the most efficient one?

Gandalf · Post by **Gandalf** » Wed May 14, 2003 7:42 am

Which PSU is *the* most efficient one out there?
Silence isn't as important as efficiency to me, simply because sound is usually only an issue when there is a waste of energy(heat, ..)..

Empty17 · Post by **Empty17** » Wed May 14, 2003 7:56 am

I think the most efficient PSU would probably be a Fortron.

halcyon · Post by **halcyon** » Wed May 14, 2003 1:39 pm

Active PFC Fortron is a good bet. Which model, well that's a bit more vague

Post by **MikeC** » Wed May 14, 2003 2:13 pm

The largest proportion of samples that are high efficiency I've seen are Seasonic APFC PSUs, average 70-74%. Except at very low power. None of them make it past ~65% at min power.

PowerMan · Post by **PowerMan** » Wed May 14, 2003 2:34 pm

I bet fortron 400W, model number FSP400-60PFN, is one of the best, if not THE best. Seasonic is pretty good too, model number SS-400FS.

energy · Post by **energy** » Wed May 14, 2003 4:55 pm

Powerman...hmmm... an alias of FSP

AndrewC · Post by **AndrewC** » Wed May 14, 2003 5:07 pm

And energy is probally an alias for Seasonic from the looks of things.
Just jking.

wussboy · Post by **wussboy** » Wed May 14, 2003 9:33 pm

Shit, I'm spooked after this Digitalix/SilenX thing. Every time I hear someone recommend something my alarm bells go off.

halcyon · Post by **halcyon** » Wed May 14, 2003 11:07 pm

Yeah, we are all truly employers of various sleazy companies and we get kick backs for recommending our own products

Let's try and keep trust up among our community and only distrust those that truly deserve it. Otherwise the scoundrels have won by creating distrust within our community

On a related note. I own power amplifiers using a novel modulation method for power switching:

http://www.medicom.bang-olufsen.com/sw1054.asp

In an audio amplification application it can sustain an efficiency of c. 90% which is above the ranges of current switch mode power factor correcting ATX power supplies.

Recently the manufacturer of this technology (B&O) has also hinted that this technology is usable for power supplies. I have no idea about how efficient it could be in a computer power supply, but if anybody's interested, the data sheets for their modules are at:

http://www.medicom.bang-olufsen.com/sw1064.asp

And no, I don't get any kick backs from them, work for them, have ever worked for them or know anyone from the company. I'm just a customer hoping for cooler and more efficient power supplies

regards,
Halcyon

Post by **Ralf Hutter** » Thu May 15, 2003 3:20 am

halcyon wrote:Let's try and keep trust up among our community and only distrust those that truly deserve it. Otherwise the scoundrels have won by creating distrust within our community

Yeah but it's kind of hard to forget the burning sensation left by Digitalix (with his 400+ posts for gosh sakes!) and his various alter-egos. You see a new guy whose every post is about the same brand of PSU and you start to wonder. It happened once, why not again?

halcyon · Post by **halcyon** » Thu May 15, 2003 4:07 am

OffTopic: you are of course right.

The other pov is that if none of us trust each other, the value of this forum rapidly approaches zero, because the information becomes suspect.

Back to topic:

These are not measured (and as such, not perhaps most trustworthy) figures, but here are some efficiency figures from various manufacturers:

Zalman 300W ZM300A-APF ATX Silent, >75% (full load)
Zalman 400W ZM400A-APF ATX silent , >75% (full load)
Seasonic non PFC SS-250FS, SS-300FS, SS-350FS, c. 80% (typical)
Enermax 450W Power Supply: EG 465 P - VE (FCA)), c. 70% (full load)
Several Fortron supplies, 65% minimum, 70% (typical full load)

All figures are from sites of the respective manufacturers and may not be comparable with each other.

Several redundant PSUs advertise 'minimum efficiency' of 75% (e.g. Sight).

The ATX PSU Design guide lists a minimum efficiency ratio of 68% at full load:

http://www.formfactors.org/developer/sp ... PSDGV1.pdf

The 75% efficiency at full (or typical) load seems to be the current switching mode PSU norm, when looking at the data gathered by Compaq, which is included in the NRDC's "Power Supplies - A Hidden opportunity for energy savings" paper:

http://www.nrdc.org/air/energy/appliance/app2.pdf

On a related note, if you're interested in electricity efficiency for ecological reasons, it pays to notice that stand by power can easily consume 10-35% of the total electry usage (depending of course, on the numer and quality of stand by power using equipment and whether they are turned off completely or not):

http://standby.lbl.gov/ACEEE/StandbyPaper.pdf

Seems like the 75% is what most ATX switched mode PSUs are able to achieve currently and higher efficiency calls for more intelligent switched mode designs.

regards,
Halcyon

PowerMan · Post by **PowerMan** » Thu May 15, 2003 2:45 pm

energy wrote:Powerman...hmmm... an alias of FSP

Umm....I think the brand name PowerMan (name of power supplies inside of PC cases from the company called In-Win) does some how related to FSP. I think FSP is one of the power supply supplier for In-Win. Anyways, I don't work for In-Win, but I had a PowerMan power supply right next to me when I was trying to register for an account with SPCR...and that's where I got the name from, and sorry for being a fortron lover....just that I had some good experiences with their products before.