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Considering all the junk power supplies offered with computer cases these days, finding a power supply that's right for your system requirements can be quite a challenge.
78% Rating: 
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Vantec ION2 |
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Testing the PSU
Performance Tests
Considering that the test system draws a lot of
power, I'd say the Vantec ION2 handled the load pretty well. While the 12V rail
only dipped to 11.94V, this was within fluctuation specs. Serious dips in
power could the route cause of spontaneous reboots your PC, but
differences of +/- 5% are typically expected, and should not cause that type of
problem.
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| PCStats Test System Specs: |
| processor: |
intel pentium 4 3.0c |
| clock
speed: |
15 x 200 mhz = 3.0 ghz |
| motherboards: |
gigabyte 8knxp, i875p |
| videocard: |
ati radeon 9800xt |
| memory: |
2x 256mb corsair twinx 3200ll |
| hard
drive: |
40gb wd special ed |
| cdrom: |
nec 52x cd-rom |
| powersupply: |
vantec stealth 470w |
| software setup |
windowsxp build 2600
intel inf 5.02.1012
catalyst
4.6 | |
*all voltages were read from the motherboard
bios.
| Listed Voltages |
AMP |
Lower Voltage |
Upper Voltage |
Jitter |
|
| +3.3V |
14A |
3.28v |
3.34 |
0.06v |
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| +5.0V |
30A |
4.95v |
5.02 |
0.07 |
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| +12V |
15A |
11.94v |
12.00v |
0.6 |
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| -12V |
0.8A |
11.99 |
12.00v |
0.01 |
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| -5.0V |
0.5A |
4.99v |
5.01v |
0.02v |
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| +5.0Vsb |
3A |
4.99v |
5.00v |
0.01v |
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
value is actually how much real power is being consumed by the power supply
being tested. The higher that value is, the more electricity is being consumed
by the power supply. Because no electrical device is 100% efficient, there will
always be some loss at 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 should be as close to this figure as possible. Anything
above this load describes the overhead and wasted energy (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 first off. Secondly the lower the figures are, the less power is
being used.
|
Seasonic Load
Tests |
| Power Supply |
Wattage |
Test |
Load |
Unloaded |
| Seasonic SuperTornado |
400 W |
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 |
For comparisons sake we're
showing how the Vantec iON2 performs next to the very efficient Seasonic
SuperTornado PSU with Active PFC. The Vantec iON2 performs quite well in the
loaded/unloaded tests, although in the long run will be more expensive to use than
the Seasonic SuperTornado.
Pretty good all
round
 It's
sometimes hard to believe that the computer power supply is the least understood device in a system, and
the last thing on a users mind. I guess it's not too surprising considering
the benefits of using a higher quality PSU is not always apparent. A
good PSU won't make games fly by any faster, nor does it increase Excel
number crunching speeds. Still, equipping a PC with a low end generic power supply is bad
news, and it may be only a matter of time till you're burnt.
There's little doubt that most power supplies on the
market are generic, and Vantec is doing pretty good at offering consumers a better choice. With a
retail price of $60 CDN ($47 US) , the Vantec iON2 is definitely a steal!
If you're using junk, you now have no reason not to upgrade to something better.
Considering the price I'd say the Vantec iON2 performed
quite well when compared to the higher end Seasonic SuperTornado 400. It's
not as efficient but if you want features like Active PFC you're going to have
to spend a pretty penny more than $60 CDN. Ultimately, if you're in the market for a new power supply but
don't want to blow the bank, definitely take a look at the Vantec iON2. It's
inexpensive, performs well and looks pretty nice to boot!
Related
Articles
Here are a few other articles that you might enjoy
as well...
1. Belkin Universal
1000VA UPS Review
2. Powerware 5125 1000VA UPS Review
3. Seasonic Super Tornado 400W Power Supply
Review
4. Vantec ION 400W
VAN-400B Power Supply
5. PC Power &
Cooling Turbo-Cool 510-PFC Power
Supply
|
Seasonic Load
Tests
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