XSpice Croon 750w

Testing

Test Rig

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.

For comparison purposes, we’ve used the previously reviewed QPower.

Results

The XSpice has some pretty tight rails across the board, with it’s 12v being the worst at idle by being out by .3 of a V. However this is better than the Shiny QPower by a couple of decimal places. Stability wise, apart from the 12v rail, the XSpice performed very well indeed, with the voltages barely shifting when switching from idle to load states.

In regards to the PF and wattage results, the XSpice isn’t quite as efficient as the QPower, but it doesn’t do too badly. Wattage wise it does pretty well also, just beating the Qpower by a few watts.

For a full run down on PF ratings, check out our glossary entry here.

Noise

Unless you put your ear right next to the fan on the XSpice, it’s in-audible. I would go as far as to say that this PSU is MULNAZ. I think even those that want a completely silent setup, would be happy with this unit.

Cost

This 750w XSpice Croon will set you back £75 if you can find it, but it’s pretty difficult to do so. This is about average for 750w units, as the KW ones begin around 100 quid and move upwards from there.

Power supply units