The XPG Cybercore II 1300W ATX 3.0 PSU Review: A Slightly More Modest High-End PSU
by E. Fylladitakis on July 14, 2023 8:00 AM ESTCold Test Results (~22°C Ambient)
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 XPG CYBERCORE II 1300W PSU meets the 80Plus Platinum efficiency certification requirements and does so regardless of the input voltage. Manufacturers commonly target their designs to meet the 80Plus certification requirements with an input voltage of 115 VAC due to the lower certification thresholds, frequently failing to meet the certification’s requirements with an input voltage of 230V. This is not the case here, as the CYBERCORE II does reach efficiency figures high enough to meet the 80Plus Platinum requirements regardless of the input voltage. With an input voltage of 115V, the CYBERCORE II 1300W PSU has a top efficiency of 93.1% and an average nominal load range (20% to 100% of the unit's capacity) efficiency of 92.2%. Switching the input voltage to 230 VAC increases the top efficiency to 94.1% and the average efficiency to 93.4%. We should also note that the efficiency is slightly improved over the first generation CYBERCORE units that we reviewed last year.
The cooling profile of the CYBERCORE II PSU is unconventional, and even significantly different from the first version of the series. It has the fan sitting immobile until the load hits around 600 Watts, even with an ambient temperature of 26°C, a figure that would trouble all passive PSU designers. When the fan does start, it immediately speeds up to about 1200 RPM, instantly reaching audible sound pressure levels that sharply increase with any increase of the load beyond 700 Watts, with the fan reaching its maximum speed when the CYBERCORE II 1300W unit is fully loaded. This cooling profile does cause high internal temperatures while the fan is deactivated but will keep the CYBERCORE II entirely quiet while any system is idling (and, in many cases, even while the system is loaded).
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Purpose - Friday, July 14, 2023 - link
Wow, a power supply with a Gentle Typhoon in it.PeachNCream - Friday, July 14, 2023 - link
Reevaluation of your life choices might be a better idea than scrimping coin on a "cheaper" 1300W PSU. If you feel you genuinely need something that can deliver that much power to provide yourself with amusement there's absolutely a problem and it has nothing to do at all with computer components.Threska - Monday, July 17, 2023 - link
Considering cases and PSUs have the longest retention, a PSU could see several generations of computer evolution where power requirements could go up. Never mind new uses, from personal AI, to VR/AR.PeachNCream - Monday, July 17, 2023 - link
Nevermind the fact that people are unlikely to demand that much from a single wall outlet on the average household circuit with homes easily 40 to 100 years old and no significant change in wiring. So new uses that add additional devices of that sort of demand are unlikely. Adding various energy costs and associated power-demand increases on the grid from growing numbers of electric vehicles that will spike costs - Yeah I'm going to say that's not well thought out reasoning.Purpose - Tuesday, July 18, 2023 - link
I read the conclusion as "less expensive" rather than "cheap." The voltage regulation is better than any other unit they tested, and the build quality is "commendable." In the conclusion's final paragraph he states "... presents a well-built and reliable power supply option, offering good power quality, efficient thermal management, and highly competitive noise levels.Doesn't really seem to be anything "cheap" about this power supply. It's just a good value for people who would need more power. Gamers wouldn't buy this, someone building a workstation would.
PeachNCream - Saturday, July 22, 2023 - link
Concur, which is why I said "cheaper" rather than "cheap" which implies lower price not bottom-of-barrel quality. The point remains though that there's few situations in which 1.3kW would be necessary and all of those situations reach well into "I'm a frantic idiot" territory.Samus - Saturday, July 15, 2023 - link
I just want a boring PSU with this build quality and that fan at half the watts for <$100. It seems most PSU's really cheap out on fans and when they are loaded, the noise output of whatever fan they have is likely drowned out by the rest of the system anyway.hennes - Saturday, July 15, 2023 - link
I also want the world for free, or for cheap. So maybe < $100 is not that realistic.But a well build platinum plus PSU, with no fan noise under normal operation and lasting multiple builds is something I am happy to pay for. No need for 1300W though, even with todays GPU power explosions a 800W is plenty.
(and just to confirm that, I now have a 850W, nmo fan till 40% load, platinum plus unit with good specs, though at over twice the $100 you mentioned)
Samus - Sunday, July 16, 2023 - link
It's hard to find good quality 650-700w PSU's anymore. My last two had poor quality fans and both needed replacing after a few years, and they were expensive PSU's. My other complaint is ATX 3.0 PSU's with the PCIe 5.0 connector all seem to be high output (1000w+ models) even though many cards on the market with a PCIe 5.0 connector are sub-300w cards (like the 4070Ti) with CPU's that are often in the 125w TDP range. A 650w PSU is perfectly matched to that spec.meacupla - Saturday, July 15, 2023 - link
It's pretty easy to do a fan swap mod on a PSU.