The BitFenix Formula Gold 650W PSU Review: Balanced
by E. Fylladitakis on June 13, 2018 8:00 AM EST- Posted in
- Cases/Cooling/PSUs
- PSUs
- 80Plus Gold
- bitfenix
- 650W
Hot Test Results
In the following tables we can see that the BitFenix Formula Gold 650W delivers fair power quality. The maximum voltage ripple on the 12V line is 34 mV, which may be an unimpressive figure nowadays but it is just 28% of the ATX design guide's recommended 120 mV limit. The filtration on the minor 3.3V/5V lines is a little worse, with the ripple reaching 22 mv (44% of the 50 mV ATX design guide recommended limit). On the contract, voltage regulation on the 3.3V/5V lines is at 0.5%, an exceptional figure, whereas the regulation of the 12V line reaches 1.4%. Keeping in mind the class of the product, these figures are excellent.
| Main Output | ||||||||
| Load (Watts) | 131.08 W | 326.57 W | 487.81 W | 647.02 W | ||||
| Load (Percent) | 20.17% | 50.24% | 75.05% | 99.54% | ||||
| Amperes | Volts | Amperes | Volts | Amperes | Volts | Amperes | Volts | |
| 3.3 V | 1.78 | 3.35 | 4.45 | 3.35 | 6.67 | 3.33 | 8.89 | 3.33 |
| 5 V | 1.78 | 5.03 | 4.45 | 5.02 | 6.67 | 5.02 | 8.89 | 5.01 |
| 12 V | 9.6 | 12.1 | 24.01 | 12.05 | 36.01 | 12 | 48.02 | 11.93 |
| Line | Regulation (20% to 100% load) |
Voltage Ripple (mV) | |||||
| 20% Load | 50% Load | 75% Load | 100% Load | CL1 12V |
CL2 3.3V + 5V |
||
| 3.3V | 0.5% | 12 | 16 | 20 | 22 | 12 | 20 |
| 5V | 0.5% | 14 | 16 | 18 | 22 | 14 | 22 |
| 12V | 1.4% | 12 | 18 | 26 | 34 | 30 | 28 |
Operation in high ambient temperatures affects the performance of the Formula Gold 650W PSU by a measurable, yet reasonable amount. The average nominal load range (20%-100%) efficiency drops by 0.8% regardless of the input voltage, going down to an average of 90.1% (230 VAC) / 88.2% (115 VAC). The efficiency drop is miniscule at lower loads but is more significant at high loads, suggesting that the components of the PSU are getting slightly thermally stressed under these conditions.
A look at our temperature graphs comes to back up our previous assumption, as the internal temperatures of the Formula Gold 650W PSU are quite high for a unit with this kind of power output. The thermal control does make an effort to keep the temperatures within reasonable levels, forcing the fan to spin a lot faster than before. Although the fan reaches uncomfortable noise levels with a load of just 300 Watts, it is unable to halt the ever-rising temperature. The Formula Gold 650W PSU barely works at maximum load under these conditions, as the temperatures are right before the point where its thermal protection would shutdown the unit.
Unlike operation in room temperature, the thermal control circuit will continuously increase the fan's speed under these conditions. The increase rate is almost linear, meaning that every increase on the unit's load will also increase the unit's noise output. The noise coming from the PSU's fan reached uncomfortable figures with a load of 300 Watts, with the sound pressure level going above 50 dB(A) at maximum load.
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negar2000 - Sunday, June 17, 2018 - link
thanks for the commentrocky12345 - Monday, June 18, 2018 - link
It looks like a fairly good entry level power supply that will not destroy your equipment at a decent price but I am sure there are other brands out there in the same price point that are just as good or better.I happen to like Seasonic & InWin power supplies since they both build their own power supplies. Unlike a lot of the others that also sell power supplies under their own names. Not saying any of them are bad or good but am saying I would just rather buy form the company that actually builds them and that's just my own thoughts & opinion on it.