Enermax Platimax 750W - 80 Plus Platinum Arrives
by Martin Kaffei on February 10, 2012 6:00 PM EST- Posted in
- Cases/Cooling/PSUs
- PSUs
- 80Plus
- 750W
- Enermax
- 80Plus Platinum
Introducing the Enermax Platimax 750W
Since the introduction of the 80 Plus certifications, we've seen a slow but steady trickle down effect where labels that were once reserved for the highest of the high-end (e.g. 80 Plus Gold) have eventually reached mainstream price points. Manufacturers including FSP, Rosewill, Sparkle, and SuperFlower now sell affordable 80 Plus Gold power supplies for less than $100. But if mainstream users are now able to get 80 Plus Gold, what should the high-end market offer? Enter 80 Plus Platinum:
Those looking for maximum efficiency can now set their sights on 80 Plus Platinum PSUs, which will be new halo market for high-end—and high cost—power supplies. To reach the necessary efficiency levels (90% at 20% load, 92% at 50% load, and 89% at 100% load), some improvements are necessary that can change some of the core characteristics of a power. Improved resonant topologies, new MOSFETs for synchronous rectifying, higher switching frequencies, better drivers, and low-resistance conduction paths are just some of the things we'll see with 80 Plus Platinum. We're naturally eager to see what the new models can bring to the table, and Enermax sent us their Platimax 750W model, which uses an optimized Modu87+ design. Read on to find out if Enermax is the new efficiency king, and how it performs in other metrics.
Let's take a first look at the near future of switching power supplies. The Platimax 750W might be relatively close to the Modu87+ series (and is definitely in the running for the worst product name award, or perhaps least creative name award), but there are some interesting new details that we will cover on the following pages. It is very important to improve efficiency without impairing electromagnetic compatibility, something faster switching might impair. So let's find out if Enermax's new components and design are enough to provide the desired high efficiency, low ripple and noise, and decent voltage regulation.
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colonelciller - Friday, February 10, 2012 - link
call me a newb... but why would I want a power supply such as this?honest question. Won't other computer components will be designed around more standard power supply output characteristics anyway?
wifiwolf - Friday, February 10, 2012 - link
PSU is one of the most important components.You don't want PSU to fail on you ever.
It starts with spiky stability and in time components start failing and you never relate it directly to power supply until you monitor those voltages.
Probably everyone looking at this article gone through that until they wised up.
When you just use Word and Excel on your computer, you probably survive with system hanging once a month in a stable environment. But when you push a bit harder on your system, sometimes the result can be a computer burning literally.
medi01 - Sunday, February 12, 2012 - link
Except that more efficient PSU that race for higher numbers tend to be much more complex, which definitely does NOT help with reliability. (at least as far as my personal experience with Enermax Modu 82+ goes, broke within first 2 month, occasional to frequent reboots 2 years later =/)Iketh - Friday, February 10, 2012 - link
LOL NOOBwhat wifiwolf said are the main reasons, but high quality power supplies also lower power bills considerably on high-watt systems (crossfire/sli/overclocking etc...)
the 2 rules of thumb when building your own system is 1) don't skimp on powersupply 2) don't skimp on motherboard. You can skimp on CPU/RAM and everything else because you can make adjustments on those components so that they work, as in megahertz or RAM timings and the voltages to those components, but you can't adjust how capacitors on motherboards and powersupplies deliver said power.
you have to experience the headaches associated with cheap power supplies before you completely understand.
bji - Saturday, February 11, 2012 - link
False dilemma.The choice is not only between this power supply and "cheap power supplies".
There are also power supplies at 1/2 the cost of this one that would likely have performance and reliability that would be so similar as to, for most people, be indistinguishable.
Therefore the question of, why would this power supply be a better choice than a good quality power supply that is much less expensive, is a valid question and not one that should be so easily dismissed.
I paid something like $130 for a Seasonic 650 Watt gold power supply and I am not sure what I'd really be getting with this Enermax supply that is tangibly different.
bji - Saturday, February 11, 2012 - link
Just checked my newegg order history; I actually paid $120 with free shipping in October 2010 for a Seasonic X650 Gold. It is 1% - 2% less efficient than this Enermax.Let me reiterate that I think it's valid to question the value of this power supply rather than dismissing the question outright.
Iketh - Saturday, February 11, 2012 - link
Well I should have mentioned that I'm not endorcing this power supply whatsoever, just answering his question about "standard" vs good.Minimum quality I use in my own systems is Antec 80-plus bronze.
beginner99 - Saturday, February 11, 2012 - link
I good power supply is of course important but its like with CPUs. The top notch model i overpriced compared to what it offers. So yeah, a 120$ Seasonic Gold sure is better value for most people assuming they last the same time (that's the big question as a power supply usually is re-used for the next build).cfaalm - Saturday, February 11, 2012 - link
I guess it's still like what wifiwolf said still. It depends on how hard you think you're going to drive your system. Hardly any of the manufacturers like Asus, Dell or Acer are going to bother with these PSUs. They can settle for anything that goes up to 75% efficiency on 50% load. If you build your own just for fun but still don't drive it very hard, you'll be OK with a "standard" PSU.For everyone else, serious OCing, gaming, heavy duty video and audio etc. you don't want to skimp on the PSU as you know you'll be asking for the last drop of CPU/GPU power your system can muster.
just4U - Sunday, February 12, 2012 - link
I think the days of the cheap PSU (save maybe for OEMs) is gone. Even $50 power supplies are fairly decent these days.