Power Jitter Observations

Voltage jitter is read by accessing the power options displayed in the motherboard BIOS, with the system obviously in an unloaded state. *All voltages were read from the BIOS of an MSI K8N Neo4 Platinum SLI motherboard.

Listed Voltages	Lower Voltage	Upper Voltage	Jitter
+3.3V	3.29V	3.30V	0.01v
+5.0V	5.00V	5.00V	0.00v
+12V	11.73V	11.75V	0.02v
-12V	-12.00V	-12.00V	0.00v
-5.0V	-4.99V	-4.99V	0.00v
+5.0Vsb	4.97V	5.1V	0.04v

The AOpen Prima Power AO700-12ALN is very stable in the BIOS and the voltages do not vary much. The 12V rail voltage is slightly lower than expected, however it is not much of a concern.

Seasonic Load Tests	Source: Seasonic

When looking at the Seasonic Power Supply test results we see two values, wattage and volt-amps. Since it might not be clear what they measure, here's a brief overview.

The volt-amp (VA) value is how much real power is being consumed by the power supply being tested to provide the wattage (W) value. The higher the VA value is, the more electricity is being used by the power supply. Because no electrical device is 100% efficient, there will always be some loss when converting AC to DC. The closer the volt-amps and wattage figures are to each other, the more efficient a power supply is. This is called the Power Factor: wattage / volt-amps = PF.

Since we're testing with a 120W dummy load, the load on the power supply (wattage) should be as close to this figure as possible. Anything above this load in apparent power describes the overhead and wasted energy (given off as heat) for the particular power supply being tested. For the unloaded tests, the wattage and volt-amp figures should be as close as possible to one another. The lower the figures are, the less power is being used.

Seasonic Power Load Tests
Power Supply	Wattage	Test Type	Loaded	Unloaded
Seasonic SuperTornado	400 W (A-PFC)	Active Power	177 W	6 W
		Apparent Power	182 VA	7 VA
Vantec iON2	350 W	Active Power	192 W	10 W
		Apparent Power	277 VA	21 VA
Antec TruePower 330	330 W	Active Power	195 W	22 W
		Apparent Power	289 VA	38 VA
Ultra X-Connect Green UV 500W	500 W	Active Power	193W	22 W
		Apparent Power	307 VA	40 VA
AOpen Silent Power AO400-12AHN	400 W	Active Power	179W	9 W
		Apparent Power	275 VA	18 VA
Seasonic S12-430	430 W (A-PFC)	Active Power	179W	6W
		Apparent Power	180VA	9VA
PC Power and Cooling Turbo-Cool 510 Express/SLI	510 W (A-PFC)	Active Power	200 W	29 W
		Apparent Power	202 VA	32 VA
HEC Ace Power 580UB	580 W	Active Power	183 W	12 W
		Apparent Power	272 VA	26 VA
HEC Win 550UB	550 W	Active Power	184W	10W
		Apparent Power	263VA	22VA
Akasa PowerPlus AK-P550FF	550 W (A-PFC)	Active Power	194W	38W
		Apparent Power	197VA	40VA
AOpen Prima Power AO700-12ALN	700 W (A-PFC)	Active Power	172W	3W
		Apparent Power	181VA	9VA

Like every other power supply with active power factor correction, the AOPen Prima Power AO700-12ALN does very well here. Unloaded values are low which is expected since the power supply is really only powering the 120mm exhaust fan. Load values are also on the low side, considering the load we are putting on the PSU is 120W, it is nice to see the AOpen AO700-12ALN does not waste a lot of power as heat.

AOpen Makes a Good Power Supply

With the move towards doubling things up in the computer industry, from dual core processors to dual videocards, the need for high quality power supplies has never been more important. When you look at the market however, picking out a "good" power supply can be difficult with all the junk being hawked to consumers.

With generic power supply manufacturers increasing the amp rating on the +5V and +3.3V lines, it is vital for consumers to look beyond the overall wattage rating. This is something that we here at PCStats have been preaching for years and is more important today than ever before.

The AOpen Prima Power AO700-12ALN is not fancy, but it looks nice. The power supply has an overall rating of 700W, but what makes the unit impressive are its quad 12V rails, each capable of providing a maximum of 15 amps. That should be plenty for your high power devices like processors, videocards and system fans.

The 120mm exhaust fan is detachable should you ever want to replace it with something else. Inside the power supply is a single potentiometer, which is not user-adjustable. There are plenty of connectors for the average system but we would have liked to see a few more molex and a second six pin videocard power line as well.

I was not able to find a price on the AOpen Prima Power AO700-12ALN however I would expect to see it in the $150 CDN ($120 US) range. If you are looking for a good power supply, AOpen can definitely deliver.

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