Corsair 620W and ripple on test 5

[nealh]

I was looking at JG review on this PSU...on test 5 using 623w with 39A..there was 100mv on the 12v rails

Now my question is this seems to be a bit of concern..I know it is in spec but this seems more than alot of very good psu's and yet the this PSU is highly recommended

Is it really much of an issue...test 5 had the PSU at 100%+(623W) load 39A on 12v and 20A on 5v line

Now in comaprison to the recent Zalman 600w...it had 17A on 5v, 36A on 12v rail and 591W..yet it had almost no ripple

So is the Corsair really that good.....

[GalvanizedYankee]

It is well within spec when driven past rated output.
So I'd say yah, it's a very good unit.

The Zalman is the new kid on the block and did test very well indeed.
It did have a slight rework and is now different from it's Epsilon daddy.

The M12 based Corsair has much better build quality than the Zalman
and will probably be longer lived. This is just my opinion.

[galapogos]

When you say better build quality what exactly does that mean? Better circuit design? Better choice of component brands/values? Larger heatsinks?

[jonnyGURU]

All of the above. :D

The FSP is good. But it's a "budget focused" platform. Which makes it great for an OEM because it can mean higher profit margins.

[galapogos]

Hmm, ok maybe I should phrase my question differently. If a PSU performs the same or better in your tests(in terms of ripple, voltage regulation, efficiency, PFC and all that other jazz) than another PSU with better build quality, does it really matter if the other PSU has better build quality? The only thing I can think of is maybe durability.

[jonnyGURU]

Longevity, resistance to long term, high temperatures....

[ianm2]

the most important criteria for a psu, probably as with anything, is that it works, it works out of the box, it may work for a short while to the specs., however, the build quality MAY mean that it may not last as long, or perform for as long to that std.

Its how long it will give that performance for, but in objective terms, yes its better as its over spec. It MAY however, after a period of time, become less capable than the inferior testing one. Its a can of worms, and not easy to answer.

tbh, you should change your psu at least when the mtbf is out, or the warrantee is out, or even if you are so minded, that performance has fallen, if you are able to verify when.

I am not aware that the other components in psus....transistors, voltage regs., and chokes wear out, but mileage may be had by replacing electrolytic caps, who's electrolytes may dry out with age/heat. If you are particularly scrooge like and don't wish to shell out on a new one.

And there ain't that many inside, so should be pretty cheap.

So the performance, SORT of, should be fairly safe generally upto those times...theorectically. I wouldn't get too anal about it.

btw, 100mv on the 12 volt rails is 1/120th, which is less than 1%, in engineering terms, that's pretty low, but it does seem highish. That is also at full rated power, which you may never attain, obviously at lower loads, it SHOULD be less.