Page 4 - Minor Tests and Conclusion
Power supplies are interesting products -- because often, reviews of products in this category are conducted and tested in methods that make it difficult to distinguish one power supply from another. Many aspects must be taken into consideration -- of which certain criteria consists of efficiency, noise, power ripples, and of course the ability to pull out the rated specifications. Because many cannot afford such equipment to obtain results regarding those aspects, articles covering power supplies often come out with less than adequate and acceptable information. As this is a product report -- not a review -- what we are doing is a close examination of the power supply and the internal hardware and build. But what we can do for you is do some minor testing with the results we can present to you with, and let other review sites with professional equipment show you the actual test results. We are not going to try to create useless test results by installing the power supply into the latest gaming rig and try to take readings from that, as this is not even remotely the correct way to test power supply units. We understand that many websites do that as a means of load testing, but the results, even if you use an oscilloscope and multimeter at each output location, it is not sufficient, nor does it accurately reflect the performance of the power supply.
Using our power supply tester which exerts minimal load on the power supply, the initial consumption was 10W as measured by our wall meter unit -- indicating that the basic load-free power consumption of the power supply is good. This was measured with the lighting on the fan completely off, as the lighting would increase the power consumption of this unit by a few watts. Independent reviews from websites with professional load testing equipment showed the GAMDIAS ASTRAPE P1-750G 750W delivered good efficiency and voltage regulation and ripple across all rails. This is an 80 Plus Gold certified power supply unit.
Voltages with minimal load are generally accurate, which is a basic requirement of power supplies out of the box. In this situation all are within 3%. The PG (Power Good) delay seems to be well within its rated range and general power supply standard at 260ms.
Active power correction is important to correct AC load line loss. In AC power, there are three components to it as there is a phase difference between current and voltage. This makes up the power triangle, which consists of the following: Average usable power (P, measured in watts), reactive power (Q, denoted as VA-R), and total power (S, written as VA). While these components all measure power, they are not the same as each other. What we want is the average usable power, with as little wasted reactive power as possible. The total power provided over the AC line is the magnitude of the two combined (sqrt(P^2+Q^2)). Power factor can then be easily calculated by P/S. The ideal value is 1.00, and this is where active PFC comes in. Under nominal loads, the power factor value of the GAMDIAS ASTRAPE P1-750G 750W was at 0.95, indicating that the active PFC function is working well.
This power supply unit comes blessed with two mode fan operation, which is controlled by the switch at the back. According to our APH Networks scale, where 0 is silent and 10 is the loudest, I would rate the ASTRAPE P1-750G 750W at 3.0/10 acoustically under nominal loads in silent mode. This bumps up to a very noticeable 6.0/10 when silent mode is off as the difference is quite noticeable. I really only found the noise from the power supply to be distracting in the non-silent mode, but the silent operation works as intended.
Otherwise, the last party piece about the power supply is its RGB lighting, which is very vibrant and colorful. You can cycle through twenty six different lighting effects, with seven different distinct colors. Overall, I have to say it looks really good in person, but I do have a few suggestions about this. For one, majority of the time my power supply is hidden from plain view and facing downward to collect fresh air from outside the case. Secondly, I would have liked to see some integration between this RGB lighting and motherboard manufacturers, especially as it would streamline the lighting altogether.
GAMDIAS provided this product to APH Networks for the purpose of evaluation.
With GAMDIAS' first power supply finished, I think they have shown the can deliver a decent power supply, though they also have some growing pains to work out. According to our affiliates with professional load testing equipment, it delivered an acceptable output and efficiency. However, I think either them or Andyson can improve by increasing the number of PCI Express outputs, fixing the cables in terms of spacing, and utilizing its space in a more efficient manner. Its silent mode operation is also almost a must considering how loud it gets otherwise. When you factor in the retail pricing of $160 USD, you can definitely find other power supplies with a better track record and performance. If an RGB power supply is key to your build, then the ASTRAPE P1-750G 750W is an option. However, I think GAMDIAS has several points of refinement to address before I would dive fully into this power supply.
Do you have any comments or questions about the GAMDIAS ASTRAPE P1-750G 750W? Drop by our Forums. Registration is free, and it only takes a minute!
Page Index
1. Introduction, Packaging, Specifications
2. Physical Look - Outside
3. Physical Look - Inside
4. Minor Tests and Conclusion
