Load Testing
For those of you who 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 starts 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 STEAMPUNK 850W at 45c. This makes Test #1 equal to 221W by loading the 12v rail to 16a, 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 above nominal. The efficiency for this unit is starting off in excellent shape at a value of 88.52% at 120v AC input and 87.82% at 100v AC input. We see the exhaust temperatures are coming in at 48C at 120v and 50C at 100v.
Test #2 is equal to approximately 50% of the rated capacity of the STEAMPUNK 850W at 45c. This makes Test #2 equal to 431W by loading the 12v rail to 32a, the 5v rail to 4a, the 3.3v rail to 3a, the +5vsb to 2a, and the -12v to 0.3a. Test #2 sees up to a 0.08v 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 88.89% at 120v AC input and 87.98% at 100v AC input. We see an exhaust temperature of 51C at 120v AC input and 53C at 100V AC input.
Test #3 is equal to approximately 75% of the rated capacity of STEAMPUNK 850W at 45c. This makes Test #3 equal to 636W by loading the 12v rail to 48a, the 5v rail to 6a, the 3.3v rail to 4a, the +5vsb to 2a, and the -12v to 0.3a. Test #3 sees the 5v rail decrease by 0.04 and 3.3v rail by 0.02v. The 12v rail has decreased by 0.06v. The efficiency in Test #3 moves down to 87.73% at 120v AC input and 86.65% at 100v AC input. We see an exhaust temperature of 55C at 120v AC input and 59C at 100V AC input.
Test #4 is equal to approximately 100% of the rated capacity of the STEAMPUNK 850W at 45c. This makes Test #4 equal to 848W by loading the 12v rail to 68a, the 5v rail to 2a, the 3.3v rail to 2a, the +5vsb to 2a, and the -12v to 0.3a. In the final regular test, we see that the 12v rail decreases by u to 0.04v. At the same time, the 5v rail moved up by 0.04v and the 3.3v rail moved up by 0.01v. Interestingly, the +5vsb rail hit the ATX12v specification limit of 4.75v. The efficiency in Test #4 moves down to 86.64% at 120v AC input and 84.63% at 100v AC input. We see an exhaust temperature of 58C at 120v AC input and 62C at 100V AC input.
Torture Test
The Torture Test is equal to approximately 80% of the rated capacity of the STEAMPUNK 850W at 45C full load. This makes the Torture Test equal to 666W by loading the 12v rail to 50a, 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 efficiency in Test #3 moves down to 87.66% and we see an exhaust temperature of 65C. Overall, the DC output voltages are generally in line with what we have been seeing in the 120v load tests.
Load Testing Summary
The 1STPLAYER STEAMPUNK 850W did a better job in our testing than the previous 1STPLAYER SFX 750W. When we look at the voltage regulation we see that the 1STPLAYER had peak changes of 0.18v on the 12v rail, 0.07v on the 5v rail, and 0.04v on the 3.3v rail. These absolute values are interesting as they are kind of loose on the 12v rail but better on the minor rails (although all values are well within ATX12v specification limits). In a relative sense, this unit trailed the SilverStone DA850 Gold, Enermax REVOLUTION DF 850W, and MSI A850GF while being mixed (barely) with the lower-end DeepCool PQ850M.
When it came to efficiency, this unit posted a range of 86.44% to 88.89% efficient at 120v AC input and 84.63% to 89.90% efficient at 100v AC input. These values are decent overall and seem like they would be in the rough range for an 80 Plus Gold power supply (maybe a bit low). Lastly, the exhaust temperature peaked at 58C at 120v AC input, 62C at 100v AC input, and 65C during the Torture Test. Let’s move on to the Transient Load Tests to see how this unit does there (hint…hint…this is called foreshadowing……it is a crap show….like real crap show…..I am just saying…hint….hint….).