550W Roundup: Three PSUs at Different Prices
by Martin Kaffei on October 28, 2010 4:00 PM ESTTechsolo Voltage Regulation and Quality
| +3.3V regulation | |
| Load | Voltage |
| 10% | 3.35V (+1.52%) |
| 20% | 3.32V (+0.61%) |
| 50% | 3.23V (-2,12%) |
| 80% | |
| 100% | |
| 110% | |
| +5V regulation | |
| Load | Voltage |
| 10% | 5.06V (+1.2%) |
| 20% | 4.99V (-0.2%) |
| 50% | 4.79V (-4.2%) |
| 80% | |
| 100% | |
| 110% | |
| +12V regulation | |
| Load | Voltage 12V1/V2 |
| 10% | 12.01V (+0.17%)/ 12.02V (+0.18%) |
| 20% | 11.99V (-0.08%)/ 12.02V (+0.18%) |
| 50% | 11.93V (-0.58%)/ 11.90V (-0.83%) |
| 80% | |
| 100% | |
| 110% | |
Uh oh! As you can see, the PSU died after 50% load—the two main switches exploded! All the rails are still within specification at 50%, but you can see large voltage drops and +5V is close to the limit of -5%. +12V stays stable with more than 11.90V at all tested loads, but naturally the failure at 80% load is a major black mark.
Ripple and Noise
| +3.3V ripple quality | |
| Load | Ripple and noise |
| 10% | 7.20mV |
| 20% | 7.70mV |
| 50% | 14.30mV |
| 80% | |
| 100% | |
| 110% | |
| +5V ripple quality | |
| Load | Ripple and noise |
| 10% | 7.90mV |
| 20% | 11.70mV |
| 50% | 21.40mV |
| 80% | |
| 100% | |
| 110% | |
| +12V ripple quality | |
| Load | Ripple and noise |
| 10% | 19.50mV |
| 20% | 32.90mV |
| 50% | 63.70mV |
| 80% | |
| 100% | |
| 110% | |
The ripple and noise results aren't that bad, but the ripple on +12V could be lower. 64mV is half of the spec, but we've seen worse results there. In fact, some $150 PSUs aren't better here, but deliver the full power and shut down if there is a problem. Again, the failure of the Techsolo at 80% is a key point; it may kill your hardware, so stay away from this product.
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Gonemad - Wednesday, November 3, 2010 - link
I had a Thermaltake ThoughPower (can't remember exact model) that performed fairly for 5 years. It operated non-stop for 1 year in-between that time. I bought it separately from a Thermaltake Case, that had several fans. Worth every dime, both of them.But...
I had to replace an original case fan, so I decided "what t'e hell' and slapped a cheap-o-dozen fan in its place. VERY. BAD. IDEA.
The whole thing worked fine for 6 months, then the ASUS metering software showed steady voltage dropping, curiously on the 3.3V rail as I later found out. Then it alarmed in an intermittent fashion, for no apparent reason, as it got to 10% Low Voltage on that rail.
Guess what? The fan LOCKED, and effectively pushed the PSU to 110% or above (who knows?), FOR FREAKING 6 MONTHS.
THE PSU DIDN´T QUIT ON ME.
As I opened it for regular maintenance (hey, 6 months, remember?) I found the locked fan, and a funny smell that could be felt only very near the PSU vent. You know the smell, don't you? That's the smell of a dying PSU. The fan almost burned my hand when I touched it, proving that the PSU was not at fault; in fact, it performed above and beyond any expectation, and possibly avoided a fire hazard. It was still operational when I removed it, but the smell was ever greater each time it was turned on, even for a few minutes, proving the whole thing had collapsed after all that operating time. The fan didn't short out, which would have triggered any safety (fuse, probably?) on the PSU, it just didn't rotate anymore on its bearings, and became a power drainer on the circuit, eating away the average life-time of the component.
The good PSU purchase decision not only proved a wise decision, it avoided me lots of hassle and grief. The cheap fan, on the other hand, destroyed a perfectly good piece of equipment.
"Caveat Emptor" indeed.
gurboura - Saturday, November 6, 2010 - link
It seems right from the start that you have something against TechSolo, you also talk about how it was loud at almost 30dbA, but yet, the Antec is at 32 and the OCZ tops at 26, still close to that 30dbA level."If you want to have a silent computer, please buy another power supply and protect your ears." Couldn't this have been said the same for the Antec since it was actually louder than the TechSolo?
When doing doing these type of articles your supposed to have an unbiased opinion and its pretty obvious from the start that that wasn't true.