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A few weeks ago we reviewed the ADATA HM 650W Power Supply and it scored very well, offering a low price point with a modular design and great all round performance. Today we are looking at the big brother, the 1200W unit which is aimed at people with multiple graphics cards and high output demands.
Right now in the high end, the Corsair AX1200 is pretty much as good a power supply as you can buy, but with the 80 Plus Gold certification comes a price, retailing at a rather hefty £225-230 in the UK. The ADATA HM 1200W might only be 80 Plus Bronze certified, but it is a modular design and can be bought in the UK for £150 inc vat. Substantial savings then and with a 3 year warranty for peace of mind … but is it worth the money?
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Product Name
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HM Series 1200W
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Model
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HM-1200 |
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ATX Version
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ATX 12V v2.2, v2.3,v2.92 standard |
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Input Voltage
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100V~240V
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Label
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80 PLUS (Bronze)
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Input Current
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15 amp |
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Input Frequency
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47~63Hz |
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Hold up time
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>16ms |
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MTBF
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100K hrs minimum
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Power On Time
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100~500ms |
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OPERATING TEMP
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0~50℃ |
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STORAGE TEMP
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-20℃ to +70 ℃ |
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OPERATING HUMIDITY
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20~90% |
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PFC SPEC
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APFC(P.F>0.9)
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Efficiency (%)
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82% Conversion efficiency above
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RoHS Certificate
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100% Process through the introduction of lead-free
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Support”s VGA Card
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nVIDIA SLi
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Case Surface
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Special Scratch Resistant Paint
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FAN SPEC
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2Ball-Bearing Fan of 3 color Patent
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CAP Use
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All Japan-Made Capacitors
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Protector
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UVP/OTP/OPP/SCP/OCP/OVP
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Safety Request
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CE/CB/FCC/TUV/cUL/BSMI
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12V Rail
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Two rail +12V1/12V2
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Dimension
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150 x 200 x 86mm
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Weight
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4.18Kg
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The ADATA HM Series 1200W power supply arrives in a colourful box with logos highlighting the SLI and 80 Plus Bronze Certifications. This is a similar design to the 650W model, but the box is much wider.
The bundle contains a power cable specific to the region, a user manual, and a really high quality storage pouch for the modular cables. This pouch folds shut and is sealed with felt.
The cabling will certainly cover all demands with support for up to 4 high end graphics cards via six 6+2 pin and two 6 pin PCI-E VGA connectors.
The ADATA HM Series 1200W power supply is a very attractive design, fitting perfectly into any system on the market.
While it looks a little bland on first glance, the matt paintwork is very resilient to scratches and does not mark easily with fingerprints either. The ADATA brand name is embossed on the side panels, very subtlety.
The power supply is cooled by a large 140mm fan which has a clear blade design, reflecting any case light. The ADATA logo is positioned in the center. We will take a look at the fan when we crack open the chassis shortly.
The rear of the power supply is vented to allow for maximum air flow dissipation. There is a power socket and a power switch set to the side.
Like the 650W unit, ADATA have decided to clearly mark the cabling connectors with colour coded areas and labeling. This will ensure that even system building newbies will understand exactly where all the cables need to be attached.
There is a three colour power display for easy access to power consumption statistics (Green for low load, blue for normal load and red for full load.)
| ADATA HM Series 1200W Power Supply | ||||||
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DC Output
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+5V
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+12V1
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+3.3V
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+12V2
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-12V
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+5VSB |
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Max Output
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30A
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50A
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30A
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50A
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0.8A
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3.5A |
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Max Combined
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600W
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600W
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9.6W
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17.5W | ||
| Mac Output Wattage | 1200W | |||||
This 80 Plus Bronze certified power supply delivers a very capable 50A to +12V1 and +12V2 output.
The unit contains a 140mm Yate Loon fan. The D14BH-12 is a quality fan which can spin up to 2,800 rpm while generating a whopping 140 cfm of airflow at 48 dBa. We are quite sure that it will never need to spin at close to full speed, but we will analyse this later in the review.
The Channel Well Active PFC Design is very clean and has a good array of high quality components inside. It is a double forward circuit design. They are using a mixture of 105c and 85c capacitors from Chemi Con and other brands. The heatsink implementation is very impressive with multiple rows isolating various sections of the PCB design.
The ADATA PSU is supplied with automatic output protection to ensure no damage occurs. This includes Total Power Protection (OPP), Over Voltage Protection (OVP), Over Current Protection (OCP), Short Circuit Protection (SCP) and Over Temperature Protection (OTP). The cabling is fully sleeved inside the chassis to ensure that no long term cable fraying can occur.
Additional technical assistance: Peter McFarland and Jeremy Price.
Correctly testing power supplies is a complex procedure and KitGuru have configured a test bench which can deliver up to a 2,000 watt DC load. Due to public requests we have changed our temperature settings recently – previously we rated with ambient temperatures at 25C, we have increased ambient temperatures by 10c (to 35c) in our environment to greater reflect warmer internal chassis conditions.
We use combinations of the following hardware:
• SunMoon SM-268
• CSI3710A Programmable DC load (+3.3V and +5V outputs)
• CSI3711A Programmable DC load (+12V1, +12V2, +12V3, and +12V4)
• Extech Power Analyzer
• Extech MultiMaster MM570 digital multimeter
• SkyTronic DSL 2 Digital Sound Level Meter (6-130dBa)
• Digital oscilloscope (20M S/s with 12 Bit ADC)
• Variable Autotransformer, 1.4 KVA
12V output is combined for our testing.
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DC Output Load Regulation
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Combined DC Load |
+3.3V
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+5V
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+12V
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+5VSB
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-12V | |||||
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A
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V
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A
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V
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A
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V
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A
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V
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A | V | |
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330W
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5.50
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3.35
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5.50
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5.02
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21.25
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12.18
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0.87
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5.02
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0.20 | -12.13 |
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620W
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11.00
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3.33
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11.00
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5.02
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42.50
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12.15
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1.75
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4.97
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0.40 | -12.15 |
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918W
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16.50
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3.30
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16.50
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5.01
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63.75
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12.07
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2.62
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4.95
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0.60 | -12.17 |
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1204W
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22.00
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3.23
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22.00
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4.96
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85.00
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12.01
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3.5
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4.92
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0.80 | -12.18 |
| ADATA HM 1200 |
Maximum Load |
| 1346W |
We wrestled 1346W from the unit before it would switch off. The overcircuit protection system works well and just shut off safely until we were more realistic with our figures.
Next we want to try Cross Loading. This basically means loads which are not balanced. If a PC for instance needs 500W on the +12V outputs but something like 30W via the combined 3.3V and +5V outputs then the voltage regulation can fluctuate badly.
| Cross Load Testing | +3.3V | +5V | +12V | -12V | +5VSB | |||||
| A | V | A | V | A | V | A | V | A | V | |
| 1190W | 1.0 | 3.31 | 1.0 | 5.01 | 62.0 | 11.91 | 0.05 | -12.16 | 0.05 | 5.02 |
| 195W | 22.0 | 3.22 | 22.0 | 4.93 | 1.0 | 12.04 | 0.05 | -12.18 | 0.05 | 5.00 |
The ADATA HM Series 1200W power supply handles the Cross Loading tests very well and we experienced no issues during this phase. All voltages remained within stated tolerances.
We then used an oscilloscope to measure AC ripple and noise present on the DC outputs. We set the oscilloscope time base to check for AC ripple at both high and low ends of the spectrum. ATX12V V2.2 specification for DC output ripple and noise is defined in the ATX 12V power supply design guide.
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ATX12V Ver 2.2 Noise/Ripple Tolerance
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Output
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Ripple (mV p-p)
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+3.3V
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50
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+5V
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50
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+12V1
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120
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+12V2
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120
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-12V
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120
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+5VSB
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50
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Obviously when measuring AC noise and ripple on the DC outputs the cleaner (less recorded) means we have a better end result. We measured this AC signal amplitude to see how closely the ADATA unit complied with the ATX standard.
| AC Ripple (mV p-p) | ||||
| DC Load | +3.3V | +5V | +12V | 5VSB |
| 330W | 5 | 10 | 15 | 10 |
| 620W | 10 | 10 | 20 | 15 |
| 918W | 10 | 15 | 30 | 20 |
| 1204W | 15 | 20 | 35 | 25 |
Ripple results are well within the parameters set down in the ATX12V Ver 2.2 standard. +3.3V and +5V are extremely impressive and the +12V rail is also very stable, never exceeding 35mv.
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Efficiency (%)
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330W
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82.89
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620W
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86.64
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918W
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84.89
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1204W
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83.34
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Very solid results generated by the ADATA 80 Plus Bronze Certified power supply, hitting over 86 percent efficiency at 50 percent load. At full load the efficiency drop to just over 83% which is very strong.
We take the issue of noise very seriously at KitGuru and this is why we have built a special home brew system as a reference point when we test noise levels of various components. Why do this? Well this means we can eliminate secondary noise pollution in the test room and concentrate on components we are testing. It also brings us slightly closer to industry standards, such as DIN 45635.
Today to test the Power Supply we have taken it into our acoustics room environment and have set our SkyTronic DSL 2 Digital Sound Level Meter (6-130dBa) one meter away from the unit. We have no other fans running so we can effectively measure just the noise from the unit itself.
As this can be a little confusing for people, here are various dBa ratings in with real world situations to help describe the various levels.
KitGuru noise guide
10dBA – Normal Breathing/Rustling Leaves
20-25dBA – Whisper
30dBA – High Quality Computer fan
40dBA – A Bubbling Brook, or a Refridgerator
50dBA – Normal Conversation
60dBA – Laughter
70dBA – Vacuum Cleaner or Hairdryer
80dBA – City Traffic or a Garbage Disposal
90dBA – Motorcycle or Lawnmower
100dBA – MP3 Player at maximum output
110dBA – Orchestra
120dBA – Front row rock concert/Jet Engine
130dBA – Threshold of Pain
140dBA – Military Jet takeoff/Gunshot (close range)
160dBA – Instant Perforation of eardrum
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Noise (dBA)
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330W
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29.4
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620W
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32.1
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918W
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34.4
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1204W
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39.8
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Its not the quietest power supply we have tested, but at 50% load is relatively quiet, becoming more audible in the upper 30% of load. At full load it emits around 40dBa, but we can't expect many people to be running their system at a constant 1200W.
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Temperature (c)
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||
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Intake
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Exhaust
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330W
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35
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38
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620W
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38
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44
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918W
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42
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49
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1204W
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46
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55
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The large Yate Loon fan helps to generate high levels of airflow across the components inside the chassis, with a 9c above ambient intake registered at full load.
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Maximum load
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Efficiency
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1346W
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80.5
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Pushing the PSU above its rated limits generates an efficiency level of around 80.5%. This is not a viable ‘real world’ situation, but its interesting nonetheless.
The ADATA range of power supplies has not had much promotion or focus within the UK market, but we have been pleasantly surprised by the quality of output and the solid design by Channel Well.
Initial impressions are good, after all the subtle and deep paintwork is resilient to scratches and markings and will suit any system build. The modular cabling is excellent quality and the chassis itself is colour coded with labeling to ensure that even inexperienced system builders have a pain free system build.
Technically, there is little to fault, load regulation is healthy and the unit coped with our Cross loading tests with relative ease. Efficiency results also confirm strong 80 Plus Bronze certification and the ripple results are very positive, well within rated parameters.
The selection of high quality Yate Loon D14BH-12 fan ensures that internal chassis temperatures are well maintained, even in less than ideal conditions. It isn't the quietest supply we have tested but it has many strengths which ensure that it is a high value for money purchase.
While the Corsair AX1200W is still our ultimate choice for a 1200W power supply, the fact that it is 80 Plus Gold Certified means that you will pay a premium – £230 makes a considerable dent in your bank balance. The ADATA HM 1200W power supply is currently available for £150 inc vat from Ebuyer. At this price it really would be our first choice and offers up the benefits of a 1200W, quality PSU to a wider audience.
Pros:
- Price point is fantastic
- great scratch resistant paintwork
- attractive, understated design
- internal component selection is good
- sleeved cables
- modular cabling which is well coded
- storage pouch is a nice extra
cons:
- Can get loud if you load it hard
KitGuru says: For £150 this is pretty much our PSU bargain of the year, so far.
