LEPA Gold 700 Power Supply Review (G700-MA)

The LEPA range of power supplies are targeted by Enermax at the 'mid range' sector. A few weeks ago we looked at the LEPA B850W, a great design at a very competitive price point. Today we test the G700, a modular design with 80 Plus Gold Certification. There are three 80 Plus Gold Certified power supplies in the LEPA range, a 500W, 700W and 900W model. Product overview: 80 Plus Gold Certified Modular Cables Silent thermal controlled 140mm fan 60 cm mainboard connector for comfortable cable routing Up to 8x (6+2) 8P PCI-E connectors 10x SATA connectors for peripherials Multirail - up to four strong 12V rails Latest protection circuits for high reliability and safety SATA connectors with 3.3V for upcoming SSD generation Active PFC - power factor up to 0.99 3 years warranty It is rather fitting that the G700 box is accented with 'gold', to match the 80 Plus Certification. Inside, the power supply is protected inside a clear plastic bag with the cabling stored in a separate box. There is a multi language user manual also included. The bundle includes a region specific power cable, the user manual, fitting screws and the modular cabling. The cables in the image above left are hardwired to the power supply - the 24 pin main power cable, a 4+4 pin CPU and a 8 pin CPU cable. The cables in the image above right are modular. Above is a diagram which highlights the cabling on the Lepa Gold series of power supplies. The 700W model we are testing today has 8 SATA power connectors, 4 less than the flagship 900W model. The 700W and 900W models both have 8 Molex connectors. The 700W model has 4 x 6+2 pin PCI E power connectors. The 900W model has 2 additional PCI-E connectors. The sleeved cabling is high quality, the main ATX cable measures 60 cm long and is slightly thicker than the other cables. The ATX12V connectors are 60cm long which means that cable routing in larger chassis will be easier. The PCI E cables are 50cm in length, which is adequate. SATA and Molex cables are 46cm long to the first connector, then 15cm between connectors after that. The power supply is an attractive design, finished in black, with gold stickers on the side. The LEPA logo is emblazoned in the center section, with a large 140mm fan in behind it. The gold fan is certainly eye catching, but some people might find it a little gaudy. The modular cabling connectors are colour coded and basically idiot proof. The rear is fully vented to aid with airflow. There is a power connector and switch at the side. LEPA G700 Power Supply DC Output +3.3V +5V +12V1 +12V2 +12V3 -12V +5Vsb Max Output 24A 24A 25A 25A 25A 0.5A 3A Total Power 120W 696W (58A) 6W 15W 700W Each of the +12V output are rated to 25A, for a total of 58A (696W). The fan is marked EA142512W-OAB - an Enermax design which we have seen used in Modu87+ and Pro97+ supplies before. This is a high quality Twister bearing fan .... some of the best on the market. Internally, this looks identical to the Enermax Modu87+ 700W power supply. Gone however are the ugly blue heatsinks, and now there are several rows of black heatsinks which will receive cooling from the large fan above. The primary capacitor is a Rubycon 420v 470uF, rated to 85c, which was surprising as we would have expected 105c in this particular unit. This capacitor is placed right next to the PFC coil and has heatsinks on all corners. One of these cools the bridge rectifier. The design is the same as the Modu87+ 700W, which means the wiring is clean. Other capacitors are supplied by Nippon Chemi-con and Enesol. Cabling is clean and tied, with sleeving to aid with long term protection. The power supply offers Over Power, Over Voltage, Over Current, Short-Circuit, and Brown Out protection circuitry. On this page we present some super high resolution images of the product taken with the 24.5MP Nikon D3X camera and 24-70mm ED lens. These will take much longer to open due to the dimensions, especially on slower connections. If you use these pictures on another site or publication, please credit Kitguru.net as the owner/source. 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 12V output is combined for our testing DC Output Load Regulation Combined DC Load +3.3V +5V +12V +5VSB -12V A V A V A V A V A V 174W 3.26 3.38 3.23 5.05 11.52 12.19 0.76 5.17 0.12 -12.09 352W 7.52 3.35 7.52 5.02 23.03 12.18 1.52 5.08 0.25 -12.12 525W 11.23 3.28 11.27 4.97 34.47 12.08 2.26 5.02 0.37 -12.16 700W 15.02 3.25 15.03 4.92 46.52 12.02 3.0 4.98 0.50 -12.18 The LEPA G700 is able to deliver solid load regulation on all of the outputs throughout our varied load tests – even when fully loaded, a situation not often experienced in the real world. LEPA G700W Maximum Load 787W We managed to squeeze 787W from the PSU before it would shut down safely. 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. Combined DC Load +3.3V +5V +12V -12V +5VSB A V A V A V A V A V 590W 1.0 3.32 1.0 5.02 48.0 11.88 0.2 -11.93 0.5 5.01 190W 18.2 3.27 20.1 4.95 2.0 12.03 0.2 -11.97 0.5 5.00 The LEPA unit deals very well with the crossloading tests with very little fluctuation throughout. 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 174W 15 10 35 10 352W 20 10 40 15 525W 25 15 45 15 700W 30 25 55 20 Ripple results were very good, with the +12V output peaked at 55 mV, well within the tolerance guidelines. The +5V output peaked at 25mV, also well within the rated tolerance figures. The +3.3V output hit 30mV when fully loaded, well within specifications. Efficiency (%) 174W 89.12 352W 92.56 525W 91.23 700W 88.87 The efficiency figures are impressive, achieving 92.56% efficiency at 50% load. This drops to just under 89% 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 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 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) 174W 28.8 352W 29.5 525W 33.8 700W 35.8 The power supply is quiet, emitting some noise once it starts delivering around 500W of power. The noise emissions rise to just under 36 dBa at full load. Temperature (c) Intake Exhaust 174W 36 38 352W 38 44 525W 40 47 700W 43 51 The large Twister fan, as we hoped, keeps temperatures well in check, rising to a 8c above ambient figure at full load. Maximum load Efficiency 787w 87.3% We measured the efficiency beyond the rated limits of the supply and recorded 87.3% at 787W. Its not a real world rating, because if you need this power output 24/7 you would need to aim higher up the product range. The LEPA G700 power supply is a marvellous product which looks very attractive. We would assume opinion will be divided when factoring in the bright gold fan, but at least internally with this design they have opted for plain black heatsinks, instead of bright blue. Technically the LEPA product is excellent, which isn't a surprise, as it is basically the award winning Modu87+ 700W, rebadged and given a new name. Load regulation is excellent, and the product passed our cross loading test with flying colours. Efficiency is superb, achieving 92% at around 50% load. Noise suppression is also a strong point for this design, falling well within all the rated parameters. The Twister fan is one of the best on the market, and the noise levels are kept low, only becoming audible in the top 30% of power output. Cooling efficiency is excellent with all the components receiving plenty of cool air from the large fan above. Pricing in the UK for a 80 Plus Gold certified modular power supply is competitive, we have found it on several stores for around £120 inc vat, which is £30-£40 less than the original Modu 87+ 700w design, a year later. Pros: Pricing is competitive. very efficient design. strong noise suppression. Modular design. Twister fan. Cons: The bright gold fan might not appeal to everyone. Kitguru says: An excellent release for the LEPA brand.