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 multi-meter plugged into the ATX power connector. 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 CPU Burn-In 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 resolution) to load the GPU and the other 2 CPU cores.

Results

These results clearly show the rails to be very tight. Also, there does not appear to be much movement in the voltages when going from idle to load. This proves the Enermax Pro 82+ unit to be a rock stable power supply. That said, the 12v rail is out by over .2 of a volt at idle, and almost as much at load. It’s a pretty stable rail, but it’s straying a little from ideal.

Noise

This is a factor I deeply care about. A loud whirring fan can easily annoy most of us. Unfortunately they’re not as easy as our case fans to replace either. Luckily though, some bodge-job modification to the fan is not needed; the Enermax’s spinner really is a quiet one. It’s actually quieter than my Xthermal case fan. Amazing.

Cost

The Enermax Pro 82+ 425W is right on the money. At just £43 there are not a lot of other high-end units in this price boundary. For this price, 400W seems to be the typical, so that extra 25W is always nice.