Testing

Big thank you to CryoPC for providing the following test rig:

CPU: Core i5 750 @ 4GHZ
Motherboard: Asus P7P55D-E
GPU: Sapphire 5850 1GB
RAM: Corsair Dominator 4GB PC3-12800 DDR3
Storage: Samsung F3 500GB 16MB
CASE: NZXT Hades

Methodology

Here at XSReviews, we don’t have the money for a full test bench when it comes to PSUs. Load testers cost thousands of pounds which unfortunately we just don’t have. Because of this, we don’t pretend to test the rail stability or efficiency of a PSU, as we simply can’t do it effectively.

However, what we can do is test the Ripple/Noise quality of each rail using an oscilloscope. The one used was USB Instruments Stingray DS1M12 using HP 3060 probes and also in line with ATX specifications, I used 10uF and 0.1uF capacitors to simulate added load.

Noise / Ripple Results

For a rundown of what noise/ripple is and why it’s important to test it, check out my last PSU review here.

The figure to note in the following images is the peak-peak voltage, the second reading.

3v

5v

12v+

12v–

Each tested rail is well within the safe range. However, the 3v and 5v rails do come a little close to the maximum. There are better PSUs out there in terms of noise/ripple, though this one shouldn’t cause any problems.

Conclusion

While far from a full test suite, we can at least confirm today that this PSU is more than safe for use. For a test of this unit’s efficiency capabilities, we’d recommend checking out a review from one of the bigger sites.

It’s a good looking PSU – though if you open it you’ll have to wreck the fancy stickers – and it’s incredibly quiet. Despite ramping the rig up with GPU and CPU load software, I didn’t hear a peep out of the PSU or its whirring fan.

At £90-£100, this isn’t the cheapt PSU around, but it’s far from extortionate.

Pros

• Passes noise/ripple test
• Looks good
• Quiet
• Nice braided cables
• Cables are on opposite side for easier management

Cons

• Stickers are wrecked during opening
• Not the greatest noise/ripple results
• Bundle is a bit lacklustre