Good review as usual, Thanks !!! and great PSU !!

I love those tiny heatsinks inside... It's kind of funny actually ! I was just ripping some heatsinks out of a 10 year old burnt out 300W PSU yesterday and the heatsinks are MASSIVE... I wonder what the efficency of this thing was back then... lol

Actually, they could use bigger heatsinks in the Enermax and that would allow the fan to run even slower, no ?

Great review, about time we had one, though, considering availability, it makes sense that we haven't. I contacted Enermax back pre-april, and they told me the modu87's would hit newegg by mid-april. Well, there's only one available on newegg, the 800W...$250. So, I got an x-650 instead. Not sure how much cheaper the 500W Modu 87 would be anyway.

In Europe they seem available at a decent price (link). Not exactly cheap though, a Nexus RX-5300 is only €74 on that very same webshop.

Great review!

I always knew this PSU would be very very quiet after reading Anandtech's review but this being confirmed by you guys finalize this as maybe the best PSU available today, together with Seasonic X-650. The price is nasty but 11 dBa to 400W of load and below 20 dBa during all time in i modern case? Definitively worth every single penny.

My local hardware dealer in the UK has the 500W, 600W and 700W Modu87+ Gold in stock http://www.scan.co.uk/Search.aspx?q=enermax+modu87%2b+gold, and the 500W and 600W Pro87+ Gold in stock http://www.scan.co.uk/Search.aspx?q=enermax+pro87%2b+gold. Their price for the the Enermax Modu87+ 600W Gold is about the same as a Seasonic X650 - looks like they could be selling a lot less of the Seasonic.

Very interesting. Might be time to upgrade my antiquated Neo HE.

You list price as a (potential) quibble, but here in the UK it is in stock at £96 at one of my usual E-tailers, which is £30 cheaper than the lowest in-stock price on froogle for the X-650. This is far from bargain-basement pricing, but is quite a percentage saving over the Seasonic.

Edit: Beaten to the punch, damn you lodestar!

Why do you say that? Do you mean now that my review is out? Because the 87+ makes less noise at 500W? imo, even though they're functionally similar, the Seasonic has better build quality, while the Enermax is quieter at high power. If noise is the main issue, preferences will probably divide at 300W -- those who need less, vs those who need more. I think with either PSU, most of the time, other components will tend to make more noise.

But between the 500W Enermax & the 650W Seasonic X, the price difference is too big to ignore if you don't need the extra power.

<Off topic>

Hi,

You would write "de rigueur" instead of "de rigeur", first page.


AiZ

</Off topic>

you caught me.

Just FYI (and for european/italian silencers), the Modu87+ is actually available in Italy: it costs ~120 euros, so about 40% more than the Modu82+ (~85 euros), about 60% more than the Pro82+ (~75 euros), and about 30% less than Seasonic X650 (~150 euros).

Regards,
Luca

P.S.: may it worth an upgrade over a Pro82+/Modu82+?

Nice review.

A pity this isn't available on major online stores here in the U.S.

Sounds like a great choice for a modular PSU running a GTX 470 or 5870 and a Core i7.

I already have a modu82+, so as much as i would like to be able to i cant justify spending £112, plus postage. Sure, its usually the only thing i can hear in my PC so this might make it even quieter but honestly my PC is quiet enough, until i do a full upgrade (year or 2 away i guess).
Shame really cause i do want me some 80PLUS gold at <11Db.

It might be more silent in a hotbox but I recon the x650 is more silent in a more realistic case. I have one that is drawing air from the bottom straight from the outside and it stays fanless even during load, some 350W in my rig. The x650 really stays fanless much longer than most people think and the enermax, which at its most silent state isn't quite as silent as the fanless x650. Just my 2 cents, although I am probably biased

edit: Probably the best thing I have ever bought, although it might get beaten by the ssd I am to buy in not too long

edit2: Although I am slightly anoyed at the 6pin gpu powercable. Why have two 6pins on the same slot on the psu. It defeats the point of haveing it modular as I now have an extra cable lying around that I can't get rid of. This enermax has the same issue

Nice PSU! Thanks for the review - hopefully, Enermax will start selling that puppy over here.

This power supply is so good that I'll never consider buying one.
Really, did you check EU pricing? The 500w Pro87+ hovers at around 100 euros, about 20 less than the Modu version. To get either 600w unit, add 30 euros, and so on for the higher models.

A Seasonic X-650 is at just over 130 euros with some careful searching, and offers partially fanless operation, fully modular cabling (which might be a moot point, but it's there, and will save you the second EPS12V connector hanging in the higher models if you don't need it) and generally better electrical performance, though both are overly excellent in this matter. And if you don't really need uber-silence, there's the Corsair HX 750w, which is the bargain of the century in the power supply market, coming at under 120 euros. The ONLY unique feature I can find in the 87+ line is the Cordguard clip, which is nice, but not really worth that much money. Quiet operation at high loads is pretty much equal to Seasonic's one if you plan using a good case with PSU at the bottom.

Where, if I may ask?

Regards,
Luca

Well, I don't mind so much that the Seasonic SS-550LT isn't available: it seems a somewhat weird PSU, despite of its gold rating (and tight voltage regulation).

Have a look at its 5VSB value: 1.7A at full load, about the same of my tiny Antec MT-350, or substantially less than my Fortron Zen.
I mean it might not be able to properly power up some high end motherboard, such as DFI (or EVGA) ones.

Regards,
Luca

eBay
Last week it was listed at 132 euro, now it's gone up to 140,50, it's still a much better choice IMO, unless you're willing to get the Pro and forego the modular cabling.

What have other people's experiences with the reliability of Enermax supplies been like? They look nicely made, but the failure rates I've seen are dreadful.

Where have you seen such failure rates, if I may ask?

However, coming down to hands on experience, I've had two Enermax PSU during last five years (or so about).

One I've sold some while ago, but the second still I have it (a Pro82+ 425W).
For what is worth, this latter one is up and running since october 2008, quietly powering (H24/365) a small server.

Regards,
Luca

Exactly what I was thinking. You need a serious GPU like a Radeon 5870 and CPU on full load to hit 300W mark. Anyone find me a 5870 that makes 11 db on full load? It's a moot point how long the PSU stays quiet really beyond 200W. The GPUs of today draw very little power idle as do CPUs so a modern system draws below 150W idle. And when you put some load on a system, other components make a lot more noise then any of the top PSUs tested here. I'll just stick with a Nexus Value 430. It would take years for these 87+ PSUs to pay themselves back.

I wonder if the fan has the same isues that the modu82+ has had...

I'd be interested in how similar the 500W PSUs are to the 600W. Can't get the 500W units in Australia as far as I can tell. Thing that ticks me off is that I can't get an 87+ unit that isn't more expensive than the CP-850...which is ridiculously overpowered, and also less efficient...but I might end up going with it, since it's the only quiet PSU going for a reasonable price I can get here.

@MikeC, thank-you for the excellent review!

Aside from "quietness" ...
Did you find this PSU to be better in any way than the X-650?

Any thoughts greatly appreciated, thanks!

The Seasonic has a number of pluses -- casing is sturdier, with thicker metal; all of its cables are detachable; slightly higher efficiency; the patented separation of the lower voltage lines to the back panel PCB. Technologically, it's a more advanced product, even though in actual use, the differences are probably not significant... except maybe during installation (no output cables to wrangle till you're ready), and maybe in longevity, which we won't know about till there's a large enough user base of both products over a couple of years or longer.

Excellent, some of those points I anticipated, some I didn't know at all.
So thanks for sparing a few minutes to extrapolate the primary differences.
Tis greatly appreciated... now... time to 'flash the plastic' for an X-650!

Thanks again & all the best.

Maybe you should do better just sitting down and rest: there are the newer Seasonic X-series to consider.

Regards,
Luca

Everything I've heard about the new x-series is it's just a "markettecture" upgrade.
(i.e. marketing exercise)