A Detailed Look
The EVGA SuperNOVA GS Gold power supply enclosures are painted with a matte black hammertone finish and measure 150mm (5.9”) long. The back panel includes an On-Off switch, AC receptacle and open honey-comb grill.
Around on the front side, you will note a small 2-position switch up in the top-left corner in the photo above labeled “ECO OFF/ON”. The SuperNOVA GS power supplies incorporate EVGA’s ECO Intelligent Thermal Control System for fan speed control. This allows the end user to select silent, fan-less operation for low to mid power applications if desired. Unlike some previous SuperNOVA PSUs, the switch is located on the front of the power supply instead of the rear, which makes the switch harder to access once the PSU is installed.
With the ECO Thermal Control System turned ON, the power supply cooling fan does not start spinning until the internal component temperatures reach a pre-programmed setting. The fan then starts out at low speed and gradually ramps up based on load and temperature (see graph above).
Both power supplies use a 120mm, nine blade fan on the bottom for cooling. The Jet Motor fan (T1202512LLN) is rated for 0.20A at 12 VDC and is controlled by the ECO Thermal Control System. It features Teflon Nano Bearings for quiet operation. I have not seen this configuration before, but I’m guessing the bearings are steel sleeve bearings impregnated with Teflon?
The front panel incorporates eight modular cable connectors, along with the ECO fan mode control switch, all nicely labeled.
The SuperNOVA GS power supplies come with an excellent assortment of all modular cables and connectors. All of the cables (except for the 24-pin ATX power cable (which is sleeved), are flat ribbon-style cables. As we mentioned previously, the cable sets for the 550GS and 650GS are very similar, except the 650GS gives you one extra SATA cable. Also remember, you cannot use both PCI-E cables and both EPS12V cables at the same time as there are only three sockets. Your choices are two PCI-E cables (four 6+2 pin connectors) and one EPS 4+4 / 8-pin, or one PCI-E cable and two EPS cables.
Do you know which Seasonic
Do you know which Seasonic platform EVGA is using? XP2S? Do they compare to the Corsair AX series (I think that’s the same platform, maybe not)? Are there any other supplies on the same platform for a compare/contrast?
These aren’t XP series.
These aren’t XP series. These are a derivitive of the G Series.
Why not use the latest Power
Why not use the latest Power Supply Design Guide for Desktop Platform Form Factors, Revision 1.31, April 2013 (http://cache-www.intel.com/cd/00/00/52/37/523796_523796.pdf)? It calls for ENERGY STAR compliance, which are tighter than the 2.2 standard you use.
Note in Table 15, for 100%, 50% and 20% loads:
REQUIRED Minimum Efficiency 70% 72% 65%
RECOMMENDED Minimum Efficiency 82% 85% 82%