We conducted several tests with this power supply, as described in the article Hardware Secrets Power Supply Test Methodology.
First we tested this power supply with five different load patterns, trying to pull around 20%, 40%, 60%, 80%, and 100% of its labeled maximum capacity (actual percentage used listed under “% Max Load”), watching how the reviewed unit behaved under each load. In the table below we list the load patterns we used and the results for each load.
If you add all the power listed for each test, you may find a different value than what is posted under “Total” below. Since each output can vary slightly (e.g., the +5 V output working at 5.10 V), the actual total amount of power being delivered is slightly different than the calculated value. On the “Total” row we are using the real amount of power being delivered, as measured by our load tester.
The +12VA and +12VB inputs listed below are the two +12 V independent inputs from our load tester. During this test the +12VA input was connected to the power supply +12V1, +12V2 and +12V3 rails, while the +12VB input was connected to the power supply +12V1 rail.
Note: We are now using the names +12VA and +12VB for the two inputs from our load tester because some people were thinking that the “+12V1” and “+12V2” names present on our table referred to the power supply rails, which is not the case.
Input | Test 1 | Test 2 | Test 3 | Test 4 | Test 5 |
+12VA | 5 A (60 W) | 10 A (120 W) | 15 A (180 W) | 20 A (240 W) | 25 A (300 W) |
+12VB | 5 A (60 W) | 10 A (120 W) | 15 A (180 W) | 20 A (240 W) | 25 A (300 W) |
+5V | 2 A (10 W) | 4 A (20 W) | 6 A (30 W) | 8 A (40 W) | 10 A (50 W) |
+3.3 V | 2 A (6.6 W) | 4 A (13.2 W) | 6 A (30 W) | 8 A (26.4 W) | 10 A (33 W) |
+5VSB | 1 A (5 W) | 1.5 A (7.5 W) | 2 A (10 W) | 2.5 A (12.5 W) | 3 A (15 W) |
-12 V | 0.5 A (6 W) | 0.5 A (6 W) | 0.5 A (6 W) | 0.5 A (6 W) | 0.5 A (6 W) |
Total | 150.2 W | 290.0 W | 429.8 W | 567.9 W | 704.6 W |
% Max Load | 21.5% | 41.4% | 61.4% | 81.1% | 100.7% |
Room Temp. | 45.2º C | 44.3º C | 44.4º C | 46.6º C | 48.0º C |
PSU Temp. | 53.2º C | 53.2º C | 53.9º C | 55.4º C | 57.3º C |
Voltage Regulation | Pass | Pass | Pass | Pass | Pass |
Ripple and Noise | Pass | Pass | Pass | Pass | Pass |
AC Power | 166.8 W | 320.5 W | 482.3 W | 647.0 W | 818.0 W |
Efficiency | 90.0% | 90.5% | 89.1% | 87.8% | 86.1% |
AC Voltage | 117.2 V | 116.1 V | 114.6 V | 112.8 V | 110.0 V |
Power Factor | 0.973 | 0.986 | 0.994 | 0.996 | 0.997 |
Final Result | Pass | Pass | Pass | Pass | Pass |
Enermax MODU87+ 700 W can really deliver its labeled wattage at high temperatures.
Efficiency was always very high, around 90% when we pulled between 20% and 40% from the unit’s maximum labeled capacity (i.e., between 140 W and 280 W). At 60% load (420 W) efficiency was still extremely high at 89.1%, dropping to 87.8% at 80% load (560 W) and to 86.1% at 100% load (700 W).
In theory this unit would need to present 87% efficiency at full load in order to qualify for the 80 Plus Gold certification, but keep in mind that this organization tests power supplies at a room temperature of 25º C while we test units between 45º C and 50º C and the higher the temperature, the lower efficiency is.
Voltages were always inside the allowed range.
Noise and ripple levels were another highlight from this product, being always low. Below you can see these levels with the power supply delivering 705 W (test five). The maximum allowed is 120 mV for the +12 V output and 50 mV for the +5 V and +3.3 V outputs. All numbers are peak-to-peak figures.
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Figure 20: +12VA input from load tester at 704.6 W (53.4 mV).
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Figure 21: +12VB input from load tester at 704.6 W (52.4 mV).
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Figure 22: +5V rail with power supply delivering 704.6 W (23.6 mV).
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Figure 23: +3.3 V rail with power supply delivering 704.6 W (35.6 mV).
When we tried to pull more than 700 W from this unit it would shut down. This was probably due to some sort of limitation from our equipment, since a friend of ours could pull up to 1,000 W from this unit.
