Fractal Design NEWTON R3 1000W PSU Review

1. Introduction2. Fractal Design NEWTON R3 1000W (Bundle/Cabling)3. Fractal Design NEWTON R3 1000W (External)4. Fractal Design NEWTON R3 1000W (Internal)5. Fractal Design NEWTON R3 1000W (Super High Res Gallery)6. Testing Methodology & Results7. Closing Thoughts8. View All Pages

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 – 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
• SkyTronic DSL 2 Digital Sound Level Meter (6-130dBa)
• Digital oscilloscope (20M S/s with 12 Bit ADC)
• Variable Autotransformer, 1.4 KVA

DC Output Load Regulation
Combined DC Load	+3.3V		+5V		+12V		+5VSB		-12V
	A	V	A	V	A	V	A	V	A	V
100W	1.55	3.39	1.78	5.08	6.67	12.21	0.50	5.04	0.20	-12.05
250W	3.44	3.38	4.46	5.07	17.15	12.19	1.00	5.04	0.30	-12.05
500W	7.06	3.37	9.16	5.06	34.66	12.14	2.00	5.03	0.50	-12.06
750W	11.07	3.35	13.75	5.05	52.73	12.08	2.50	5.03	0.60	-12.07
1000W	16.88	3.34	18.97	5.05	71.98	12.04	3.00	5.03	0.80	-12.08

Load regulation is good, with only minor variance across the rails.

Fractal Design NEWTON R3 1000W PSU	Maximum Load
	1114W

We managed to get another 114W from the power supply before the protection circuitry kicked in. The protection circuitry worked well and the unit restarted with a lower demand.

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
885W	2.0	3.38	2.0	5.08	72.0	12.02	0.2	-12.04	0.50	5.02
240W	20.0	3.34	24.0	5.03	2.0	12.19	0.2	-12.05	0.50	5.04

The power supply handled these tests very well, fluctuating only a little and well within specifications.

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
100W	25	20	15	15
250W	30	25	20	15
500W	30	30	30	20
750W	35	40	40	20
1000W	40	45	50	25

Ripple suppression falls within the rated tolerance guidelines set out by the industry however they are far from the best we have measured in the last year. The minor rails are not great, with the +5V peaking at 45mV at full load. The +3.3V output peaks at 40mV which is within tolerance guidelines, but again quite high. The +12V output peaks at 50mV which is well within the parameters.

These results are overall a little disappointing.

Efficiency (%)
100W	87.5
250W	92.8
500W	93.9
750W	92.8
1000W	91.9

The Fractal Design NEWTON R3 1000W PSU is very efficient, peaking at almost 94% at 50 percent load. This drops to around 92 percent efficiency at full load.

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 SkyTronic DSL 2 Digital Sound Level Meter (6-130dBa) 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 Refridgerator
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)
100W	<28.0
250W	<28.0
500W	30.1
750W	33.2
1000W	35.3

The Fractal Design NEWTON R3 1000W PSU is quiet until around 750W is demanded and the fan spins up to compensate. At 100% load the noise is rated around 35.3 dBa, audible but never that intrusive.

Temperature (c)
	Intake	Exhaust
100W	35	38
250W	35	43
500W	38	48
750W	43	52
1000W	46	55

The fan is quite inactive until around 700W load when it spins up. The temperature results are very good as the fan becomes actively more aggressive in the last 20% of load.

Maximum load	Efficiency
1114W	90.6

Pushing the power supply above its rated limits generates an efficiency level of around 90.6%. This is not a viable ‘real world’ situation, but its interesting nonetheless.

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