Efficiency, Differential Temperature and Noise
Efficiency
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) 650 watts of AC power going in would result in 650 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 SF Series 600W 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 SF600 power supply is excellent and easily meets the 80 Plus Gold guidelines, even when operating on 120VAC and at elevated temperatures. These numbers are very close to meeting the Platinum requirements.
80 Plus Program
Note: Tests conducted at room temperature (25°C)
Differential Temperature and Noise Levels
To simulate a demanding environment, 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, up to 40°C.
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 ~27 dBA.
Note: Fan not spinning in Zero RPM Mode*
The SF600 power supply starts out in Zero RPM fan mode and is dead silent. The fan started spinning once we hit the 50% load test and stayed very quiet through mid-power range. At full load with an elevated ambient temperature, the cooling fan did speed up and the noise became noticeable but never became really loud.
(Courtesy of Corsair)
It can NOT be used in
It can NOT be used in standard ATX cases because the cables are too short!
Number 1. He means cases that
Number 1. He means cases that use “standard” ATX power supplies. Number 2. Obviously you wouldn’t use this in a full sized tower like a Corsair 900D. And why would you? Number 3. You can purchase longer cables and/or extensions if you had to. A small ps like this is more than likely going to be used in a smaller environment. What would be the point of putting this into a mid or full sized ATX environment? None.
Watercooling in a midtower
Watercooling in a midtower maybe? I have one sf600 in a itx environment but i was asking myself the same question. The only answer i found is more room for water pumps/ watercooling tubes in a atx/itx case.
Per example: the fractal
Per example: the fractal design nano S/ phanteks evolv itx cases are on the big size of itx case and they do support normal atx PSU but a SFX psu like the sf600 could make the difference in the watercooling space of somebody
At the moment there’s no
At the moment there’s no longer cables for the sf600, BTW don’t tell people to get longer cables, they are different, in many ways ,and can ruin a system. thanks
The picture supplied by
The picture supplied by Corsair labeling what the parts are matches my SF450 PS. #16 uses blue colored caps versus the red shown for SF600, is all i can see is different.
I’ve got the 450 watt running
I’ve got the 450 watt running in an unRAID server build. Powering 6 drives and I can’t say I’ve ever seen the fan come on. I had to order a separate bracket to fit in the case though. Even though the case will only fit an mITX motherboard and barely anything else, the cut out is for a full size ATX PSU. Case is a Lian-Li Q25B. Awesome little case for a NAS box or anything along those lines.
If these had been around when
If these had been around when I built my HTPC, I’d probably have stuck a 450W in there. Instead, I ended up with the Silverstone SFX-L 500W – not bad at all, but inside of a Fractal Node 304 you take all the extra space you can get. Also, these seem to perform admirably. Good to see Corsair making an effort when they only have a single SFX line (although Platinum or Titanium efficiency would be even better, of course).