GIGABYTE P650B
Today, GIGABYTE (GIGA-BYTE Technology Co., Ltd) is up for a trip through our power supply testing program. As a company, GIGABYTE has a longer history than many other companies in the enthusiast DIY realm having been founded in 1986. While GIGABYTE’s primary focus has been motherboards and graphics cards, it has branched out into laptop/tablet design, PC design, chassis, and even a few power supplies.
The early power supplies in these lines were not something we saw much of but, hopefully, going forward we will see more and more from GIGABYTE in this realm. Today, we are looking at our second GIGABYTE branded power supply the GIGABYTE P650B (GP-P650B) an ATX 650W power supply. This power supply can be found for around $66.99 at Amazon and B&H currently.
Xiamen Metrotec Electronic Industry Co., Ltd. (MEIC) was founded a few short years ago in 2007. To date, their products have been almost exclusively in the power adapter realm and not the SMPS realm let alone the enthusiast power supply realm. Obviously, this makes them currently only a minor power supply OEM that is not nearly as well known to users as some other OEMs as its core business focus has been outside of the desktop market. However, with GIGABYTE picking MEIC up as their contract manufacturer, perhaps we will start to see more of them in the future.
Does It Take A GIGABYTE Out Of The Competition?
If you take a look at the power supplies GIGABYTE offers, you will find its AORUS branded power supplies at the top of the stack. Under the AORUS branded power supplies are the rest of its more basic or mainstream power supplies. That is where the P650B falls today, this is not the higher-end AORUS branded power supplies, but rather one of its more basic models.
The GIGABYTE P650B is the second power supply we have seen from GIGABYTE here at TheFPSReview. This particular unit is going to be a bit more interesting outing for many people than 1200W+ monsters as it is a mainstream product in model/capacity/price range. As this product is coming to us at a reasonable market position from GIGABYTE, we have fairly reasonable expectations when it comes to performance and value. GIGABYTE offers a 3-year warranty on the product.
That said, GIGABYTE is coming in with this unit on a bit of a bad footing today as the P750GM we saw last time was not a good power supply. On top of that, it is also going to face a lot of competition in this kind of product segment so things will not be easy for the P650B today. However, before we get too far ahead of ourselves, let’s first see what GIGABYTE has to say about this unit:
80 Plus Bronze Certified
80 Plus certified ensures the better power efficiency. Less power waste reduces the heat and fan noise. P650B can be up to 89% efficiency.
Reliable Mesh Braided Cable
P650B provides the best solution for the system builds. The mesh braided cable reduces the clutter and improves the airflow in the case.
100% Japanese Capacitors
All capacitors are high quality Japanese capacitors, to produce the efficient performance and to ensure the longer reliability.
Single +12V Rail
Single +12V rail provides the best power output, stability and compatibility for the hardware. And it is the best design for installation.
120mm Hydraulic Bearing (HYB) Fan
120mm Hydraulic Bearing fan optimizes the noise reduction and the thermal performance. The fan speed is adjusted according to the automatic power detection. The Hydraulic Bearing fan provides longer and more stable life time.
Let’s move on now and see what we can expect when a user purchases the GIGABYTE P650B power supply in retail in terms of documentation, accessories, cable count, rail layout, output characteristics, and general build quality.