Our Motivation - Why Are We Running PSUs Constantly Under Full Load?

07:00 - Monday 11 July 2005 by Frank Völkel
Source: Tom's Hardware – Keywords: stress, test

Table of content:
3 – Our Motivation - Why Are We Ru...
  1. 1 – Profits Or Quality?
  2. 2 – Still An Eldorado? 600 Percent Profit Margin Possible
  3. 3 – Our Motivation - Why Are We Running PSUs Constantly Under Full Load?
  4. 4 – Test Methodology
  5. 5 – Stressing With Highly Accurate Electronic Loads
  6. 6 – Noise Level And Measurement Of Temperatures
  7. 7 – Data Collection And Live Upload
  8. 8 – AcBel ATX-550CA -AB8FM: Failure - But 10-Year Warranty
  9. 9 – Antec Phantom 500: Quiet With High Efficiency
  10. 10 – Antec True Power 2.0: Mediocre Efficiency
  11. 11 – Aopen Prima Power 700: Super Results - No SLI
  12. 12 – BeQuiet BQT B5-520W-S1.3: Loose Transistor Triggers Failure
  13. 13 – Cooler Master Real Power RS-550-ACLY: Shutdown At Full Load
  14. 14 – Enermax Coolergiant EG485AX-VHB(W): Flawed Former Champ
  15. 15 – Enermax Noisetaker EG701AX-VE(W): Perfect Connections And Quiet
  16. 16 – Epower Silent Engine Xscale 470: Loud At Full Load
  17. 17 – Fortron FSP300-60GNF: Soundless With High Efficiency
  18. 18 – HEC AcePower ACE580UB: Failure At High Load
  19. 19 – Hiper Type R580: Not Within Specifications
  20. 20 – Jeantech Arctic JN120F-600AP12V2: Average Results
  21. 21 – OCZ PowerStream 600W - Features
  22. 22 – PC Power & Cooling Turbo-Cool 510: Very Loud At Full Load
  23. 23 – PC Power & Cooling Turbo-Cool 850 SSI: Excellent Price And Performance
  24. 24 – Seasonic S12 600: Efficient And Quiet
  25. 25 – Silverstone ST65ZF: Loud And Inefficient But Low-Cost
  26. 26 – Spire SP-500W: High Noise Levels At Full Load
  27. 27 – Features Tables
  28. 28 – Efficiency
  29. 29 – Load - Total Power Sustained
  30. 30 – Ripple On 3.3V Rail

Our Motivation - Why Are We Running PSUs Constantly Under Full Load?

Ad

The idea for a stress test for power supply units emerged during different comparative tests during which instability in the power supply was observed. In particular, this was seen in systems with dual-core processors and SLI graphics, which draw immense amounts of power and drive up loads to extreme limits of a supply's capabilities.

Although most manufacturers of adapters advertise them with high power ratings, most customers can't test these claims. One step towards self-help is the voltage displayed in the BIOS or via the software of the motherboard, but even professionals fail to obtain exact measurements under maximum load.

Your PC's power supply is the hidden component that can make your computing life miserable. Sometimes it will be working well for a while, only to then start to experience frequent or irregular crashes. A similar situation may appear when a PC is equipped with a more powerful graphics card or processor - suddenly it is no longer stable.

In these situations, the user usually concentrates on addressing components such as the memory, processor and cooling. When that doesn't help, the usual next step is to update the BIOS and drivers. Those who can afford it simply buy new components to replace the alleged source of the problem.

The result is that the system displays the same symptoms as before.

The reason is that these problems are often a sign of an overloaded power supply unit. Yet most people do not ensure that this essential component is working properly, even though without it, achieving a stable PC is impossible.


Ad
Talkback
Google Ads
Ad
The Cooling Articles and reviews
News
Reviews
Forum
See all Topics
Videos