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 and a 120W
dummy load.
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).
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 |
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 |
179 W |
12 W |
Apparent Power |
181 VA |
18 VA |
COOLMAX GREEN
POWER CUQ-1200B |
1200W (A-PFC) |
Active Power |
172 W |
9 W |
Apparent Power |
193 VA |
12 VA |
PC Power & Cooling Silencer
750 Quad |
750 (A-PFC) |
Active Power |
168 W |
12 W |
Apparent Power |
175 VA |
15 VA |
Enermax Galaxy
EGX850EWL |
850 W (A-PFC) |
Active Power |
184 W |
11 W |
Apparent Power |
193 VA |
16 VA |
Seasonic M12D 750 |
750W (A-PFC) |
Active Power |
169W |
7W |
Apparent Power |
173VA |
9VA |
Seasonic S12D 850 |
850W (A-PFC) |
Active Power |
148W |
7W |
Apparent Power |
149VA |
10VA |
Seasonic X-750 |
750W (A-PFC) |
Active Power |
139W |
6W |
Apparent
Power |
141VA |
8VA |
Seasonic X-460 (SS-460FL)
|
460W (A-PFC F3) |
Active Power |
162W |
10W |
Apparent
Power |
164VA |
14VA |
Seasonic
X-760 (SS-760KM) |
760W (A-PFC
F3) |
Active Power |
161W |
6W |
Apparent Power |
164VA |
10VA |
|
The Seasonic X-760 power supply draws 161W of power
when a 120W load is hooked up, which is 74% efficiency at 15% load of its rated
760W. Unloaded power draw is about 6W, 10VA. Without a proper active load
tester that's about the limit of what we can accurately stress this power supply
to, unfortunately.
Conclusions
The Seasonic X-760 is a good power supply that would be
a worthy foundation to any enthusiast or gamer PC. The modular cables that
come with the Seasonic X-760 are sufficient to meet pretty much all
PC configurations you can think of. With respect to videocards, this 760W PSU
can comfortably support
two dual-power high-end PCI Express videocards or four single-power mainstream PCI Express videocards.
That's a lot of graphics card....
On the peripheral side we find the Seasonic X-760
offers up eight SATA/molex power connectors each, over six bundles. There are
however only five modular peripheral ports on the back of the power supply
so not every peripheral cable bundle can be used. Noise levels on the
X-760 were low enough as to be inaudible. The 120mm Sanyo Denki fan is designed for silence and because of the low heat levels witnessed from
the X-760 it doesn't have to spin quickly most of the
time. Retailing for an affordable $180 at stores like CanadaComputers, the Seasonic X-760
is well worth considering if you're a PC enthusiast.
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