Load Testing
For those of you that are curious as to some of the reasoning and equipment behind our PSU testing program here at TheFPSReview, 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 SilverStone SX1000 at 45c. This makes Test #1 equal to 268W by loading the 12v rail to 20a, 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 above nominal. The efficiency for this unit is starting off in excellent shape at a value of 90.11% at 120v AC input and 89.20% at 100v AC input. We see the exhaust temperature is 48C at 120v AC input and 51C at 100v AC input.
Test #2 is equal to approximately 50% of the rated capacity of the SilverStone SX1000 at 45c. This makes Test #2 equal to 492W by loading the 12v rail to 38a, the 5v rail to 3a, the 3.3v rail to 2a, the +5vsb to 2a, and the -12v to 0.3a. Test #2 sees drops in the DC output voltages relative to what we saw with Test #1. The largest changes are up to a 0.03v decrease on the 3.3v rail followed by a 0.02v drop on the 5v rail and 12v rail. The efficiency has moved up to 91.02% at 120v AC input and 90.18% at 100v AC input. We see an exhaust temperature of 51C at 120v AC input and 54C at 100V AC input.
Test #3 is equal to approximately 75% of the rated capacity of SilverStone SX1000 at 45c. This makes Test #3 equal to 745W by loading the 12v rail to 58a, the 5v rail to 5a, the 3.3v rail to 4a, the +5vsb to 2a, and the -12v to 0.3a. Test #3 sees the 5v and 3.3v rails drop by 0.03v and 0.02v respectively. The 12v rail has decreased by up to 0.08v. The efficiency in Test #3 moves down to 90.26% at 120v AC input and 89.07% at 100v AC input. We see an exhaust temperature of 53C at 120v AC input and 58C at 100V AC input.
Test #4 is equal to approximately 100% of the rated capacity of the SilverStone SX1000 at 45c. This makes Test #4 equal to 993W by loading the 12v rail to 80a, the 5v rail to 4a, the 3.3v rail to 2a, the +5vsb to 2a, and the -12v to 0.3a. In the final regular test, we see all of the main DC output voltages drop once more. The 5v and 3.3v rails drop by 0.02v while the 12v rail drops by up to 0.04v. The efficiency has dropped as we see it come in at 88.90% at 120v AC input and 87.18% at 100v AC input. We see an exhaust temperature of 55C at 120v AC input and 60C at 100V AC input.
Torture Test
The Torture Test is equal to approximately 80% of the rated capacity of the SilverStone SX1000 at 45C full load. This makes the Torture Test equal to 803W by loading the 12v rail to 62a, the 5v rail to 7a, the 3.3v rail to 5a, the +5vsb to 2a, and the -12v to 0.3a. At the end of the Torture Test, the SX1000 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 excellent as we see a value of 89.57% and the exhaust temperature is 68C.
80 Plus Load Testing Results
As we see here, the SilverStone SX1000 posts efficiency values of 89.00%-91.83%-91.00% using 80 Plus’ load testing parameters. This puts the SX1000 under the 80 Plus Platinum standards at 20% and 50% load by up to 1%. However, we do use different equipment than 80 Plus for our testing and there is always a bit of component variation.
Load Testing Summary
Much like the diminutive SilverStone SX750, SX700-G, and SX700-PT before it today, the SilverStone SX1000 did a very good job in our initial load testing. When we look at the voltage regulation, we see that the SX1000 had peak changes of 0.14v on the 12v rail, 0.07v on the 5v rail, and 0.07v on the 3.3v rail. These absolute values are easily in the specification. Now, we have not seen another SFX-L unit, to date, and certainly, we have not seen a 1000W unit as small as this one. So direct comparisons to rivals are difficult. However, with values such as these, this unit should be competitive with even full-sized ATX12v/EPS units while being far more compact. That is impressive!
When we flip over to the efficiency side of things we see that the SX1000 did well again today. We see that it posted a range of 88.90% to 91.02% efficient at 120v AC input and 87.18% to 90.18% efficient at 100v AC input. When it came to the 80 Plus numbers, though, this unit missed as it was 89.00%-91.83%-91.00% efficient. These numbers are short of the 80 Plus Platinum numbers at 20% and 50% load by up to 1%. Lastly, the exhaust temperature peaked at 55C at 120v AC input, 60C at 100v AC input, and 68C during the Torture Test. With very good starting results in today’s testing, let’s move on to the Transient Load Tests.