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Raidmax RX-520XP PSU
Author: jonnyguru
Date Posted:17/03/2005 10:07.18
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Bottom Line:
There's more to picking a PSU than the wattage, as explained in the first of a series of forthcoming PSU reviews.
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Pages:
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Discuss This Article |
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Results & Conclusions
What's my opinion about what the outcome will be?
Well, looking at the label, I'll make
the prediction that this power supply will pass "test one" with flying colors,
since this power supply is supposedly capable of a whopping 45A on the
5V rail. I'm not sure it will be too stable on test two because
at 20A the 12V will be out of the power supply's spec for it's 18A capable
12V rail. I'm thinking the third test will throw this power supply
into a tail-spin. In my opinion, this power supply isn't engineered
for a system so top heavy on the 12V rail.
As for the temperature tests, I think
this power supply will fare well. With keeping the fans spinning
three minutes after shut down, I doubt they power supply will get very
hot once it's shut
down.
Ok.... Enough talk! Let's pummel
the power supply!
Here
are the results. The numbers in red are numbers that are out
of specification:
| Raid Max RX-520XP |
Zero Load |
Test One (366W) |
Test Two (301W) |
Test Three (341W) |
Full Load (469W) |
| 12V |
11.48 |
11.76 |
12.34 |
11.33 |
12.44 |
| 5V |
5.31 |
5.10 |
4.97 |
5.15 |
4.90 |
| 3.3V |
3.38 |
3.26 |
3.26 |
3.24 |
3.24 |
| Efficiency |
45% |
73% |
74% |
68% |
73% |
| Power Factor |
.56 |
.73 |
.72 |
.76 |
.71 |
Temperature under load = 23.8C. Temperature after power off = 28C.
Analysis of Results:
At Zero Load, the 5V was out of spec. Not a concern
since nothing should be actually "running" at this point. Test
one was solid as I thought it would be.
Test two was surprisingly stable. 12V
went up as it naturally would with a power supply with so much 5V capability,
but I thought for sure it would go above and beyond the 12.V tolerance.
Test three was still pretty damn good
considering the specs of the power supply. I thought I would
see a lot more fluctuation.
The full load test proved that this
is a very stable power supply. I was disappointed that I was only pushing a total
of 469W before the power supply's overload protection kicked in. Once
I lowered the 3.3V to around 3A with the 12V up at 18A and the 5V up
at 45A, the power supply kept on trucking for hours on end. Something
a real PC would NEVER do to a power supply.
As I expected, the temperatures stayed
low after shut down. You just don't know how valuable this function of the power
supply is until you see an ordinary power supply's temperatures sky-rocket. Good
job on including that feature guys!
In conclusion....
For features, on
a scale from one to ten, I give this power supply an 8.
For performance,
I give this power supply an 8.
It's average overall score is an 8.
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