• Tweet

Testing

At Tech-Reviews our Power Supply tests consist of three main factors:  Noise, Stability and Efficiency. All these tests are conducted at both idle and load states. Efficiency is also tested at standby as well to draw a suitable conclusion.

To test noise levels in power supplies very expensive sound equipment is needed. Unfortunately we do not have access to this equipment and so instead, we use our god-given human ears to draw a verdict on the noise. Although this conclusion may not be as accurate as a figurative verdict, it’s a good indication on how the unit in testing sums up to other power supplies.

Stability is tested by checking each rail voltage of the power supply:  12V, 5V and 3.3V. We do this by using professional electrical equipment at both states, idle and load. The nearer rail voltage is to the rated voltage, the better.

In a world which we’ve messed up, it’s important for us to ‘do our bit’ by being efficient. One way in which you can be is by purchasing an efficient PSU. We test for efficiency by finding the power factor rating using our testing equipment. The higher the PF (Power Factor Rating) is the better. Another way we test efficiency is by measuring the amount of watts used. Obviously in terms of efficiency, the less power used; the better.

Results

OCZ ModXtreme 600w voltages

Ideal	Idle	Load
3.3v	3.38v	3.38v
5v	4.97v	5.04v
12v	12.35v	12.35v

PF	Wattage
Idle:85           Load:92	Idle:110           Load:158

OCZ Fatal1ty 550w voltages

Ideal	Idle	Load
3.3v	3.39v	3.38v
5v	4.97v	4.97v
12v	12.29v	12.29v

PF	Wattage
Idle:82           Load:90	Idle:108           Load:158

As you can see from the results its possible to tell that there is very little difference between these two power supplies. This is a good thing as they are both relatively stable on all of the rails and the power factors and wattage isn’t bad either. It is notable though that the Fatal1ty PSU struggles to delivery the correct voltage at load states and is often below the ideal voltage.

The 12v line is a little over what we could have hoped for but this isn’t likely to cause any hardware issues whatsoever.

Related posts:

1. Antec TruePower Quattro 1000W
2. OCZ Fatal1ty 700W PSU
3. Enermax Revolution 85+ 950W PSU
4. Nexus RX-8500 850W PSU
5. OCZ Unveils Fatal1ty Brand DDR2 and DDR3 Memory