4v from the Ideal when at idle, but improving to 12.2 when the PSU was fully loaded.
|
Standby
|
Idle
|
Load
|
|
|---|---|---|---|
| PF |
0.19
|
0.9
|
0.96
|
| Watts |
6
|
308
|
521
|
The PF ratings and wattages are always interesting to look at, as although these graphics cards are supposed to "need" hundreds and hundreds of watts, it’s quite clear from this test, that even with our test setup at full tilt, it only truly pulled 521 watts at full load.
Noise Levels
Throughout operation, the QPower unit was damn quiet. I’d almost say it was silent, if under load it didn’t have a slight electronic whine. Those who need absolute silence wouldn’t like it, but anyone else would be more than happy with the noise levels of this unit.
Cost
Currently, the Qpower 1050 isn’t available in the UK. However, it will become available in the next few weeks, and should retail for around £100. This is an average price for this kind of model. Usually the more expensive ones around the £130 – £150 mark, have additional features like modular cabling or advanced cooling.
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