The Fractal Design Ion+ 760P 80Plus Platinum PSU Review: A High-End PSU For the Mainstream Builder

Cold Test Results

For the testing of PSUs, we are using high precision electronic loads with a maximum power draw of 2700 Watts, a Rigol DS5042M  40 MHz oscilloscope, an Extech 380803 power analyzer, two high precision UNI-T UT-325 digital thermometers, an Extech HD600 SPL meter, a self-designed hotbox and various other bits and parts. For a thorough explanation of our testing methodology and more details on our equipment, please refer to our How We Test PSUs - 2014 Pipeline post.

The energy conversion efficiency of the new Ion+ 760P at room temperature is excellent, even for an 80Plus Platinum certified product. Considering the 80Plus Platinum certification requirements for either 230 VAC or 115 VAC input, the Ion+ 760P significantly surpasses the minimum required efficiency at any given load. It reaches up to 94.4% efficiency at 50% load with an input voltage of 230 VAC, which drops to 92.6% if the input voltage is 115 VAC. The average nominal load (20%-100%) efficiency is 93.1% and 91.3% with an input voltage of 230 VAC and 115 VAC respectively. Considering that 80Plus certification testing takes place at temperatures lower than the current ambient temperature of our testing environment (room temperature is defined as 25 °C and that is used for 80Plus certification tests, while our room temperature was over 27 °C at the time of our testing), the efficiency of the Ion+ 760P is well above the minimum 80Plus Platinum requirements.

We tested the Ion+ 760P with the semi-fanless mode activated, where the fan is programmed not to start until necessary. Despite the relatively high room temperature, the fan of the PSU did not start before the load exceeded 300 Watts, which is comparatively speaking a very high tripping point for semi-fanless designs. After that point, the fan started and continued to increase its speed alongside with the load and yet barely reached up to 40% of its maximum speed at full load, with our instruments reading 38 dB(A). The operating temperature of the Ion+ 760P is very low for a unit with this kind of output, barely reaching over 55 °C under maximum load.