Efficiency, Differential Temperature and Noise

Efficiency

The overall efficiency of a power supply is very important.  The less waste heat generated the better!  Efficiency is defined by the power output divided by the power input and is usually expressed as a percentage.  If a PSU were a 100% efficient (which none are) 700 watts of AC power going in would result in 700 watts of DC power coming out (with no waste heat to dissipate).  In the real world there are always inefficiencies and power is lost in the form of heat during the conversion process. Newer revisions to the ATX12V Power Supply Design Guide V 2.2 have continued to increase the efficiency recommendations for PC switching mode power supplies and now lists both required and recommended minimum efficiencies.

We measured the AC power input to the Astro PT 700W PSU with an Extech power analyzer while the total DC load was found by adding all the individual +3.3V, +5V, +12V, -12V and +5VSB loads together. 


The overall efficiency of the Astro PT 700W power supply is excellent and easily meets the criteria for 80Plus Platinum certification, even while operating on 115 VAC and at elevated temperatures. 

80 Plus Program

Note 1: Power Factor =0.90 (50% to 100% Load)
Note 2: Tests conducted at room temperature (25°C)

Differential Temperature and Noise Levels

To simulate real world operation, some of the warm exhaust air from the PSU under test is recirculated back to the intake through a passive air duct, which allows the PSU air inlet temperature to increase with load, just like it would in a real PC. 

The differential temperature across the power supply was calculated by subtracting the internal case air temperature (T in) from the temperature of the warm exhaust air flowing out the back of the power supply (T out). 

Thermocouples were placed at the air inlet and exhaust outlet. The ambient room air temperature was 23ºC (74ºF) +/- 0.5ºC during testing.

T out = temperature of air exhausting from power supply
T in = temperature of air entering power supply
Delta T = T out – T in

Sound pressure level readings were taken 3’ away from the rear of the case in an otherwise quiet room.  The ambient noise level was ~28 dBA.  I was not able to take SPL readings at the higher loads due to the background noise generated by all the DC Load cooling fans cycling on and off.

*Note: Operating in silent mode (fan not spinning)

The Astro PT 700W PSU starts off in silent – fanless mode. The cooling fan kicks in at about 25% load but remains virtually silent until the output is increased to more than 50%. Even at 75% load, the fan was still relatively quiet. I was not able to take a SPL reading at 100% load because all the programmable DC load cooling fans were running almost constantly by that point.

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