FSP Hydro PTM 650W Power Supply Review

1. Introduction2. Packaging, Contents & Exterior3. Teardown & Component Analysis4. Load Regulation, Hold-Up Time & Inrush Current5. Efficiency, Temperature & Noise6. Protection Features & DC Power Sequencing7. Cross-Load Tests & Infrared Images8. Transient Response Tests9. Ripple Measurements10. EMC Pre-Compliance Testing11. Performance, Value, Noise & Efficiency12. Final Analysis13. View All Pages

The FSP Hydro PTM 650W retails for $120 in the US market, quite a steep asking price tag given that its major opponent, the Seasonic Focus Plus Platinum 650, is currently sold at $108. FSP should consider lowering this product's price, in order to keep up with the competition and increase the performance per buck ratio.

The major selling points of the HPT650M are the silent operation and the fact that it is one of the very few 650W units equipped with a pair of EPS connectors. However there is a catch here, for a weird reason FSP chose to install both those connectors onto the same cable, so if you have a power hungry CPU (or CPUs in case you have a server mainboard), then you might run into issues.

In my opinion it would be much better if FSP provided two dedicated EPS cables featuring only a single connector each, and made one of them compatible with the PCIe sockets. This way you would be only allowed two EPS and two PCIe connectors at the same time, or a single EPS and four PCIe connectors. Since this is a 650W unit clearly it cannot deal with two EPS and four PCIe at the same time, if the system that it feeds with power uses potent and probably highly overclocked parts.

The ripple suppression is great however there is room for improvement in the load regulation section. Moreover, the hold-up time is low and the transient response on all rails is mediocre, with the only exception being the 3.3V rail where performance is even worse! Although this rail is not so important any more – competitors perform better, so FSP has to keep up by applying the necessary fixes to the corresponding circuit.

The unit's transient response might not be good, however the situation gets better in the turn-on tests with the HPT650M delivering excellent results. Another commendable aspect with this unit is the highly efficient 5VSB rail which sets a benchmark for their competitors. At this time most OEMs don't care about improving this rail's efficiency performance so FSP are clearly standing out in the market.

The cooling fan is of high quality since you can never go wrong with a Protechnic Electric FDB fan, and the fan profile is super relaxed without creating problems for the platform's reliability, according to my IR camera's results.

The HPT650M certainly packs lots of great features into the design and the overall performance is high, however we still feel in some areas they fall short of the market leaders. We are currently awaiting UK stock and pricing.

Pros:

• Delivered full power at 47°C.
• High enough overall performance.
• Silent operation.
• Efficient.
• Highly efficient 5VSB rail.
• Good ripple suppression.
• Quality electrolytic caps.
• FDB fan.
• 2x EPS connectors (installed on the same cable though).
• Fully modular.
• 10-year warranty.

Cons:

• The soldering quality could be improved.
• Mediocre transient response on all rails (especially at 3.3V).
• The pair of EPS connectors is installed on the same cable.
• Low hold-up time.
• Limited number (3) of 4-pin Molex connectors.
• Not so compact dimensions.

KitGuru says: In general the HPT650M packs lots of interesting features into the design, however there are some areas where improvements are required. If FSP's engineers manage to address most of the issues that we highlight in the review, this product can be a good alternative to the highly popular Seasonic Focus Plus Platinum platform. A lower price, at around 100 dollars, would surely help, as well.

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