Rosewill Capstone 450W and 650W 80Plus Gold
by Martin Kaffei on March 21, 2012 8:00 AM EST- Posted in
- Cases/Cooling/PSUs
- PSUs
- Rosewill
- Capstone
- 80 Plus Gold
Conclusion
With the Capstone series Rosewill provides very efficient power supplies in high-class cases. The ripple and noise voltage is low at all loads and performance is great. The total noise of the fan is satisfying as well, but a HDB fan would be better. Where things aren't so great is the number of Molex connectors (450W). The current market prices are influenced by what others traders are charging for similar product, and not surprisingly the cost is going to be quite a bit higher than lesser power supplies.
Compared to the Seasonic X-Series X-560, Rosewill used the same converter type. The Capstone series combines the resonant circuit with an asynchronous half bridge and DC-to-DC converter on the secondary side. This is still one of the best circuit designs for an output power between 400W and 700W. Since the switching losses are reduced to a minimum, other components do not warm up as much. The result is that the Capstone series has low operating temperatures and a moderately controlled fan. The high-quality capacitors and EMI filtering are well developed, which should also be mentioned. However, the manufacturer SuperFlower continues to use no MOVs on the AC side, but we don't want to overdo things. Rosewill chose a good manufacturer.
As shown in our performance section, the Capstone 450W reaches 92% efficiency at 230VAC. Especially at low load the efficiency is noteworthy, because 80 Plus Gold requires good values only at 20%, 50%, and 100% loads. The +12V output is well regulated during overload and crossload. The other output voltages are close to the optimal values as well. The fan noise is suitable for an 80Plus Gold PSU. But it's also important to consider the type of noise a PSU generates. There are differences in how a ball bearing sounds and how a sleeve bearing/HDB sounds, with the last-named generally being preferred. For a high-end PSU Rosewill should use Sanyo Denki fans or a hydro dynamic bearing. Overall, though, the acoustic noise is not bad for a 450W power supply.
With six SATA and six Molex connectors, the 650W model is fairly well equipped while the 450W version should get more Molex plugs. In addition it might be better to have the PCIe connectors distributed to multiple cables, at the cost of cable clutter, but the wire cross-section helps make up for this. The 24-pin and the 12V harnesses are 55cm and 60cm long, so the power supply is suitable for most large PC cases. The cable sleeving is relatively opaque. A minor complaint is that, apart from the necessary items for installation and a user manual, nothing else is included in the package. The competition often offers a few extras, like some cable ties, and given the target market the lack of any extras is underwhelming.
The current prices for the CapStone series are $ 80-110. For an 80 Plus Gold power supply with this quality, the price is quite good. There are other options worth a look of course. For example, the Seasonic X-560 provides a better quality, using full modular cables and a better fan. The FSP Aurum CM 650W is also very cheap, but it's louder and more expensive than the Capstone 650W. Other alternatives like the be quiet! E9 series and the Cougar GX 700W models are significantly more expensive, but also a little quieter under load or equipped with a well-processed case.
Overall, we like the solutions Rosewill presented. The Capstone series is recommendable for all enthusiasts who want to get the highest efficiency. Minor flaws like the missing MOVs and the relatively cheap fan should be taken into account. After all the Capstone series gets our Silver Editors' Choice award for providing a very high efficiency.
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33 Comments
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Martin Kaffei - Wednesday, March 21, 2012 - link
@adeceI tried to get some cheap PSUs but it's very difficult. Manufacturers won't give me samples. In addition I live in Germany so I can't buy local brands which are available in the USA.
But I had some cheap PSUs as well and some of them died spectacular. Others had no problems but efficiency and voltage regulation was quite bad. In addition the small number of connectors is always unfavorable.
4745454b - Wednesday, March 21, 2012 - link
I agree to a point.First, if you meant the uber cheap/junk are fine you are way wrong. Those on newegg that advertise "up to 75% efficient" are the ones I'm talking about. If you are buying a 600W PSU for $20, there is something wrong.
Second, I to have mentioned that you don't need the 80Gold or platinum PSUs. Big difference in energy savings between "up to 75%" and 90%. Not so much when looking at 85% and 90%. The extra cost of moving to gold/plat isn't worth it yet. I personally feel that 80bronze is the sweet spot right now. Gold is quickly moving down in price however and some of them are looking good.
If you mean you don't need these super high end ones I'd agree. But there is no way I'd run of those cheapo's that weighs less less then my shoes.
Concillian - Wednesday, March 21, 2012 - link
What I pay for power and what power my computer uses, the cost of power saved does exceed the extra cost of the unit over the life of the PSU if I buy a $70-80 gold vs. a $40 cheapie... so the article does have a purpose.Just because you are not the target audience doesn't make the article irrelevant.
MooseMuffin - Wednesday, March 21, 2012 - link
I've had 2 cheap power supplies die on me over the years, and the catch was that neither one of them would die alone. In both cases they took my videocard with it. Never again.just4U - Wednesday, March 21, 2012 - link
There are alot of really good power supplies in the $50 range and I think for most people they do the trick nicely... and with a level of confidence that it's not going to be some major piece of junk. The PSUs many of you are refering to are the ones we wouldn't pay a buck for (yeah.. you've seen them!)Anyway.. after that it's pretty much up to you.. can go better, but certainly don't want to go worse. Besides alot of psu's in all price ranges come on sale so there isn't really a reason to cheap out in that area. Bad enough the OEMs do it all the time.
crazyglue - Friday, March 23, 2012 - link
Having built untold # of systems for family, friends, & for sale over the last 10 or so years, early on, about 1/4 have failed due to cheap PSU's. Since replacing with better units (at my cost!) I've settled on PC P&C (not OCZ) & all are still purring away.. Many 24/7 home servers-media units... You got lucky I guess, but that's not the norm.....lbeyak - Wednesday, March 21, 2012 - link
I grew increasingly more annoyed every time I saw a new error, and eventually I decided to post about them.Page 2 - Paragraph 1
"According to the manufacturer's specifications, the hole series is SLI-ready and uses a single +12V output."
hole -> whole
Page 2 - Paragraph 2
"The 550W model can deliver 648W on +12V and up to 110W on +3.3V and +5V."
I think you meant 650W here, not 550W.
Page 3 - Paragraph 1
"Here we show how the 450W model looks like."
Here we show how the 450W model looks. OR Here we show what the 450W model looks like. would make more sense here.
Page 4 - Paragraph 1
"This time SuperFlower ist the manufacturer. In the prictures above we show the 650W version only since the 450W model consists of the same design."
ist -> is
prictures -> pictures
Page 6 - Paragraph 2
"The Capstone series combines the resontant circuit with an asynchronous half bridge and DC-to-DC converter on the secondary side."
resontant -> resonant
Page 6 - Paragraph 5
"The FSP Aurum CM 650W is also very cheap, but it's louder and more expensice than the Capstone 650W."
expensice -> expensive
While I appreciate speed of article delivery, I get quite annoyed at errors that could have been prevented easily. Most of these errors could have easily been caught with a simple spell check program. I was just surprised that there were quite a few errors for such a short review (compared to some others on the site).
Thanks for the good review though Martin.
Martin Kaffei - Wednesday, March 21, 2012 - link
Fixed. Thanks a lot.In my next life I would like to become an US citizen.
lbeyak - Wednesday, March 21, 2012 - link
I'm not sure what you mean by that, but I will note that I am a proud Canadian.:)
Martin Kaffei - Wednesday, March 21, 2012 - link
That's nice as well.