Review: Deepcool DQ750 Evo Quanta

Introduction

Deepcool has established a name for itself as a supplier of inexpensive PC hardware that punches well above its financial weight. The GamerStorm Lucifer cooler being a prime example of the company's value-driven approach, Deepcool has diversified into chassis, watercoolers, laptop cooling and, more recently, PSUs.

Not a name you're familiar with? Deepcool OEMs for some major companies and has over 700 staff at its headquarters in Shenzhen, China. Intent on building a retail presence with the Deepcool brand itself, the across-the-board infiltration comes as no surprise.

PSUs can be a lucrative source of revenue for a company. Oftentimes built by a seasoned manufacturer and tweaked for retail by the partner in question, they're relatively straightforward to integrate into an ever-expanding catalogue. Deepcool sells four ranges, covering a wide array of features and price points, and we have the DQ750 Evo Quanta in for technical evaluation today.

Deepcool's OEM provenance shines through after one peek at the supply. Industrial in nature and eschewing some of the smooth-edge designs seen on many competing solutions, the company keeps costs down to £75 for this model that measures 160mm x 150mm x 86mm (WxDxH) in size. We'd prefer an all-black aesthetic rather than the gold-coloured grille, reminding us of cheaper supplies, but this is a minor criticism of something you are not likely to see when installed in your chassis.

Inside, a 140mm YL fan - model D14SM-12 - spins up at all times, contrary to the information carried on Deepcool's website. Similarly, like Enermax, the company promises the PSU's fan remains operational after the supply is switched off, to cool components, but this was not the case with our sample.

Moving on, we're fans of modular PSUs so view the DQ750 Evo positively. Only the main 24-pin motherboard and 4+4-pin are connected, with everything else up to your choosing.

Cabling is a tad strange, to say the least. Notice there are only five cable runs for six ports on the PSU? Deepcool combines Molex and SATA into one cable for the three runs, and there are no SATA-only cables in the box, though eight ports ought to be enough for most builds. Perhaps Deepcool needs to rethink this aspect and add a three-plug SATA cable to fill all ports? And while we're at it, the cabling is a little short for the first connector on each run.

On a better note, the cables are nice and flat while the PCIe are clearly identified by the red connectors. Anyone needing more than four 6-8-pin connectors should be looking at a higher-wattage PSU. And anyone still using floppy drives, or any device requiring a 3.5in connector, is out of luck here.

It's easy to spot the design of the PSU because of the single 12V rail that is able to push almost all of the available capacity to power-hungry components such as graphics cards and CPUs. The 3.3V and 5V rails, often referred to as the minor rails, tap into the 12V to deliver their capacity. Running from a single DC power pool offers the best flexibility of wattages.

Premium supplies often have at least an 80 PLUS Gold efficiency rating and 40°C ambient temperature threshold for continuous power. Deepcool ticks both of those requirements with the DQ750 Evo.

Inside, it's a little surprising to find that Channel Well Technology (CWT) is the OEM here. Why? Because CWT has a very close relationship with Corsair, with the latter company's entire range of supplies now moving over to using CWT.

Soldering quality is average as is the use of a Samxon capacitor for primary filtering. Output-wise, it's a mix of Samxon and Nippon Chemi-Con. Deepcool makes a sensible compromise between PSU cost and the quality of components used within. Do be aware that this unit is materially different from the regular DQ750 as the Evo uses an upgraded platform. With that out of the way, let's now see what the unit is capable of.