400-450W PSU Roundup
by Christoph Katzer on November 6, 2007 4:00 AM EST- Posted in
- Cases/Cooling/PSUs
Antec DC Outputs
The voltage distribution is good and we didn't encounter any problems. The 3.3V rail starts a little high at around 3% over the ideal of 3.30V, while the 5V rail starts at the ideal and drops down to the 5% specification limit at the highest loads. Both rails remain within specs, however. The 12V rail behaves similar to the 3.3V rail. It starts above 12.00V and drops to 3% below ideal.
The efficiency is good but not great, reaching 84% at medium load. It is rare to see that at medium load the unit reaches the same efficiency with both 120VAC and 230VAC. However, while the folks in Europe can be happy about good efficiency throughout the loading range (we measured more than 80% at any load above 85W), 120VAC users as usual will get lower efficiency at higher power draws.
Ripple & Noise Results
| Antec Earthwatts 430W | |||||
| PSU Load | 3.3V | 5V | 12V1 | 12V2 | Wattage All Rails |
| 10% | 1.34A | 1.34A | 1.28A | 1.28A | 46W |
| 20% | 2.68A | 2.68A | 2.57A | 2.57A | 87W |
| 50% | 6.70A | 6.70A | 6.42A | 6.42A | 208W |
| 80% | 10.72A | 10.72A | 10.27A | 10.27A | 340W |
| 100% | 13.40A | 13.40A | 12.84A | 12.84A | 422W |
| 110% | 14.74A | 14.74A | 14.12A | 14.12A | 461W |
The voltage distribution is good and we didn't encounter any problems. The 3.3V rail starts a little high at around 3% over the ideal of 3.30V, while the 5V rail starts at the ideal and drops down to the 5% specification limit at the highest loads. Both rails remain within specs, however. The 12V rail behaves similar to the 3.3V rail. It starts above 12.00V and drops to 3% below ideal.
The efficiency is good but not great, reaching 84% at medium load. It is rare to see that at medium load the unit reaches the same efficiency with both 120VAC and 230VAC. However, while the folks in Europe can be happy about good efficiency throughout the loading range (we measured more than 80% at any load above 85W), 120VAC users as usual will get lower efficiency at higher power draws.
Ripple & Noise Results
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Christoph Katzer - Tuesday, November 6, 2007 - link
Yep, otherwise it's just getting too long and I thought actually nobody is too interested in that analyses anyway. Let me work something out for the next ones...Ripple is also coming today, I updated the 1200-1300 roundup already.
Super Nade - Tuesday, November 6, 2007 - link
Good to know! I understand that it is going to take a considerable amount of work at the outset, to do a bit of design analysis, but once you have the popular topologies employed figured out it should be a lot less work.The length of the review is unimportant if it makes an interesting read. (Hypothetical example) Having 10 pages on the fans employed is going to be be boring. Since you have a wide audience with varying degree of technical appetite, the length of the review should not matter if the content is arranged appropriately.
Best wishes,
S-N
floffe - Tuesday, November 6, 2007 - link
When referring to the 8800GT article, it'd be nice to point out that those 327W from the wall was with SLI. A single card didn't get much over 200W, so even the Ultra should be able to run that, however horrible it otherwise is a a PSU.As for the market, I just wish someone would produce a high quality 300W modular PSU. That'd be plenty for my needs.
xsilver - Tuesday, November 6, 2007 - link
Would you be ok if they charged you the same as a 400w PSU? because for the manufacturers, they're not going to the trouble of making another PSU that costs them almost exactly the same to make.(its like asking for a car with only 15hp because thats all u need ;)
jonnyGURU - Tuesday, November 6, 2007 - link
Exactly. The cost difference at that level is rarely more than a $1. So if it costs me $30 to build a 400W, and $29 to build a 350W, etc. why would I bother?Souka - Wednesday, November 7, 2007 - link
maybe because some people "think" a 350w power supply consumes 50w less than a 400w power supply...:)
Hinkdog - Tuesday, July 21, 2020 - link
My 430 watt Antec Earthwatts that I bought in 2008 just failed. 12 years, pretty cool. Guess the 80mm fan didn't hurt its longevity. I know no one is going to read this in 2020 but wanted to post it anyway.