Silverstone Decathlon DA650: A modular alternative
by Christoph Katzer on August 8, 2007 12:30 AM EST- Posted in
- Cases/Cooling/PSUs
Efficiency and PFC
The efficiency is as good as the Olympia and reaches up to 83% with 230VAC. With lower input voltages we still reach up to an 81% efficiency which is a very good result. The 230VAC efficiency is nearly the same regardless of the ambient temperatures, which indicates that the overall design and the components are of good quality and are not substantially affected by heat.
The Decathlon uses 1.19W with 115VAC and 1.7W with 230VAC which is not a great result. Consuming this much power to do essentially nothing is wasteful, and it would be better for users to click the little switch on the back if the system is not in use. The standby efficiency is fairly average but does better at higher levels.
With lower input voltages the power factor correction looks very good. The 230VAC result is worse, but that is to be expected. The overall PFC results are better than many of the other power supplies, however.
The efficiency is as good as the Olympia and reaches up to 83% with 230VAC. With lower input voltages we still reach up to an 81% efficiency which is a very good result. The 230VAC efficiency is nearly the same regardless of the ambient temperatures, which indicates that the overall design and the components are of good quality and are not substantially affected by heat.
The Decathlon uses 1.19W with 115VAC and 1.7W with 230VAC which is not a great result. Consuming this much power to do essentially nothing is wasteful, and it would be better for users to click the little switch on the back if the system is not in use. The standby efficiency is fairly average but does better at higher levels.
With lower input voltages the power factor correction looks very good. The 230VAC result is worse, but that is to be expected. The overall PFC results are better than many of the other power supplies, however.
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eetnoyer - Wednesday, August 8, 2007 - link
...reviews of power supplies for people who aren't building a quad SLI system and don't want to spend $100 and up?Christoph Katzer - Wednesday, August 22, 2007 - link
...patience.crimson117 - Wednesday, August 8, 2007 - link
Should change to:
mostlyprudent - Wednesday, August 8, 2007 - link
Perhaps my expectations are messed up, but I have yet to be impressed by any of the units reviewed thus far. Then again, when spending $150 to $200 for a PSU, I am going to set my sights very high.Super Nade - Wednesday, August 8, 2007 - link
They used 3 x Primary caps, which is more expensive than 1 450uF, but since they are in parallel, the ESR reduces significantly. Although this may have a minimum bearing on the proceedings (secondary side is more important), there is less stress on the PWM/switching transistors.I think you may have issues calibrating your setup, given that every single PSU you have reviewed seems to have larger than usual voltage drops.
yyrkoon - Wednesday, August 8, 2007 - link
Given this, and that the rails do not seem to be solid/heatsink is too small, I think the PC power and cooling PSU is still the better buy.Besides that PC Power and Cooling is a well respected PSU OEM, why even bother with something else in the same price range.
Who makes this PSU anyhow ? I know it is silverstone branded, but I am fairly certain they did not make it.
Super Nade - Wednesday, August 8, 2007 - link
Impervio Electronics Corp, Taiwan.