LEPA G1600 MA EU 1600W PSU Review

1. Introduction2. LEPA G1600 (Bundle/Cabling)3. LEPA G1600 (External)4. LEPA G1600 (Internal)5. LEPA G1600 (High Res Gallery)6. Testing Methodology & Results7. Closing Thoughts8. View All Pages

Today we are looking at a high end power supply rated to deliver 1600 watts of power. The LEPA G1600 has been a successful high end product for parent company Enermax – so much so that they have not updated it since the original release in 2012. Available for around £250 inc vat, is this a power supply you should be considering for a new ultra high end system build?

The LEPA G1600 is an 80 Plus Gold Certified power supply and is a pure modular design. It has six +12V rails to cater to the highest power delivery possible and incorporates premium grade Japanese grade capacitors for long term reliability. The G1600 utilises a high density PCB to keep physical dimensions of the supply to only 18cm in depth.

For most people a 1,600 watt power supply is completely overkill – you don't need this unless you are powering 4 or 5 graphics cards or two R9 295X2's. Our recent review of the Overclockers UK Infinity Vesuvius system showed that it could demand close to 1,200 watts under load. A 1,500 watt or 1,600 watt power supply is ideal for a system such as this – which is probably why Overclockers UK fitted it with a Silverstone Strider 80+ Silver 1,500 watt unit.

Features:

• Powerful 1600W fully rated output, peak power up to 1700W
• Surpassing 80 Plus Gold level (G1600-MA is 80 Plus Gold certified.)
• Full Modular Cabling Design makes system upgrade and replacement easy
• High Density PCB Design makes G1600 only 18cm in depth, providing more space to dissipate the heat inside the chassis
• 135mm ball bearing fan with thermal programmed speed controller delivers silent, cool operation
• Honeycomb-shaped ventilation design increases airflow and keeps power supply cool
• Solid State Capacitors and 105°C Japanese Grade A Capacitors provide great reliability
• DC-to-DC Converter Design ensures system stability
• Full Bridge and Zero Voltage Switch (ZVS) topologies provide superior performance and reliability
• Dual Sided PCB design synergizes PCB layout
• Six powerful +12V rails with high maximum loads offer great compatibility with heavy-duty graphics cards
• Ability to run up to 4-Way GPU (SLI / CrossFire) and Dual CPUs together without difficulty
• Compliance with EU ErP Lot 6 standards (lower than 1W power consumption at standby mode)
• Over Power, Over Voltage, Under Voltage, Over Current, Over Temperature, Short-circuit protection provide great safety to your system
• ATX12V version 2.4 and EPS12V version 2.92 compliant.

The LEPA G1600-MA ships in a full colour, heavy box with some details on the front.

The rear of the box is crammed with technical information on the supply and will appeal to experienced users looking to get more information on the build quality when browsing in a retail store (there are some left, right?).

The box opens up to expose three separate trays which hold the power supply, and the accessories. The power supply isn't protected between thick foam pads, just the cardboard panels, and a bubblewrap style bag.

The accessories include a regional specific power cable, a user manual and some technical data.


Most of the cables (except main MB and CPU power) are the thin ‘ribbon' style – which prove popular with the enthusiast audience thanks to the advantages when cable routing. There are no less than a staggering ten 6+2 PCI E cables to cater to the most demanding Crossfire and SLI system builds. You could power five high end graphics cards with the LEPA G1600-MA.

The company have published a breakdown of the power supply configuration which explains the +12V distribution via the modular connectors.


The LEPA G1600 power supply has a great matt finish – the rough surface is very resilient against scratching and fingerprints.

This unit passed our screwdriver test without a hitch. We run the head of a Philips screwdriver down the side of the chassis with light to moderate force. How many times have you accidentally ‘connected’ with a power supply during a system build?

The slate grey finish holds up well from all angles. If I was being pedantic, I would prefer to see the G1600 product naming in a smaller font.

A large fan is hidden behind the LEPA logo.

One side of the unit is vented to aid air flow. At the side, below the LEPA logo is a power switch and connector.

The modular panel is densely packed and colour coordinated and labeled to aid with the install phase.

LEPA G1600
DC Output	+3.3V	+5V	+12V1	+12V2	+12V3	+12V4	+12V5	+12V6	-12V	+5Vsb
Max Output	25A	25A	20A	20A	30A	30A	30A	30A	0.5A	4A
Total Power	140W		1596W (133A)						6W	20W
	1600W

The six +12V rails are able to deliver 133A.


The power supply is using an ADDA 135mm ball bearing fan with model number ADN512UB-A90. It is rated 0.44A when operating at 12VDC.

The design, even though a few years old by today's standards, is still very clean. Soldering quality is suitably high for a unit like this.




The AC receptacle has a complete line filter and it also has two additional Y capacitors. The transient filter continues to the main PCB and has two Y Caps, an X Cap, three CM chokes and an MOV. The single bridge rectifier is connected to a dedicated heatsink.

The power supply uses three high grade 105C Japanese capacitors – by Panasonic – rated 400V, 330uF. Secondary capacitors are by Rubycon – some of which are filtering the +12V rail.
On this page we present some high resolution images of the product taken with a Fuji XT1 and a Sigma SD1 camera. These will take much longer to open due to the dimensions, especially on slower connections. If you use these pictures on another site or publication, please credit Kitguru.net as the owner/source.











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
• Extech digital sound level meter
• Digital oscilloscope (20M S/s with 12 Bit ADC)
• Variable Autotransformer, 1.4 KVA

12V output is combined for our testing.

DC Output Load Regulation
Combined DC Load	+3.3V		+5V		+12V		+5VSB		-12V
	A	V	A	V	A	V	A	V	A	V
500W	7.60	3.33	8.80	5.02	36.02	12.11	1.5	5.02	0.30	-12.09
750W	12.61	3.33	14.12	5.02	52.03	12.00	2.0	5.02	0.30	-12.08
1000W	17.72	3.33	20.02	5.01	72.23	11.96	2.5	5.01	0.50	-12.07
1250W	18.82	3.33	24.05	5.01	90.12	11.90	3.0	5.01	0.60	-12.08
1500W	18.85	3.32	22.62	5.00	115.90	11.85	3.5	5.00	0.80	-12.11
1600W	10.00	3.31	10.00	4.96	125.00	11.69	3.5	5.00	0.80	-12.14

Load regulation is quite good, although we noticed a drop to 11.69 volts on the +12V rail when hit with 125Amps.

LEPA G1600 1600W Power Supply	Maximum Load
	1733W

We managed to get the PSU to achieve 1733W before it would shut down, delivering around 133W more than the rated specifications.

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
1150W	3.0	3.33	2.0	5.02	92.0	11.89	0.2	-12.01	0.50	5.00
250W	20.0	3.29	24.0	4.94	5.0	12.02	0.2	-12.02	0.50	4.98

The power supply coped reasonably well with the cross loading test, although there was minor droop noticeable on the +12V rail when hit with 92 amps.

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.

ATX12V Ver 2.2 Noise/Ripple Tolerance
Output	Ripple (mV p-p)
+3.3V	50
+5V	50
+12V1	120
+12V2	120
-12V	120
+5VSB	50

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 unit complied with the ATX standard.

AC Ripple (mV p-p)
DC Load	+3.3V	+5V	+12V	5VSB
500W	10	15	10	10
750W	10	20	10	15
1000W	15	20	15	15
1250W	15	20	15	15
1500W	20	25	20	20
1600W	20	25	25	30

Ripple results are excellent, especially on the +12V rail – peaking at 25mV. This falls in with some of the best results we have seen.

Efficiency (%)
500W	91.21
750W	92.23
1000W	91.89
1250W	90.51
1500W	89.83
1600W	88.56

The efficiency ratings are superb, peaking at 92.2% at 50% load. Efficiency drops to 88.6% at full load, which is a good result. If you are running this power supply at a constant 1,600 watts we can't imagine the system you are powering !

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 Digital Sound Level Noise Decibel Meter Style 2 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 Refrigerator
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

Noise (dBA)
500W	29.2
750W	29.8
1000W	32.7
1250W	34.3
1500W	35.6
1600W	36.1

The fan spins slowly until around 800 watts is demanded and it begins to increase with load. At 1000 watts the fan is audible although not intrusive. At 1250 Watts, the fan is spinning much faster and will be audible if your system is relatively quiet. At 1500watts to 1600 watts the noise increases a little further.

We like the pitch of this fan, even though it is quite active above 1000 watts, it never becomes annoying, even though it is audible.

Temperature (c)
	Intake	Exhaust
500W	37	41
750W	39	45
1000W	42	49
1250W	46	55
1500W	48	60
1600W	51	64

The large fan copes with the heat inside the chassis, spinning more actively as the load increases above 1,000 watts.

Maximum load	Efficiency
1733W	88.2

At 1733W, the efficiency level is still good, measuring 88.2%. Not a practical situation to be running 24/7, but worth noting.

The LEPA G1600 1600 watt power supply has been around now for a couple of years, but it still manages to hold its own today against the current market leaders.

We love the appearance of the LEPA G1600 supply – the rough matt finish is very resilient and able to withstand a fair bit of abuse. It manages to offer some protection against fingerprints, thanks to the mottled/textured surface.

Technically, the LEPA G1600 is very capable, delivering immense power when needed and fantastic ripple suppression. The +12V rail peaked at 25mV, which is still close to the market leaders in 2014, despite the age.

We did notice some voltage regulation issues on the +12V rail, dropping to 11.69V at full load, from the 12.11V reading we got at a more modest 500 watt load. That said, this happened when we tasked it with 125 AMPS which seems well above the draw an end user is likely to demand from it on a regular basis.

We also tested the power supply this week powering two AMD R9 295X2 graphics cards, an overclocked 4790K processor and a watercooling kit. The total system demand under load in Tomb Raider was close to 1,200 watts. The system was rock stable and performance was, as we would expect, remarkable. You could easily power four, or five high end single GPU graphics cards without a problem.

The LEPA G1600 is still available from various retailers – although availability in the United Kingdom is quite poor. Amazon partners have some stock for around the £250 mark, although if you are willing to risk an EBAY transaction, we found it for £200.

Discuss on our Facebook page, over HERE.

Pros:

• Immense power delivery – over 1,700 watts.
• Great efficiency.
• beautiful finish.
• good cabling.
• built to last.
• Japanese high grade components used throughout.

Cons:

• +12V voltage regulation could be better.
• stiff competition from the Corsair AX1500i.

Kitguru says: It may have been released a few years ago, but the LEPA G1600 still has a lot to offer the high end enthusiast user.

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