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Enermax is power supply brand that differentiates itself on features and appearance. Both are good qualities, but power efficiency is something it should improve upon.
70% Rating:
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Enermax infiniti 720 |
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Testing the Enermax Infiniti 720 Power Supply
Power supplies which employ Power Factor Correction (PFC, or A-PFC) help
ensure efficient conversion of AC to DC voltage, and reduce the amount of energy
wasted as heat. That means a quieter 120mm fan can be used, and less noise for
your ears.
PCSTATS tests power efficiency with the aid of an Extech Model 380803
Power Analyzer. The meter is located between the mains 120AC supply and the
power supply, and a 120W dummy load is connected to the power supply being
tested. Power jitter is measured with a Mastech MS8230B Multimeter at the device
power connectors. The test apparatus and power meters are shown
below.
The power supply looking device is actually the 120W
dummy load. To the right is a standard Voltmeter, and in the background the
Extech Model 380803 Power Analyzer (with readings for Watts, PFC/KHz, source
voltage (AC) and Amperage).
Power Jitter Observations -
Motherboard |
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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 Asus BLITZ EXTREME
motherboard.
Power Jitter Observations
- Motherboard |
Listed Voltages |
Lower Voltage |
Upper Voltage |
Jitter |
+3.3V |
3.2V |
3.3V |
0.1V |
+5.0V |
4.96V |
4.98V |
0.02V |
+12V |
11.96V |
11.98V |
0.02V |
The
motherboard BIOS readings jump a bit, but nothing out of the
ordinary for the Enermax Infiniti 720W.
Power Jitter Observations - Multimeter
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Voltage jitter was read by a Mastech MS8230B
Multimeter with the system in an unloaded state. During testing the power supply
is was still connected to a full computer and voltage values.
Power Jitter Observations
- Multi-Meter |
Listed Voltages |
Lower Voltage |
Upper Voltage |
Jitter |
+3.3V |
3.3V |
3.3V |
0V |
+5.0V |
5.0V |
5.0V |
0V |
+12V |
12V |
12V |
0V |
Readings
taken with a multimeter off the Enermax Infiniti 720W's
leads do not change. At this end the
power supply voltages are nice and stable.
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 |
Cooler Master Real Power Pro 750W |
750 W (A-PFC) |
Active Power |
158W |
6W |
Apparent Power |
163VA |
9VA |
Seasonic S12 II 500W |
500W (A-PFC) |
Active Power |
145W |
7W |
Apparent
Power |
148VA |
10VA |
Enermax Infiniti 720W |
720W (A-PFC) |
Active Power |
179W |
12W |
Apparent Power |
181VA |
18VA | |
As the results indicated, with a 120W dummy load the
Enermax Infiniti 720W is 67% efficient. Please keep in mind though that the
80PLUS rating requires the power load to be at least 20% in order for this
standard to be applicable and with the Enermax Infiniti 720, the 120W load only
represents 16.7% load.
Power efficiency is calculated
in the following way from the Active Power and Apparent Power test values; test
load (120W) / Active Power draw (179W) = 67%. By comparison, for the last power
supply PCSTATS tested, the Seasonic S12, it demonstrated a power efficiency of
120W/145W =
82.7%.
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