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Review: EVGA SuperNOVA 750 G2

by Tarinder Sandhu on 24 April 2014, 10:00

Tags: EVGA

Quick Link: HEXUS.net/qacdmb

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Running the numbers

Our Chroma load-testing procedures can be found at this link.

Efficiency

Load 10% 25% 50% 75% 100%
Efficiency 82.6% 90.1% 92% 90.8% 90.2%

There's very little to separate the best 80 PLUS Gold-rated supplies from vastly more expensive 80 PLUS Platinum models. EVGA's performance is at the upper end of 80 PLUS Gold.

Regulation

In terms of regulation, we're looking at just how well the supply is able to hold to the various lines. The ATX spec. has a +/- 5 per cent leeway on all but the -12V line.

Line/Load 3.3V 5V 12V
10 per cent +0.3% +0.9% +1.2%
50 per cent -0.1% +0.5% +0.8%
100 per cent -0.8% -0.2% 0%

Having looked at PSUs in detail for a number of years, manufacturing quality has improved such that very few supplies do poorly here. Near-server-grade performance is now readily available for a reasonable outlay.

Regulation - cross-load

How about providing uneven loads that stress particular voltage rails? In the first attempt, we've put 60A on the 12V rails, and 1A on the 3.3V and 5V rails. This can actually be somewhat typical for a system heavy on graphics and CPU power. In the second, we've turned the tables and gone for 12A on both the 3.3V and 5V rails - highly unlikely in a real-world environment - and just 2A on the 12V - even more unlikely!

Line/Load 3.3V 5V 12V
Cross-load 12V focus +0.8% +1.1% -0.6%
Cross-load 3.3V/5V focus -1.3% -0.6% +1.7%

Hammering one part of the PSU power delivery while using just a small portion of the other can throw cheaper supplies out of kilter. Numbers stack up nicely against the non-cross-load tests, which is a hallmark of a premium, top-quality supply.

What does this really mean? You'll never see large voltage drops, which can lead to instability, when the PC is loaded up.

Ripple

Line/Load (mv - p-p max) 3.3V 5V 12V
10 per cent 10mV 10mV 15mV
50 per cent 15mV 15mV 30mV
100 per cent 20mV 25mV 35mV

The ATX v2.2 spec states that the maximum permissible ripple is 120mV for the 12V line and 50mV for others.

PSUs convert AC power into DC, but doing so requires the AC waveform to be suppressed. What we're really testing here is the quality of the supply's rectifier and any smoothing capacitors in getting rid of this unwanted up-and-down ripple. Performance is comfortably within the limits of the specification.

Temps

Temperatures Intake Exhaust
10 per cent 27°C 34°C
50 per cent 36°C 42°C
100 per cent 38°C 45°C

We've tested the temperature with the ECO switch disabled. The figures are just above average for a supply of this ilk. Activating ECO, however, results in the fan being off until about 330W.

Fan performance

Temps are good but they mean little in isolation. Obtaining accurate noise readings is near-on impossible when the supply is connected to the Chroma test harness and dual-unit load-tester. We can test the manufacturer's quietness claims in a different way, by using an AMPROBE TMA10A anemometer placed directly over the centre of the PSU. The anemometer records the airflow being pushed/pulled from the PSU's fan. We can use a Voltcraft DT-10L RPM meter to measure the rotational speed of the fan, too.

Load Fan RPM Airflow Noise
10 per cent 500rpm circa-15cfm Very quiet
50 per cent 700rpm circa-25cfm Very quiet
100 per cent 1,500rpm circa-50cfm Noticeable, not annoying

The fan can't be heard at a mid-load 375W. Putting this into context, our GTX 780 Ti-based gaming system draws less than this when playing games.