Enermax Gold: Modu87+ and Pro87+
by Christoph Katzer on January 19, 2010 1:00 PM EST- Posted in
- Cases/Cooling/PSUs
Efficiency and PFC
500W Efficiency
600W Efficiency
700W Efficiency
The efficiency is very good on these units, as we would expect from any PSU with an 80 Plus Gold certification. Even though they do much better with 230VAC, buyers in the U.S. market will also be able to enjoy efficiencies of up to 90%. The 500W unit is the only one able to reach 91% on 115VAC at around 250W load. Users with 230VAC will be able to enjoy premium efficiency, with the 700W models providing 92% efficiency over a relatively large range of loads. We have never seen efficiency curves as high as the ones Enermax is able to deliver with the Modu87+ and Pro87+. The 500W unit is at 88% efficient at 20% load (100W) and stays above 90% from 200W until its maximum rated output! This is truly the best efficiency of any PC power supply we have seen here at AnandTech so far. According to Enermax, the 700W unit is the most efficient since it is easier to reach higher efficiency with higher wattages; yes, we can confirm that. With 92% efficiency at 50% load (350W) the 700W units performs just amazing.
Power Factor Correction
Anyone who pays for reactive power from the grid will be happy with the PFC these units achieve, as they are all very good.
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FaaR - Thursday, January 21, 2010 - link
You're too focused on price only. A PSU isn't something you buy every day. Better to get a great, efficient unit that has headroom to grow and will last you many years, even if it costs a little more.And yes, fifty bucks is a little more. Most people on Anandtech wouldn't whine if they have to pay $200 for a video card, and we all know how fast they go obsolete. Get some perspective here please.
The PSU is arguably THE most important piece of equipment in your whole PC. If it doesn't function well, nothing else will either. So there's nothing wrong with buying one of the best units out there, quite the opposite.
Kibbles - Friday, January 22, 2010 - link
Actually this is more like a $600-700 videocard amongst PSUs. Most will be happy enough with a HD5870. Many PSUs in the $100 range, like the HX620, are damn good. However like any other computer component, those extra 5% costs just as much as the first 95%.Spacecomber - Tuesday, January 19, 2010 - link
I happy to see another P/S review on Anandtech. I don't think that there have been any in quite a while. While these Enermax models are very nice, the price probably makes them impractical for any builds that I can imagine.However, one thing that I really like about these power supplies is their very low noise output. As I move away from building game-centric computers to computers that are likely to be used more as media servers, keeping the noise down to being virtually inaudiable becomes more important to me (especially for a music server). For these kind of computers I don't need a huge amount of power, and therefore I'm not looking to invest a huge amount of money in the P/S. I'm really looking for a power supply that can give me the quietest experience for the least amount of money. (To get a really quiet P/S, I accept that I'll be spending more than one would expect to spend on most "budget" power supplies.)
Anyway, this is just a suggestion that perhaps others are also looking for something more like this for their living rooms, instead of a kilowatt P/S to drive an overclocked quad core monster with multiple video cards.
- Tuesday, January 19, 2010 - link
The first three graphs on p.11 look like they need more labeling. Looks like you need to show which PSU for efficiency.mariush - Wednesday, January 20, 2010 - link
On page 10, I somehow doubt the readings were made at 50C room temperature (see chart headers)JarredWalton - Thursday, January 21, 2010 - link
As mentioned below, the tested was done in a temperature controlled chamber, so the ambient temp was indeed 50C. I would update the graphs, but Christoph custom-made these charts so I'll leave that to him. :)JarredWalton - Tuesday, January 19, 2010 - link
Fixed... the same graph was initially inserted on all three as you may have noticed.markshin - Saturday, July 24, 2010 - link
i bought a Modu87+ 700W, because i needed a new psu to replace my 5-year old 70% efficient unit..I don't intend to run this at 100% load, that's sheer madness. 30-60% is the sweet spot for today's PSU's, that's where they are most efficient.
and also, they're selling for about US$150 (at least from where I'm located).
:-)
MasonStorm@AnandTech - Friday, October 1, 2010 - link
Hi Chris,Thanks for the great review. Any chance you can update the results to include the new, 800W and 900W models they've just released? I'd love to see if those also stay silent at all loads.