FSP Hydro G PRO 1000W Power Supply Review

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Conclusion

The FSP Hydro G PRO 1000W is one of few high-powered PSU’s we have seen here at TheFPSReview to date. In addition to that, it is the first ATX12v/EPS power supply we have seen from FSP, the largest capacity unit we have seen, and just the second PSU we have seen from FSP overall (Dagger 600W was the first). However, FSP is not new to the PSU market as they are one of the largest PSU OEMs and they have been competing in the enthusiast space more and more aggressively over the years. Today though, FSP is striking hard at the enthusiast space with this 1000W unit. This means we have to ask; will this prove to be just too much capacity from FSP to match the expectations enthusiasts have? Or will this be a real PRO? Let’s see.

Build Quality

Today’s FSP Hydro G PRO 1000W starts things off with a build quality that seems excellent. Externally, the finish that this unit has is similar to other units but a bit more textured than normal. The one downside to the branding is that we see stickers instead of some form or printing on the unit directly. Back on the high side, we see that the unit is equipped with flat FlexForce style cables and it has a rather unique fan guard. When we move to the interior of the unit, we see a well-integrated modern topology and high-quality components. Among these components, we find Nippon Chemi-con and Rubycon standard capacitors coupled with Nippon Chemi-con solid capacitors. The soldering is overall very nicely done. Moving on to the support side of things, we see that this unit is covered by a 10-year warranty and not great documentation.

Load Testing

Today’s FSP Hydro G PRO 1000W provides us with some excellent results in general. Indeed, we saw voltage regulation of up to 0.1v on the 12v rail, 0.05v on the 5v rail, and 0.46v on the 3.3v rail. This voltage regulation is certainly very good/excellent in absolute terms and is better than what we saw from the SilverStone ST1000-PTS. This unit also passed our Torture Test in fine shape.

Moving on to the unit’s efficiency, we see that it ranged from 85.19% to 92.12% at 120v and of 83.75% to 90.56% at 100v. This area is part of what helps moderate our initial comment about everything being excellent as this unit trails the SilverStone St1000-PTS here.

When we look at the Transient Load Tests results for the FSP Hydro G PRO 1000W today, we see results that are excellent. When directly loaded, the 12v rail showed a peak change of ~210mV, and the 5v rail had a peak change of ~45mV. During the 12v load, the unloaded 5v rail saw a peak change of ~35mV. In absolute terms, those are excellent and they also best the SilverStone ST1000-PTS. So, in relative terms, this is also an excellent set of results today!

DC Output Quality

The DC Output Quality results for the FSP Hydro G PRO 1000W were good overall. We saw peak values of ~25mV of ripple/noise on the 5v and 3.3v rails while the 12v rail hit ~35mV of ripple/noise. When it comes to absolute values, these values are not great for the minor rails as they hit ½ of the ATX12v specification limit. However, the 12v rail is doing fine. In a relative sense, this unit trailed the SilverStone ST1000-PTS in this aspect of our testing. That makes this not as good of a result as it could have been.

Noise

Today’s FSP Hydro G PRO 1000W is a rather large power supply when it comes to capacity and that usually means that the noise profile is not as easy to manage. That said, today we see a unit with a hybrid fan controller, a FDB fan, and a rather open layout. With a bit of tuning this unit could be rather quiet for what it is. In the end, that would also happen to be the best way to put it. It is fairly quiet for what it is. During the Torture Test, the unit was noticeable in our load testing environment, and even in Test #3 at 100v AC input it was noticeable. By Tests #4, it was easily noticeable in our load test environment.

So, is this a quiet unit? It is if you are expecting to be using an honest 1000W of power given all the other things you would have in your system making more noise. Plus, at lower load levels where you are most of the time, the unit is quiet. So, it is a quiet unit until you set out to go like hell. And then, it goes like hell.

Final Points

The FSP Hydro G PRO 1000W is one of the few truly high-powered power supplies we have had in to review at TheFPSReview so far. So, we were very much looking forward to seeing how such a big hitter did in our testing today. This started off well as the build quality was excellent, the voltage regulation was very good, the transient load tests results were excellent, and the DC Output Quality was very good. The noise profile was also good, but it has that caveat of “for a 1000W unit” stuck on it. So, that brings us to the question of price.

Well, today, we find the Hydro G PRO 1000W coming in at $209.99. That price is a bit harder to swallow than usual. However, a good bit of that has to do with current market conditions. If this were 2018 this would be a bad deal. However, this is 2020. So, as long as the box is not also full of murder hornets then this is a decent deal given the market conditions. This isn’t the best 1000W PSU on the market but it is solidly competitive and one that won’t let you down.

In the past, FSP has been fairly aggressive with pricing. So, going forward, when market conditions normalize I would expect to see the price drop a good bit and you will also be able to say that this may end up being one of the best bang for the buck 1000W unit out there. Then again, I don’t think anyone’s crystal ball works right anymore.

FSP Hydro G PRO 1000W Power Supply

Discussion

Paul Johnson
Paul is a long time PC hobbyist and tech enthusiast having gotten his start when he broke his first C64 quickly followed by breaking his first IBM XT. Most notably however, for 12 years, he served as the Power Supply Editor for one of the truly early, groundbreaking, and INDPENDENT PC enthusiast sites ([H]ardOCP) until its mothballing in April of 2019. Paul now brings the same flair and style of his power supply reviews to The FPS Review.

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