Load Testing
For those of you that are curious as to some of the reasoning and equipment behind our PSU testing program here at The FPS Review, we have put together an introduction for you. This program is based on what the author developed at [H]ardOCP and utilizes the equipment bequeathed to the author by Kyle Bennett. The testing we are conducting today is exactly as described in that document and start with our 120v, 100v, Torture, and 80 Plus Tests.
120v and 100v Load Testing Results
Test #1 is equal to approximately 25% of the rated capacity of the Fractal Design ION+ 560P at 45c. This makes Test #1 equal to 148W by loading the 12v rail to 10a, the 5v rail to 2a, the 3.3v rail to 1a, the +5vsb to 2a, and the -12v to 0.3a. The results of Test #1 show the main positive DC output rails starting off mixed with the 12v rail above nominal and the minor rails below nominal. The efficiency for this unit is starting off in very good shape at a value of 88.44% at 120v AC input and 87.91% at 100v AC input. We see the exhaust temperature is 47C at 120v AC input and 48C at 100V AC input.
Test #2 is equal to approximately 50% of the rated capacity of the Fractal Design ION+ 560P at 45c. This makes Test #2 equal to 277W by loading the 12v rails to 20a, the 5v rail to 3a, the 3.3v rail to 2a, the +5vsb to 2a, and the -12v to 0.3a. Test #2 sees the DC output voltages drop relative to what we saw with Test #1. The largest changes are up to a 0.04v decrease on the 12v rail, 0.03v on the 5v rail, and 0.02v on the 3.3v rail. The efficiency has moved up to 90.18% at 120v AC input and 89.31% at 100v AC input. We see an exhaust temperature of 49C at 120v AC input and 52C at 100V AC input.
Test #3 is equal to approximately 75% of the rated capacity of Fractal Design ION+ 560P at 45c. This makes Test #3 equal to 406W by loading the 12v rails to 30a, the 5v rail to 4a, the 3.3v rail to 3a, the +5vsb to 2a, and the -12v to 0.3a. Test #3 sees another round of almost across the board drops. The 5v and 3.3v rails have dropped by up to 0.04v. The 12v rail has dropped by up to 0.04v or risen by 0.01v depending on the connector you look at. The efficiency in Test #3 moves down to 89.59% at 120v AC input and 88.61% at 100v AC input. We see an exhaust temperature of 51C at 120v AC input and 54C at 100V AC input.
Test #4 is equal to approximately 100% of the rated capacity of the Fractal Design ION+ 560P at 45c. This makes Test #4 equal to 546/545W by loading the 12v rail to 40a, the 5v rail to 7a, the 3.3v rail to 5a, the +5vsb to 2a, and the -12v to 0.3a. In the final regular test, we see the 12v rail move down by up to 0.06v at 120v AC input and 0.08v at 100v AC input. The 5v rail sees a 0.06v drop at 120v AC input and 0.07v drop at 100v AC input. The 3.3v rail is similar as it sees a 0.05v drop at 120V AC input and 0.07v at 100v AC input. The efficiency has dropped as we see it come in at 88.09% at 120v AC input and 86.85% at 100v AC input. We see an exhaust temperature of 53C at 120v AC input and 59C at 100V AC input.
Torture Test
The Torture Test is equal to approximately 80% of the rated capacity of the Fractal Design ION+ 560P at 45C. This makes the Torture Test equal to 443W by loading the 12v rail to 31a, the 5v rail to 8a, the 3.3v rail to 5a, the +5vsb to 2a, and the -12v to 0.3a. At the end of the Torture Test, the ION+ 560P is still doing well. The DC output voltages are generally in line with what we have been seeing in the 120v load tests. The efficiency is very good as we see a value of 88.75% and the exhaust temperature is 59C.
80 Plus Load Testing Results
As we see here, the Fractal Design ION+ 560P posts efficiency values of 86.58%-89.16%-86.88% using 80 Plus’ load testing parameters. This puts the WAY under the 80 Plus Platinum standard across the board. However, we do use different equipment than 80 Plus for our testing and there is always a bit of component variation.
Load Testing Summary
Today, the Fractal Design ION+ 560P did a passing and even good job in our initial load testing. When we look at the voltage regulation, we see that the ION+ 560P had peak changes of 0.16v on the 12v rail, 0.14v on the 5v rail, and 0.12v on the 3.3v rail. These absolute values are in specification but the 3.3v rail does end near the ATX12v specification minimum during Test #4 at 100v AC input. These results are certainly better than the Solid Gear Neutron 550W (but so is a pile crap) but they are also better than what we saw from BitFenix Formula Gold 550W.
Things continue to go well, to a point, when we look at the efficiency as that ranged from 88.09% to 90.18% efficient at 120v AC input and 86.85% to 89.31% efficient at 100v AC input. On the flipside, that point is that this unit did miss the advertised 80 Plus efficiency values across the board by a long shot. Lastly, the exhaust temperature peaked at 53C at 120v AC input, 59C at 100v AC input, and 59C during the Torture Test. Let’s move on to the Transient Load Tests now to see how this unit does there.