Page 3 - Physical Look - Inside
As we usually do, we opened up the FSP Hydro G 850W power supply to take a closer look at what is going on inside. Opening up this power supply will void your five year warranty, as the warranty seal covers one of the chassis screws. For your benefit, we voided our warranty on this unit, so you do not need to. There are zero user serviceable parts inside anyway. Removing the top shell from the FSP Hydro G 850W is quite easy, as it just requires four screws to be removed, one at each corner. Afterwards, you can easily slide out the panels and get inside quickly. As with all FSP units, the Hydro G 850W's OEM is FSP, and they are one of the few who actually sell their own power supplies under their own brand. The photo above shows an overhead view of its internal components. Build quality looks pretty good, as expected from the company. There does not seem to be any large globs of glue anywhere, but we will look closer into this later. Otherwise, there is a total of two large heatsinks, all of which are unpainted.
The transient filter stage is the first input stage of any computer power supply, so we will take a closer look at this first. From here, you can see there are two ferrite coils and one metal oxide varistor. A single X-capacitor and two Y-capacitors are placed at the AC receptacle, while another additional set of one X- and two Y-capacitors are found on the main board. In total, this is twice the amount of X and Y capacitors recommended, which is great to see. In addition, the MOV being present here is good, as they are intended to protect your power supply from AC line voltage spikes. An NTC thermistor and relay is present here to provide inrush-current protection here.
On the primary side, we have two Japanese brand Nippon Chemi-Con capacitors. As FSP listed only Japanese electrolytic capacitors are in the Hydro G 850W, it is great to see them delivering in their promise, but it is obviously not surprising. Both of these capacitors are rated at 330µF at 420V for a total of 660µF equivalent capacitance. They have temperature ratings of 105c. To give some perspective, more budget friendly power supplies stick to only 85c rated capacitors.
The active PFC circuit in the FSP Hydro G 850W uses a single bridge rectifier, bolted to one of the heatsinks. Unfortunately, it was almost impossible to identify the bridge rectifier inside, and other third-party review sites did not do so either for the same reason. Three STMicroelectronics STF18N60M2 N-channel MOSFETs are used in the active PFC circuit, with a single STMicroelectronics STTH12R06FP power diode. This rectifier is certified for a maximum 12A at 125c. Also connected to the same heatsink are two main switchers, STMicroelectronics' STFI26NM60N MOSFET transistors. A Champion CM6901T2X LLC resonant controller and an Infineon ICE2PCS02 PFC controller is used to boost efficiency. Each of the three STMicroelectronics STF18N60M2 MOSTFETs can deliver up to 8A at 100c, with a maximum resistance of 0.28 ohms. The two STMicroelectronics STFI26NM60N can deliver up to 12.6A at 100 degrees Celsius continuously, with a maximum resistance of 0.165 ohm, and a typical resistance of 0.135 ohm. This on characteristic is called Static Drain-Source On-Resistance or commonly abbreviated as RDS(on). The more efficient the component is, the lower the RDS(on) value, since it wastes less power with lower resistance. A single STMicroelectronics STTH12R06FP boost diode is also found in the active PFC circuit.
As for the secondary side, there is a quite a few more Japanese brand e-caps from Nippon Chemi-Con and Rubycon, all rated at 105c. There are some polymer capacitors made by Taiwanese company Teapo, but generally polymer caps last longer, and can operate at higher temperatures without problems. As with modern high efficiency power supplies, all rectifiers produce the +12V out -- while the +5V and +3.3V outputs are generated from the +12V output using a DC to DC converter within the power supply unit. The +12V output is regulated by two Toshiba TPHR85 04PLs, installed on the solder side of the mainboard. They do not have any heatsinks attached, and actually are cooled down by the chassis itself. In addition, they are unlike most typical MOSFETs, as they have eight pins instead of the typical three. Drain source voltage is rated at 40V, with a continuous drain current of 150A at 25c. Unfortunately, not a lot more information could be found for these components. Another daughter board can be found with the DC to DC converters, with a total of six International Rectifier IRL8726PbF MOSFETs, and an ANPEC APW7159C dual channel synchronous buck PWM controller. The IRL8726PbF's rated continuous drain current is 61A at 100c, and a pulsed drain current of 340A. Drain source voltage is rated at 30V, and an RDS(on) value of 0.008 ohm maximum, and 0.0058 ohm typical. FSP has a dedicated circuit housed on an add-on board for the 5VSB line, using an International Rectifier MOSFET and a Power Integrations SC1226K PWM controller. The datasheets for all components mentioned in this review can be found on their respective manufacturer's websites.
Finally, to the back, we have a large daughterboard covering the entire rear panel. This is where the modular cable sockets reside. Layout of the output connectors can be found on the previous page. There is nothing too special going on here, electrically speaking. I will say there is quite a bit of solder in some areas, and it does not look as clean of a layout as I have seen from other power supply manufacturers, but this is not a huge deal. Overall, the internal build quality of the FSP Hydro G 850W is pretty good. Component selection here is all quite top of the line, with a decent layout for cooling. There are some wires running through the middle, but otherwise, there is not too much for concern. One thing interesting here is the fact this board is connected to the chassis in a unique way, with four copper bars attaching this daughterboard to the outer shell. According to FSP, this allows for better durability and rigidity, ensuring the connectors stay in place.
The last internal component is definitely still an important one, as it provides cooling to all of the FSP Hydro G 850W's components. If you were wondering why this unit is called the Hydro G in the first place, the only place mentioning hydro is the fan, which is a hydro dynamic bearing fan. This 135mm fan is connected to the mainboard of the power supply using a two pin connector. However, this is also a semi-passive power supply, as the fan only turns on during higher loads. This size of a fan is great to see, and fits almost perfectly into the Hydro G's size. The fan, as you can tell from the picture, is a Power Logic fan. Further research of the PLA13525S12M shows this runs at 12V 0.4A, with an airflow rating of 111.1CFM and static pressure of 3.53mm H2O. This fan spins up to 2000rpm, and has a noise rating of 41.6dBA.
Page Index
1. Introduction, Packaging, Specifications
2. Physical Look - Outside
3. Physical Look - Inside
4. Minor Tests and Conclusion
