Silver Power Blue Lightning 600W
by Christoph Katzer on August 27, 2007 6:00 AM EST- Posted in
- Cases/Cooling/PSUs
Standby Efficiency
The standby efficiency results are not particularly noteworthy, other than pointing out that power consumption is very low when there is no load placed on the power supply. We measured just 0.6W with 115VAC and 1.07W with 230VAC, which is a pretty good result.
Efficiency
When it comes to efficiency, the Blue Lightning 600W quite frankly blew our socks off. By all appearances, this is your everyday midrange power supply... we simply could not believe getting efficiency results as high as 85%! In fact, the efficiency is above 80% over almost the entire range which can not only save money on electrical costs but is also generally a good indicator of power supply quality. European users (and the other 230VAC countries) will get above 80% efficiency with loads ranging from 60W all the way up to 600W, while 115VAC users will get above 80% up until about 500W.
PFC
The Power Factor Correction was a bit unusual with this power supply. We're used to seeing nice curves at 100VAC and 115VAC, but the 115VAC doesn't rise as quickly as were used to seeing. It's only at 30% and above that the curve begins to rise, but then it stops again at around 60% load and stays at 0.986. 230VAC even starts to drop slightly at maximum load. This isn't an ideal result, but at the same time PFC isn't necessarily one of the most critical factors in determining power supply quality.
The standby efficiency results are not particularly noteworthy, other than pointing out that power consumption is very low when there is no load placed on the power supply. We measured just 0.6W with 115VAC and 1.07W with 230VAC, which is a pretty good result.
Efficiency
When it comes to efficiency, the Blue Lightning 600W quite frankly blew our socks off. By all appearances, this is your everyday midrange power supply... we simply could not believe getting efficiency results as high as 85%! In fact, the efficiency is above 80% over almost the entire range which can not only save money on electrical costs but is also generally a good indicator of power supply quality. European users (and the other 230VAC countries) will get above 80% efficiency with loads ranging from 60W all the way up to 600W, while 115VAC users will get above 80% up until about 500W.
PFC
The Power Factor Correction was a bit unusual with this power supply. We're used to seeing nice curves at 100VAC and 115VAC, but the 115VAC doesn't rise as quickly as were used to seeing. It's only at 30% and above that the curve begins to rise, but then it stops again at around 60% load and stays at 0.986. 230VAC even starts to drop slightly at maximum load. This isn't an ideal result, but at the same time PFC isn't necessarily one of the most critical factors in determining power supply quality.
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MrOblivious - Tuesday, August 28, 2007 - link
Yes and no. The additional interface and the extreme load a load tester puts accross a single connector magnifies the problem beyond what a system would see happen which is what people were asking about.I am sure Chris is looking into it ;)
yyrkoon - Monday, August 27, 2007 - link
to see some Seasonic PSU tests. Not sure *why* but I cannot remember seeing any Seasonic PSU test from you, or any other sites I frequent, and they are supposedly the manufactuers of several of the PSUs for other companies that have good PSUs.Also, it would be very nice to have an article once in a while that explained where the different PSUs were manuafactuered, who actually makes them, and what parts each company typically uses for various models. Anyone can write a review, but no one seems todo this. Be the first ! I *could* probably scour the web to find this information, but if it comes from your guys, I could probably trust the information ;)
Axbattler - Thursday, August 30, 2007 - link
Silent PC Review has made some reviews of Seasonic (and the Corsair too if I remember right).LoneWolf15 - Monday, August 27, 2007 - link
A Seasonic 500w PSU review was done very recently by another ]H[ard-core review site. You might want to check it out. They and JonnyGURU as well are very clear about who makes PSU's, capacitor brands in them, etc.Seasonic makes PSU's for a number of companies --the Antec Neo HE line is one example, but they do some others as well.
As for the Silver Power, if Anandtech's weblink is correct to MWave (it is partially broken) and that PSU is available for $69, it's a great price.
JarredWalton - Monday, August 27, 2007 - link
The web links are just pulled from the engine automatically (automagically even) based on some search text. I put in "Tagan" and that's what came up. Still, the 530W Tagan is probably pretty decent for $69. This PSU is apparently $88 shipped from http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N8...">Newegg (see above comments).yyrkoon - Monday, August 27, 2007 - link
heh Jarred, read the first user review on newegg ... not exactly a good example of a PSU 'review'. I probably would take it with a grain of salt *if* the overall user review % was not what it is.JarredWalton - Monday, August 27, 2007 - link
Yeah, Newegg reviews are basically random people spouting off. I've had numerous good quality PSUs fail over the years, and I've had "crappy" PSUs that are still kicking after four years. Without some clear details about the load the PSU was under and the operating environment - let's be honest, overclocking can kill a lot of PSUs if you push it too far - there's any number of reasons a PSU can fail. $90 for a >80% 600W PSU is really pretty good.Christoph Katzer - Monday, August 27, 2007 - link
Seasonic comes up this week.Don't worry about the rest, that'll come as well...
Samus - Monday, August 27, 2007 - link
Looks identical. Newegg has it for $80.Chris, can you confirm whether this is the same power supply as the silverpower?
Christoph Katzer - Monday, August 27, 2007 - link
Thanks for the info. It is indeed the same PSU.