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GlacialPower GP-PS550BP 550W Power Supply Review
GlacialPower GP-PS550BP 550W Power Supply Review - PCSTATS
GlacialPower's GP-PS550BP power supply is looking mighty nice from the specs alone. It delivers 550W of real power, has an energy efficiency rating of 78% and strong 12V rails.
 81% Rating:   
Filed under: Power Supply Published:  Author: 
External Mfg. Website: GlacialTech May 17 2007   Max Page  
Home > Reviews > Power Supply > GlacialTech GP-PS550BP

Power Load Testing

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 wasted.

Measurements were taken with an Extech 380803 Power Analyzer.

Seasonic Power Load Tests
Power Supply Model 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
PC Power & Cooling Turbo-Cool 1KW 1000 W
(A-PFC)
Active Power 205W 25W
Apparent Power 207VA 32VA
Seasonic S12 600 600 W
(A-PFC)
Active Power 164W 7W
Apparent Power 173VA 9VA
Mushkin Enhanced XP-650 650 W Active Power 192W 22W
Apparent Power 279VA 43VA
Seasonic S12 Energy Plus SS-650HT 650 W
(A-PFC)
Active Power 150W 7W
Apparent Power 150VA 10VA
Seasonic M12 700W 700 W
(A-PFC)
Active Power 161W 8W
Apparent Power 165VA 11VA
Corsair HX620W 620 W
(A-PFC)
Active Power 171W 8W
Apparent Power 173VA 12VA
Zalman ZM600-HP 600 W
(A-PFC)
Active Power 173W 5W
Apparent Power 175VA 9VA
HEC Zephyr 650 650 W
(A-PFC)
Active Power 185W 12W
Apparent Power 190VA 17VA
GlacialPower GP-PS550BP 550 W Active Power 178W 6W
Apparent Power 269VA 17VA

GlacialPower quotes a 78% efficiency on the box, however according to our tests the GP-PS550BP is only able to reach an efficiency of 67%. It's still not bad all things considered, few PSU's have efficiency in that range.

A Good 550W Power Unit?

The Glacialpower GP-PS550BP is a good no-fuss power supply. GlacialPower opted to build a quality power supply instead of something that's flashy with a lot of lights or fans. Quoting real life power ratings will also make enthusiast users happy.

The 550W GlacialPower GP-PS550BP has strong rails all around and should have no problems powering moderate enthusiast class computers, even if you run a SLI or CrossFire setup with a dual core processor.

The power cables are a bit on the short side... but unless you have a full tower case it shouldn't be too big a deal. GlacialPower could have provided more molex and Serial ATA connectors with the power supply, there's no arguing that modern computers have a lot of HDDs and peripherals.

The GlacialPower GP-PS550BP didn't quite live up to the 78% efficiency rating on the box, but perhaps that's achieved when the power supply is under a heavier load. In our testing the GP-PS550BP was fairly efficient, and voltages were nice and stable. Performance was good on the whole.

Mid-level power supply manufacturers like Enermax, OCZ and HEC better take notice. GlacialPower isn't quite nipping at the heals of Seasonic or PC Power & Cooling just yet.. but that may change as the company advances.

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Related Articles
Here are a few other articles that you might enjoy as well...
- HEC Zephyr 650W Power Supply Review
- Zalman ZM600-HP 600W Heatpipe Cooled Modular Power Supply Review
- Corsair HX620W Modular Power Supply Review
- Seasonic M12 700W Power Supply Review
- Seasonic S12 Energy Plus SS-650HT 650W Power Supply Review

< Previous Page © 2023 PCSTATS.com Power Supply Reviews...»

 

Contents of Article: GlacialTech GP-PS550BP
 Pg 1.  GlacialPower GP-PS550BP 550W Power Supply Review
 Pg 2.  Building a Quiet Power Unit
 Pg 3.  Inside the GlacialPower PSU
 Pg 4.  — Power Load Testing

 
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