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Additional technical assistance: Peter McFarland and Jeremy Price.
Correctly testing power supplies is a complex procedure and KitGuru have configured a test bench which can deliver up to a 2,000 watt DC load. Due to public requests we have changed our temperature settings recently – previously we rated with ambient temperatures at 25C, we have increased ambient temperatures by 10c (to 35c) in our environment to greater reflect warmer internal chassis conditions.
We use combinations of the following hardware:
• SunMoon SM-268
• CSI3710A Programmable DC load (+3.3V and +5V outputs)
• CSI3711A Programmable DC load (+12V1, +12V2, +12V3, and +12V4)
• Extech Power Analyzer
• Extech MultiMaster MM570 digital multimeter
• Extech digital sound level meter
• Digital oscilloscope (20M S/s with 12 Bit ADC)
• Variable Autotransformer, 1.4 KVA
We test the EVGA SuperNova P2 1600 power supply with the fan in the ‘normal’ state.
|
DC Output Load Regulation
|
||||||||||
|
Combined DC Load |
+3.3V
|
+5V
|
+12V
|
+5VSB
|
-12V | |||||
|
A
|
V
|
A
|
V
|
A
|
V
|
A
|
V
|
A | V | |
|
500W
|
7.63
|
3.33
|
8.82
|
5.06
|
36.05
|
12.12
|
1.5
|
5.02
|
0.30 | -12.07 |
|
750W
|
12.63
|
3.33
|
14.12
|
5.05
|
52.06
|
12.09
|
2.0
|
5.02
|
0.30 | -12.07 |
|
1000W
|
17.75
|
3.33
|
20.00
|
5.05
|
72.25
|
12.06
|
2.5
|
5.01
|
0.50 | -12.08 |
| 1250W | 18.84 | 3.32 | 24.03 | 5.04 | 90.15 | 12.02 | 3.0 | 5.00 | 0.60 | -12.09 |
|
1500W
|
18.87
|
3.31
|
22.64
|
5.03
|
115.90
|
12.00
|
3.5
|
5.00
|
0.80 | -12.10 |
| 1600W | 10.00 | 3.30 | 10.00 | 5.02 | 125.00 | 11.96 | 3.5 | 5.00 | 0.80 | -12.12 |
Load regulation is stellar, even when delivering the full 1600 watts of power.
| EVGA SuperNOVA P2 1600 Power Supply | Maximum Load |
| 1788W |
We managed to get the PSU to achieve 1788W before it would shut down, delivering around 188W more than the rated specifications.
Next we want to try Cross Loading. This basically means loads which are not balanced. If a PC for instance needs 500W on the +12V outputs but something like 30W via the combined 3.3V and +5V outputs then the voltage regulation can fluctuate badly.
| Cross Load Testing | +3.3V | +5V | +12V | -12V | +5VSB | |||||
| A | V | A | V | A | V | A | V | A | V | |
| 1150W | 3.0 | 3.33 | 2.0 | 5.05 | 92.0 | 12.02 | 0.2 | -12.03 | 0.50 | 5.01 |
| 250W | 20.0 | 3.30 | 24.0 | 5.02 | 5.0 | 12.08 | 0.2 | -12.02 | 0.50 | 5.00 |
The EVGA SuperNova P2 1600 produced some killer results in the cross loading test. No discernible weaknesses.
We then used an oscilloscope to measure AC ripple and noise present on the DC outputs. We set the oscilloscope time base to check for AC ripple at both high and low ends of the spectrum.
ATX12V V2.2 specification for DC output ripple and noise is defined in the ATX 12V power supply design guide.
|
ATX12V Ver 2.2 Noise/Ripple Tolerance
|
|
|
Output
|
Ripple (mV p-p)
|
|
+3.3V
|
50
|
|
+5V
|
50
|
|
+12V1
|
120
|
|
+12V2
|
120
|
|
-12V
|
120
|
|
+5VSB
|
50
|
Obviously when measuring AC noise and ripple on the DC outputs the cleaner (less recorded) means we have a better end result. We measured this AC signal amplitude to see how closely the unit complied with the ATX standard.
| AC Ripple (mV p-p) | ||||
| DC Load | +3.3V | +5V | +12V | 5VSB |
| 500W | 10 | 5 | 5 | 5 |
| 750W | 10 | 5 | 5 | 5 |
| 1000W | 10 | 5 | 10 | 5 |
| 1250W | 15 | 5 | 15 | 5 |
| 1500W | 15 | 10 | 15 | 10 |
| 1600W | 15 | 10 | 15 | 10 |
Fantastic ripple suppression, and yet again figures that any manufacturer would be pleased to produce. As good as we have seen in a high power unit such as this.
|
Efficiency (%)
|
|
|
500W
|
92.14
|
|
750W
|
94.21
|
|
1000W
|
94.01
|
|
1250W
|
93.17
|
| 1500W | 92.83 |
| 1600W | 92.12 |
Overall efficiency is class leading, peaking at 94.3% when delivering between 750 and 850 watts.
We take the issue of noise very seriously at KitGuru and this is why we have built a special home brew system as a reference point when we test noise levels of various components. Why do this? Well this means we can eliminate secondary noise pollution in the test room and concentrate on components we are testing. It also brings us slightly closer to industry standards, such as DIN 45635.
Today to test the power supply we have taken it into our acoustics room environment and have set our Digital Sound Level Noise Decibel Meter Style 2 one meter away from the unit. We have no other fans running so we can effectively measure just the noise from the unit itself.
As this can be a little confusing for people, here are various dBa ratings in with real world situations to help describe the various levels.
KitGuru noise guide
10dBA – Normal Breathing/Rustling Leaves
20-25dBA – Whisper
30dBA – High Quality Computer fan
40dBA – A Bubbling Brook, or a Refrigerator
50dBA – Normal Conversation
60dBA – Laughter
70dBA – Vacuum Cleaner or Hairdryer
80dBA – City Traffic or a Garbage Disposal
90dBA – Motorcycle or Lawnmower
100dBA – MP3 Player at maximum output
110dBA – Orchestra
120dBA – Front row rock concert/Jet Engine
130dBA – Threshold of Pain
140dBA – Military Jet takeoff/Gunshot (close range)
160dBA – Instant Perforation of eardrum
|
Noise (dBA)
|
|
|
500W
|
28.0
|
|
750W
|
28.6
|
|
1000W
|
32.9
|
|
1250W
|
33.7
|
| 1500W | 34.2 |
| 1600W | 35.8 |
Due to the extreme efficiency of the power supply, the fan is never tasked particularly hard. Noise levels at or below 1000Watts are exceptionally good. At 1300 watts, the fan ramps up and it becomes audible, although never too intrusive.
|
Temperature (c)
|
||
|
Intake
|
Exhaust
|
|
|
500W
|
36
|
39
|
|
750W
|
37
|
41
|
|
1000W
|
42
|
48
|
|
1250W
|
46
|
53
|
|
1500W
|
48
|
55
|
| 1600W | 51 | 62 |
The large fan copes with the heat inside the chassis, spinning more actively as the load increases above 1,000 watts.
|
Maximum load
|
Efficiency
|
|
1788W
|
90.8
|
At 1788W, the efficiency level is still good, measuring 90.8%. Not a practical situation to be running 24/7, but worth noting.
Who the fuck needs a 1600 watts PSU nowadays with Intel Haswell mere 88 W TDP and Nvidia GM204 low 165 W TDP???
Even with a workstation running 2 X Haswell Xeon and 4 X GM204 GPU, that’s still only 836 W! Add on top a “worse case scenario” 100 W for the motherboard, 3 more PCI-e expansion card, 64GB of RAM, 2 X SSD, 4 X hard drives and a dual water cooling loop for CPU/GPU, and you don’t even break the 1000 W barrier!
For a regular single air cooled i7-4790K, 32GB RAM and 2 X GTX 980, 2 X SSD in RAID0 and 2 X hard drives in RAID1 + a few accessories and motherboard, you are looking at WELL below 600 watts, even overcloked! 800 W PSU are already overkill now, imagine 1600 W…