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Today we take a look at a new power supply from FSP – the Vita GM 850W. This power supply slots into a new range of models between 650 Watt and 1000 Watt capacities. With a small 140mm footprint and fully modular design, these units are able to fit into many smaller chassis on the market. Should the new range of Vita GM power supplies be making your shortlist? We find out today.
The first thing to note is that these FSP Vita GM units do not adopt a semi-passive fan operation like most other models we have reviewed in recent months. These units are labelled at 80 Plus Gold – but FSP seem to be hitting much higher levels of efficiency lately in our tests. Cybenetics also certify this power supply as GOLD based on literature we received from the company.
FSP are releasing these power supplies in both black and white.
Features:
- Complies with ATX 12V V3.1 & EPS 12V V2.92
- Efficiency ≧ 90% @ typical load
- 80 PLUS ® gold certified
- Cybenetics gold certified (750W / 850W / 1000W)
- 105°C Japanese bulk capacitor
- 120mm hydraulic bearing ( HYB ) fan
- Fully modular cabling design
- Complete protections: OCP, OVP, SCP, OPP, UVP, OTP
The FSP Vita GM 850W box highlights the unit on the front along with the 80 Plus Gold certification. There's no mention of the Cybenetics certification sadly.
The rear of the box places a lot of focus on the cables along with a few graphs highlighting noise levels and efficiency.
The box is split into two sections – one side home to the accessories and cables, the other, the PSU itself. I was a little shocked to see the power supply not protected inside any kind of foam shell – it is just wrapped in a plastic bag.
Inside the box is some literature on the power supply, along with mounting screws and cable ties. A regional specific power cable is also included. The power supply cables are wrapped into two bundles.
Most of the cables are flat, ribbon style for ease of routing when building. The ATX cable is 600mm long. The PCIe cable is 700mm long. The EPS power cables are 700mm long. All of the other cables are 650mm with 150mm separating the connectors.
The FSP Vita GM 850W power supply measures 140x150x86mm (LxWxH). This is a small power supply which will suit a wide variety of large and small cases on the market today.
The fan is underneath a solid grille on top of the unit. It looks quite stylish, but it's quite a thick grille – hopefully it won't interfere too much with airflow when we get around to testing.
One side of the power supply is home to a vented panel, a power connector and power switch. As mentioned, there is no semi-passive fan button on these units.
The modular bay on the other side of the power supply is split across several rows, with each connector labelled. On the far left is a triple row of peripheral connector slots.
The FSP VITA GM 850W delivers 20A via the +3.3V and +5V rails and 70.83A via the +12V rail.
FSP have adopted a Yate Loon rifle bearing fan. Model D12SH-12, 12V 0.30A. These fans are not known to be as good as some on the market from companies such as Hong Hua (who manufacture some good fluid dynamic bearing models). I was quite surprised to see this fan adopted and will analyse the performance and cooling profile later in the review.
FSP are similar to Seasonic, in that they design and manufacture their own supplies, omitting the need for a third party ‘OEM'. The design inside is well put together, and clean in layout. As some of the photographs above highlight, the secondary capacitors have plenty of exposed airflow from above.
This is a fairly commonplace half bridge topology on the primary side with an LLC resonant converter generating lossless switching. A pair of PWM controllers generate the minor rails. Soldering quality on the PCB is really very good overall.
The Primary capacitor is a TK (Toshin Kogyo) – a quality Japanese brand. It is rated 105C 450V at 680uF output. It also offers OCP, OVP, SCP, OPP. UVP and OTP protections.
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. We run at 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 in a single +12V configuration.
|
DC Output Load Regulation
|
||||||||||
|
Combined DC Load |
+3.3V
|
+5V
|
+12V
|
+5VSB
|
-12V | |||||
|
A
|
V
|
A
|
V
|
A
|
V
|
A
|
V
|
A | V | |
|
85W
|
0.95
|
3.33
|
0.92
|
5.07
|
6.00
|
12.07
|
0.50
|
5.01
|
0.20 | -12.02 |
|
170W
|
1.70
|
3.33
|
1.67
|
5.07
|
12.35
|
12.05
|
1.00
|
5.01
|
0.20 | -12.03 |
|
425W
|
3.00
|
3.33
|
3.05
|
5.06
|
32.20
|
12.04
|
1.50
|
5.00
|
0.30 | -12.03 |
| 640W | 4.05 | 3.33 | 4.05 | 5.05 | 49.00 | 12.03 | 2.00 | 5.00 | 0.30 | -12.04 |
|
850W
|
5.00
|
3.33
|
5.23
|
5.05
|
65.52
|
12.00
|
2.50
|
5.00
|
0.50 | -12.02 |
Load regulation is pretty good overall.
| FSP VITA GM 850W | Maximum Load |
| 941W |
We managed to get the power supply to deliver 941W before it would shut down, delivering around 90W more than 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 | |
| 760W | 1.0 | 3.34 | 1.0 | 5.03 | 60.0 | 12.02 | 0.2 | -12.02 | 0.50 | 5.00 |
| 165W | 15.0 | 3.32 | 18.0 | 5.01 | 2.0 | 12.07 | 0.2 | -12.01 | 0.50 | 5.01 |
The power supply dealt with the demanding cross load test without any major concerns.
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 | 10 | 10 | 16 | 10 |
| 225W | 12 | 12 | 19 | 12 |
| 450W | 14 | 14 | 20 | 14 |
| 675W | 18 | 15 | 22 | 18 |
| 850W | 20 | 17 | 24 | 20 |
Noise suppression is good across +3.3V, +5V rails. The +12V rail results are excellent.
|
Efficiency (%) 240V
|
|
|
100W
|
89.3
|
|
225W
|
91.5
|
|
450W
|
93.1
|
|
675W
|
92.4
|
| 850W | 90.0 |
The efficiency results are really good, peaking at around 93% between 45-55% load, and dropping to around 90% 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 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)
|
|
|
100W
|
29.7
|
|
225W
|
31.8
|
|
450W
|
33.9
|
|
675W
|
36.8
|
| 850W | 38.2 |
This is not the highest quality fan we have seen in a modern power supply – and it generates a fair bit of noise at full load. At around 400-500 watts the noise levels are audible but not too intrusive. It is a shame FSP didn't ditch the rifle bearing fan and adopt a higher grade fluid dynamic bearing (FDB) fan from a company such as Hong Hua.
|
Temperature (c)
|
||
|
Intake
|
Exhaust
|
|
|
100W
|
37
|
42
|
|
225W
|
38
|
47
|
|
450W
|
40
|
52
|
|
675W
|
45
|
59
|
|
850W
|
46
|
63
|
Temperatures inside the chassis are acceptable.
|
Maximum load
|
Efficiency
|
|
941 W
|
89.1
|
At 941 Watts, this unit managed to deliver efficiency at 89.1%.
The FSP Vita GM 850W in my mind is a very good power supply. The diminutive footprint and fully modular design will make it suitable for a variety of chassis designs on the market today.
Technically the unit performs very well. Load regulation is very good on the major rail and ripple suppression falls well within industry rated parameters on both major and minor rails. It passed the cross load test, too, without any issues.
I was a little disappointed to find a low grade rifle bearing fan inside in this otherwise solid little power supply. This lets the GM 850W down and a possible future upgrade to a quality fluid dynamic bearing fan would be most welcome. The cost would only be a few dollars more, so it was a little bewildering to see this corner being cut.
FSP power supplies are difficult to find in parts of Europe and the United Kingdom so getting a solid lock on a price can be tricky. When I asked FSP about the pricing they sent me the image below:
Based on this information, the black unit is priced at $139, and the white model has a $5 premium, priced at $144. I have yet to receive confirmed retail links for any of the units, so I cannot confirm if the pricing is accurate. At the listed prices however, this unit is a solid buy and if you are willing to live with a little noise from the basic rifle bearing fan, it should serve you well for many years.
One last thing we want to note is that FSP really could do with improving their boxes for shipping. The power supply is surrounded on all sides by basic cardboard – no foam protection is supplied.
Update 19th August: FSP have reached out to clarify that future production runs of the Vita GM series will have Cybenetics certification – we are told the units have already been sent for testing, but the current production run didn't make it in time for the certification to be included, though FSP tells us that will be sorted by the next run. Additionally, FSP has said they will work to improve the packaging, but they are deliberately not using foam and polystyrene ‘as some countries have announced no foam from 2025 (e.g. Australia) and other aspects of consideration are to protect our earth.'
Buy from Amazon US HERE.
Update 5th December: The Vita GM 850W is now on Amazon UK for around £130 HERE.
Discuss on our Facebook page HERE.
Pros:
- High efficiency levels.
- Good ripple suppression.
- Build quality is generally high.
- Fully modular.
- Cables are high quality and long enough.
- Good protection features.
- 105C Japanese main capacitor.
Cons:
- Rifle bearing fan is sub optimal.
- May not be available in many countries.
- PSU should ship in a foam surround for protection.
KitGuru says: The FSP Vita GM 850W is a very capable power supply.
