Introduction

The Commander III power supply series from In Win, also known as “Desert Fox,” has 600 W, 700 W, and 800 W models, all with the 80 Plus Gold certification and a modular cabling system. Let’s take an in-depth look at the 700 W version.

The Commander III power supplies are really manufactured by In Win.

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Figure 1: In Win Commander III 700 W power supply

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Figure 2: In Win Commander III 700 W power supply

The In Win Commander III 700 W is 6.3” (160 mm) deep. It uses a 135 mm ball-bearing fan on its bottom (ADDA ADN512LB-A90).

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Figure 3: Fan

The modular cabling system from this power supply has five connectors: one for video cards and four for peripheral and SATA connectors. This power supply comes with the following cables:

• Main motherboard cable with a 20/24-pin connector, 21.3” (54 cm) long, permanently attached to the power supply
• One cable with two ATX12V connectors that together form an EPS12V connector, 24.8” (63 cm) long, permanently attached to the power supply
• One cable with two six/eight-pin connectors for video cards, 18.9” (48 cm) to the first connector, 5.9” (15 cm) between connectors, permanently attached to the power supply
• One cable with two six/eight-pin connectors for video cards, 19.9” (50.5 cm) to the first connector, 5.9” (15 cm) between connectors, modular cabling system
• Three cables, each with three SATA power connectors, 19.7” (50 cm) to the first connector, 5.9” (15 cm) between connectors, modular cabling system
• One cable with three peripheral power connectors and one floppy disk drive power connector, 19.7” (50 cm) to the first connector, 5.9” (15 cm) between connectors, modular cabling system

All wires are 18 AWG, which is the minimum recommended gauge, except for the video card cables, which use thicker (16 AWG) wires.

This is a somewhat standard configuration for 700 W units, with the advantage of having a total of nine SATA power connectors.

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Figure 4: Cables

Let’s now take an in-depth look inside this power supply.

A Look Inside the In Win Commander III 700 W

We decided to disassemble this power supply to see what it looks like inside, how it is designed, and what components are used. Please read our “Anatomy of Switching Power Supplies” tutorial to understand how a power supply works and to compare this power supply to others.             

On this page we will have an overall look, and then in the following pages we will discuss in detail the quality and ratings of the components used.

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Figure 5: Top view

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Figure 6: Front quarter view

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Figure 7: Rear quarter view

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Figure 8: The printed circuit board

Transient Filtering Stage

As we have mentioned in other articles and reviews, the first place we look when opening a power supply for a hint about its quality, is its filtering stage. The recommended components for this stage are two ferrite coils, two ceramic capacitors (Y capacitors, usually blue), one metalized polyester capacitor (X capacitor), and one MOV (Metal-Oxide Varistor). Very low-end power supplies use fewer components, usually removing the MOV and the first coil.

In the transient filtering stage, this power supply is “flawless.”

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Figure 9: Transient filtering stage (part 1)

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Figure 10: Transient filtering stage (part 2)

On the next page, we will have a more detailed discussion of the components used in the In Win Commander III 700 W.

Primary Analysis

On this page, we will take an in-depth look at the primary stage of the In Win Commander III 700 W. For a better understanding, please read our “Anatomy of Switching Power Supplies” tutorial.          

This power supply uses two rectifying bridges, which are attached to the same heatsink as the active PFC and switching transistors. The manufacturer, however, scratched the markings on the bridges, so we couldn’t identify them.

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Figure 11: Rectifying bridges

The active PFC circuit uses two STW26NM60N MOSFETs, each one supporting up to 20 A at 25° C or 12.6 A at 100° C in continuous mode (note the difference temperature makes), or 80 A at 25° C in pulse mode. These transistors present a 165 mΩ maximum resistance when turned on, a characteristic called RDS(on). The lower the number the better, meaning that the transistor will waste less power, and the power supply will have a higher efficiency. 

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Figure 12: Active PFC diode and transistors

The output of the active PFC circuit is filtered by two 220 μF x 450 V Japanese electrolytic capacitors, from Panasonic, labeled at 105° C. They are the equivalent of a single 440 μF x 450 V capacitor.

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Figure 13: Capacitors

In the switching section, another two STW26NM60N MOSFETs are employed using the traditional two-transistor forward configuration, which is interesting to see, since currently other manufacturers tend to use a resonant configuration for power supplies with the 80 Plus Gold certification. The specifications for these transistors were already discussed above.

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Figure 14: The switching transistors

The primary is controlled by a CM6802 active PFC/PWM combo controller.

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Figure 15: Active PFC/PWM controller

Let’s now take a look at the secondary of this power supply.

Secondary Analysis

As one would expect in a high-efficiency power supply, the In Win Commander III 700 W uses a synchronous design, where the Schottky rectifiers are replaced with MOSFETs. Also, the reviewed product uses a DC-DC design in its secondary. This means that the power supply is basically a +12 V unit, with the +5 V and +3.3 V outputs produced by two smaller power supplies connected to the main +12 V rail. Both designs are used to increase efficiency.

The +12 V output uses four IPP032N06N MOSFETs, each one supporting up to 120 A at 100° C in continuous mode, or up to 480 A at 25° C in pulse mode, with a maximum RDS(on) of 2.9 mΩ.

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Figure 16: The +12 V transistors

As explained, the +5 V and +3.3 V outputs are produced by two DC-DC converters, each one located on an individual daughterboard. Each converter is controlled by an APW7160 integrated circuit and makes use of two STD60N3LH5 transistors (48 A at 25° C or 42.8 A at 100° C in continuous mode or 192 A at 25° C in pulse mode, 8 mΩ resistance) and two STD85N3LH5 transistors (80 A at 25° C or 55 A at 100° C in continuous mode or 320 A at 25° C in pulse mode, 5 mΩ resistance).

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Figure 17: One of the DC-DC converters

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Figure 18: One of the DC-DC converters

The outputs are monitored by a WT7579 integrated circuit, which supports over voltage (OVP), under voltage (UVP), over current (OCP), and over temperature (OTP) protections. There are four +12 V over current protection (OCP) channels, matching the number of +12 V rails advertised by the manufacturer.

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Figure 19: Monitoring circuit

This power supply uses a mix of solid and electrolytic capacitors in its secondary. The electrolytic capacitors are from Teapo and labeled at 105° C, as usual.

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Figure 20: Capacitors

The +5VSB Power Supply

The +5VSB (a.k.a. standby) power supply is independent of the main power supply, since it is on continuously.

The +5VSB power supply uses an STR-A6069H integrated circuit, which incorporates the PWM controller and the switching transistor into a single chip.

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Figure 21: The +5VSB integrated circuit with an integrated switching transistor

The rectification of the +5VSB output is performed by an STPS2045CT Schottky rectifier, which supports up to 20 A (10 A per internal diode at 155° C, 0.84 V maximum voltage drop).

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Figure 22: The +5VSB rectifier

Power Distribution

In Figure 23, you can see the power supply label containing all the power specs.

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Figure 23: Power supply label

This power supply is advertised as having four +12 V rails, which is correct, since the monitoring integrated circuit has four +12 V over current protection (OCP) channels, and we clearly saw four “shunts” (current sensors). See Figure 24. Click here to understand more about this subject.

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Figure 24: Shunts

The four +12 V rails are distributed as follows:

• +12V1 (solid yellow wires): The main motherboard cable and the peripheral and SATA connectors
• +12V2 (yellow/black wires): The ATX12V/EPS12V connector
• +12V3 (yellow/blue wires): The video card cable that is permanently attached to the power supply
• +12V4: (yellow/green wires): The video card cable that is available on the modular cabling system

This distribution is perfect.

Let’s find out how much power this unit can deliver.

Load Tests

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 the behavior of the reviewed unit 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 powers listed for each test, you may find a different value than what is posted under “Total” below. Since each output can have a slight variation (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. In 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’s +12V1 and +12V3 rails, while the +12VB input was connected to the power supply’s +12V2 rail.

Input	Test 1	Test 2	Test 3	Test 4	Test 5
+12VA	5 A (60 W)	10.5 A (126 W)	15.5 A (186 W)	20.5 A (246 W)	26 A (312 W)
+12VB	5 A (60 W)	10.5 A (126 W)	15.5 A (186 W)	20.5 A (246 W)	25.5 A (306 W)
+5 V	1 A (5 W)	2 A (10 W)	4 A (20 W)	6 A (30 W)	8 A (40 W)
+3.3 V	1 A (3.3 W)	2 A (6.6 W)	4 A (13.2 W)	6 A (19.8 W)	8 A (26.4 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	153.1 W	302.6 W	452.4 W	600.4 W	703.4 W
% Max Load	21.9%	43.2%	64.6%	85.8%	100.5%
Room Temp.	47.0° C	46.6° C	47.6° C	49.2° C	46.8° C
PSU Temp.	48.6° C	48.7° C	49.2° C	50.3° C	43.2° C
Voltage Regulation	Pass	Pass	Pass	Pass	Pass
Ripple and Noise	Pass	Pass	Pass	Pass	Pass
AC Power	171.2 W	334.0 W	505.2 W	684.0 W	812.0 W
Efficiency	89.4%	90.6%	89.5%	87.8%	86.6%
AC Voltage	118.1 V	116.4 V	114.8 V	112.7 V	111.0 V
Power Factor	0.949	0.970	0.982	0.986	0.989
Final Result	Pass	Pass	Pass	Pass	Pass

The 80 Plus Gold certification promises efficiency of at least 87% under light (i.e., 20%) load, 90% under typical (i.e., 50%) load, and 87% under full (i.e., 100%) load. During our tests, the In Win Commander III 700 W was a tad below the 87% mark at full load under high temperatures. As we always point out, the tests for the 80 Plus certification are conducted at only 23° C, and efficiency decreases as temperature increases. Another explanation is that the AC voltage dropped to 111 V during our test five, and efficiency is lower at lower AC voltages.

Let’s discuss voltage regulation on the next page.

Voltage Regulation Tests

The ATX12V specification states that positive voltages must be within 5% of their nominal values, and negative voltages must be within 10% of their nominal values. We consider a power supply as “flawless” if it shows voltages within 3% of their nominal values. In the table below, you can see the power supply voltages during our tests and, in the following table, the deviation, in percentage, of their nominal values.

The In Win Commander III 700 W presented excellent voltage regulation for its main positive outputs (+12 V, +5 V, and +3.3 V), always within 2.5% of their nominal values.

Input	Test 1	Test 2	Test 3	Test 4	Test 5
+12VA	+12.16 V	+12.12 V	+12.08 V	+12.02 V	+12.00 V
+12VB	+12.17 V	+12.12 V	+12.05 V	+11.99 V	+11.97 V
+5 V	+5.08 V	+5.06 V	+5.03 V	+5.01 V	+4.99 V
+3.3 V	+3.38 V	+3.34 V	+3.24 V	+3.22 V	+3.22 V
+5VSB	+4.96 V	+4.90 V	+4.83 V	+4.76 V	+4.78 V
-12 V	-11.57 V	-11.64 V	-11.72 V	-11.78 V	-11.84 V

Input	Test 1	Test 2	Test 3	Test 4	Test 5
+12VA	1.33%	1.00%	0.67%	0.17%	0.00%
+12VB	1.42%	1.00%	0.42%	-0.08%	-0.25%
+5 V	1.60%	1.20%	0.60%	0.20%	-0.20%
+3.3 V	2.42%	1.21%	-1.82%	-2.42%	-2.42%
+5VSB	-0.80%	-2.00%	-3.40%	-4.80%	-4.40%
-12 V	3.58%	3.00%	2.33%	1.83%	1.33%

Let’s discuss the ripple and noise levels on the next page.

Ripple and Noise Tests

Voltages at the power supply outputs must be as “clean” as possible, with no noise or oscillation (also known as “ripple”). The maximum ripple and noise levels allowed  are 120 mV for +12 V and -12 V outputs, and 50 mV for +5 V, +3.3 V and +5VSB outputs. All values are peak-to-peak figures. We consider a power supply as being top-notch if it can produce half or less of the maximum allowed ripple and noise levels.

The In Win Commander III 700 W provided low ripple and noise levels, although a little bit higher than we’d like to see to consider this unit as “flawless” on this test.

Input	Test 1	Test 2	Test 3	Test 4	Test 5
+12VA	28.8 mV	38.4 mV	45.8 mV	58.4 mV	68.4 mV
+12VB	30.2 mV	36.4 mV	45.4 mV	58.0 mV	68.4 mV
+5 V	19.8 mV	18.4 mV	17.2 mV	17.2 mV	18.4 mV
+3.3 V	18.4 mV	16.4 mV	16.2 mV	19.6 mV	34.4 mV
+5VSB	13.0 mV	13.2 mV	16.2 mV	18.6 mV	18.6 mV
-12 V	32.8 mV	36.8 mV	36.8 mV	42.6 mV	50.4 mV

Below you can see the waveforms of the outputs during test five.

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Figure 25: +12VA input from load tester during test five at 703.4 W (68.4 mV)

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Figure 26: +12VB input from load tester during test five at 703.4 W (68.4 mV)

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Figure 27: +5V rail during test five at 703.4 W (18.4 mV)

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Figure 28: +3.3 V rail during test five at 703.4 W (34.4 mV)

Let’s see if we can pull more than 700 W from this unit.

Overload Tests

Below you can see the maximum we could pull from this power supply. The objective of this test is to see if the power supply has its protection circuits working properly. This unit passed this test, since it shut down when we tried to pull more than what is listed below. During this test, noise and ripple levels were still within the allowed range, and voltages were still closer to their nominal values than required.

Input	Overload Test
+12VA	30 A (360 W)
+12VB	30 A (360 W)
+5 V	14 A (70 W)
+3.3 V	14 A (46.2 W)
+5VSB	3 A (15 W)
-12 V	0.5 A (6 W)
Total	849.4 W
% Max Load	121.3%
Room Temp.	49.4° C
PSU Temp.	51.2° C
AC Power	1,016 W
Efficiency	83.6%
AC Voltage	109.1 V
Power Factor	0.992

Main Specifications

The main specifications for the In Win Commander III 700 W power supply include:

• Standards: ATX12V 2.31 and EPS12V 2.92
• Nominal labeled power: 700 W
• Measured maximum power: 849.4 W at 49.4° C
• Labeled efficiency: 80 Plus Gold certification (87% at light/20% load, 90% at typical/50% load, and 87% at full/100% load) 
• Measured efficiency: Between 86.6% and 90.6% at 115 V (nominal, see complete results for actual voltage)
• Active PFC: Yes
• Modular Cabling System: Yes, partial
• Motherboard Power Connectors: One 20/24-pin connector and one cable with two ATX12V connectors that together form an EPS12V connector, permanently attached to the power supply
• Video Card Power Connectors: Four six/eight-pin connectors on two cables, one permanently attached to the power supply and one on the modular cabling system
• SATA Power Connectors: Nine on three cables, modular cabling system
• Peripheral Power Connectors: Three on one cable, modular cabling system
• Floppy Disk Drive Power Connectors: One
• Protections (as listed by the manufacturer): Over voltage (OVP), under voltage (UVP), over current (OCP), over power (OPP), and short-circuit (SCP)
• Are the above protections really available? Yes.
• Warranty: Five Years
• More Information: http://www.inwin-style.com
• MSRP in the U.S.: USD 130.00

Conclusions

The In Win Commander III 700 W is a very good power supply with the 80 Plus Gold certification, with excellent voltage regulation for its main positive outputs (+12 V, +5 V, and +3.3 V), low noise and ripple levels, and high efficiency. You won’t regret it if you buy this product.