Test SetupFor the tests I used a setup that would run near the maximum ability of the power supply. All energy efficiency options in the bios, and in Windows are turned OFF. For comparison I used my old OCZ Powerstream 520 with a typical efficiency of 70 to75%.
The hardware and their rated power consumption:
AMD X2-4800 @2600 (260X10@1,42V) rated near ~125W
DFI RDX200-CF ~65W
ATI Radeon X800XTPe ~100W
2x 1gb Team Special CE5 260-2,5-3-2-7@2,85V ~30W
2x Maxtor Max9 160GB SATA ~15W each
2x Maxtor Max10 250GB ATA Raid0 ~15W each
1x Optical Drive ~20W
3x 12cm Silverstone FM121 @ 7v ~15W
The total maximum power consumption is slightly over 400W, with a total of ~415W. Keep in mind though these are Peak-loads, so real-life loads are lower for sure.
Measurements
All measurements where repeated three times, voltages and amperage on the AC-line were measured using a Multimeter/Amps-clamp, a PeakTech3130 which has a MAX (High-hold) function making it easy to measure and note the highest peaks, which are used for the calculations.
The internal Volt-lines where measured using a Fluke Multimeter, Vhigh/low for each line were noted.
Some Calculations:
Ideally the math would be:
P = U x I
P= Power (W)
U= Voltage (V)
I= Current (A)
In real life, there is energy loss, due to various reasons. Resulting in the following:
P= U x I x efc
efc= efficiency
In older and cheaper power supplies efficiency is typically ~70%, so making the jump to 80% could save you money. For me it’s not about the money though, I’m only interested in stability and performance.
Performance results
First measurement was done in Power-off
Both power supplies gave the same current, at 0,08A @ 226,4V resulting in a consumption of 18W in stand-by.
Second measurement was done during boot-up.
The third measurement, during desktop mode, with 0% core, and waiting for ½ an hour to exclude any influence of programs running in the background.
Fourth measurement was done, using S&M 1.5.2. Goal of this test is to generate 100% load on both cores.
For the fifth measurement, I have used various 3d tests, to determine which test resulted in the highest load possible. For my X800XTPe, it is 3Dmark05, that gives a 0,15A higher overall load, when compared to 3Dmark03 or 3Dmark06.
For my sixth test, I ran a Disk – to – Raid0 (Sata2-Ata3+4) copy of a 4Gb photomap, with pictures of 3,4-4,3Mb each, giving a highest reproducible load, during disk activity.
Core-load ranged around 15-21%.
For my final run, I combined all relevant runs:
S&M 1.5.2 CPU FPU for Core0
3Dmark05 default
Disk – to – Raid0 copy
The generated load was the highest I could achieve, and 100% stable on both supplies.
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I think this will be my next PSU for my HTPC case. Sounds very good.
I wanted to kick out my old Noname PSU in any way, as it is getting too loud.
Now I read, that even efficiency is very interesting in new PSU's.
over 80%, thats great, I do not want to know, how less efficiency my noname has......
Thanks for the Review and the informations guys.