Enermax Gold: Modu87+ and Pro87+
by Christoph Katzer on January 19, 2010 1:00 PM EST- Posted in
- Cases/Cooling/PSUs
Temperatures, Fan Speed, and Acoustic Noise
We have tested these units in a chamber with a constant temperature of 50°C to see if they are up to the challenge and don't blow up on us. Well, what can we say? The graphs above show the output temperature measured 1cm in front of the rear vent on each power supply. The measured temperature is just a few degrees over the input temperature. This means that the components inside produce very little heat that actually needs to be dissipated. This is related to the high efficiency these units are able to achieve, as we will see on the next page.
When you switch on these units and the fan starts turning you can actually almost see each blade while it turns. Enermax came up with a very good fan motor design and IC. The company is therefore able to lower the fan speeds to incredible 330 RPM, which is normally only possible with a PWM fan control. Enermax cannot use that approach (without paying royalties) since Antec has a patent on PWM fan controllers inside power supplies.
The low fan RPM continues through most loads, and even when we loaded the power supplies to their limits and left them running for longer periods of time we were not able to clearly hear the fans. When you put your ear close to a unit you will be able to hear a very light hum under full load but that's about it. Under lower loads you will never hear the fan and this makes these units unbeatable compared to the current competition of fan-cooled power supplies. Since all three units have the same curve we only included the 500W unit on the above graphic.
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rudolphna - Tuesday, January 19, 2010 - link
Very nice to see a new PSU review on anandtech, I was worried you guys had forgotten what made you popular- reviews of real products not just blog after blog. I have a suggestion, if I may. The Antec Neo Eco 400W power supply. I actually just bought one, it seems like a good deal. It has a 30 amp 12V rail (360W) a 120mm fan, and is 80plus certified. Not sure who the OEM for it is, I'm thinking Seasonic. But you guys should check it out. Great review by the way.papapapapapapapababy - Tuesday, January 19, 2010 - link
good luck finding a replacement for that gold monstrosity. so that make this crap a n buy for me. You see, i like to change the fans on my psu ( better fans) in order to control them myself.strikeback03 - Wednesday, January 20, 2010 - link
Might still use 140mm mounting holes, and just be a 139mm fan to avoid a stupid patent.Calin - Wednesday, January 20, 2010 - link
Hard to think you'll need a fan better than that - 50 Celsius for the vented air and almost totally silent even at maximum load?I have an old Seasonic 350W (12 cm fan) which I felt was totally silent in typical operation (closed case, computer under desk), and after about four years it still is totally silent.
papapapapapapapababy - Wednesday, January 20, 2010 - link
is not hard to think _ for me_ the big fan dsnt follow a standard, it has no other use for me, if a buy 4 120 fans i could give the multiple uses/ ( psu replacement fan, case fan, cpu fan, low speed fan, high speed fan, etc, - btw cases with big fans are terrible) one huge big ass fan? no other user ¡ difficult to find = no thanks.papapapapapapapababy - Wednesday, January 20, 2010 - link
is not hard to think _ for me_ the big fan dsnt follow a standard, it has no other use for me, if a buy 4 120 fans i could give the multiple uses/ ( psu replacement fan, case fan, cpu fan, low speed fan, high speed fan, etc, - btw cases with big fans are terrible) one huge big ass fan? no other user ¡ difficult to find = no thanks.Voldenuit - Tuesday, January 19, 2010 - link
Why use such a cumbersome term as Cable Management (which refers primarily to the neatness of cable routing) when 'Modular' is much more apt (and specifically referred to in the product name)?Nobody makes 'cable management' PSUs, but quite a few companies make 'modular PSUs'.
Mumrik - Tuesday, January 19, 2010 - link
More comparisons (especially in the benchmarking) to competing products (rather than just the other two in the series) would really be nice. I actually have come to expect it at Anandtech.To me, this came off as a bit more of a fluff piece. Not a disguised commercial but more like something I'd find at most other hardware sites.
ap90033 - Friday, January 22, 2010 - link
I thought this was a good article on specific hardware. But then again I am not the uber geek with no life like some seem to be around here....RaistlinZ - Tuesday, January 19, 2010 - link
Geez, and I thought the X-Series was overpriced. Sure, these Enermax PSU's are efficient, but certainly not $50.00 more efficient than say, an Corsair 750HX. If they come with a $30.00 MIR then they might be worth the money, but otherwise I'll pass.