Build Quality
As we already know the Fractal Design ION+ 560P features a single 140mm fan design that is used in the same vein as 120mm fans in that these can provide for quiet cooling environments due to the ability to move a larger volume of air at slower speeds than a smaller diameter fan. The 140mm fan is just about the largest diameter fan we are likely to see in ATX power supplies given the physical constraints of the form factor. While great for quiet computing environments the key criteria in our evaluation is whether or not the cooling solution is sufficient, not necessarily its sound output level or form factor, although we certainly listen for offending units.
External Build Quality
The exterior of the Fractal Design ION+ 560P is subtle in that Northern European IKEA way. The layout is traditional for a fully modular unit (the connectors are well labeled) with an overhead fan in the ATX12v/EPS form factor. Cosmetically, the unit carries the Fractal Design branding on the side of the housing in small print and Fractal Design ION+ 560P branding on a sticker on the rear. Speaking of which, the rear features one of the more interesting exhausts grills that I have seen in years. The fan grill on the top of the unit is very much like the parallel slat design on some of Corsair’s higher end products (hopefully no patent issues here). Rounding things out, the unit has a durable black finish that is slightly textured.
The ION+ 560P comes in at a total length of ~5 7/8 inches while the cables come in at a length of ~16″ to 28″ to the first or only connector. Additionally, the cables are a mix of standard wire loom and FlexForce style cables.
Internal Build Quality
Once we open the top of the ION + 560P we see a rather modern Sirfa/High Power platform that we have not seen before. The topology features a half-bridge LLC primary and a synchronous rectification secondary with DC-DC converters for the minor rails. The fan cooling this unit today is a FDB fan from Dynamic rated at 0.3A at 12v. It is paired with three large heatsinks and two small heatsinks. Lastly, the soldering is very nice on this dual layer PCB.
The ION+ 560P input filtering begins up on the housing itself where we find some X capacitors and Y capacitors. The balance of the input filtering is found on the back edge of the main PCB. Next up are the bridge rectifiers attached to a large “T” shaped heatsink. Behind that, and towards the edge of the main PCB, we find a large heatsink housing the APFC components and, just past that, a PCB housing fan controller and other protections. Next to this is the APFC coil are the main input capacitors. Speaking of these capacitors, they are provided by Rubycon with a rating of 400v 330uF 105C. Next to these we find our third large heatsink which houses the balance of the primary side power components.
The secondary side of this unit looks a bit crowded but generally cleanly integrated. The two small heatsinks present here are for the 12v MOSFETs on the PCB. Just behind these is the main transformer. On the other side of the heatsinks, between them and the modular PCB, are the DC-DC VRMs. Throughout this area we find FP solid capacitors and Nippon Chemi-con standard capacitors. The modular PCB itself is well constructed with clean integrations and a slew of FP solid capacitors.
Build Quality Summary
Today’s ION+ 560P is the first power supply we have seen from Fractal Design and it starts things off on a bigger up note than was expected from such a small capacity unit. Overall, the build quality very nice, the topology fairly modern, and the component selections are generally excellent. The exterior starts of decent enough without being truly striking as it is very much of the IKEA flavor of design. The cables on this unit are modular FlexForce style cables for the most part and the integration seems to be well done. The electrolytics come from Rubycon (standard), Nippon Chemi-con (standard), and FPCAP (solid) which are all excellent. The fan is a FDB fan from Dynamic. While the FDB nature is surely nice, this is the first Dynamic fan we have seen so there is a bit of mystery there. All in all, the ION+ 560P looks like a very good mid market unit. Let’s move on now to the load tests and see how this unit performs!