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NZXT are better known for their chassis design but they have also been expanding their power supply range, targeting a broad and demanding enthusiast audience in the process. Today we are reviewing our first power supply from the company, the 750W model from their newest HALE90 series.
NZXT have been working in conjunction with SuperFlower Computer Incorporated, a company which might not be that familar with a large percentage of our readership. They have however been around since 1991 and recently expanded their premises with a subsidiary factory to deal with increasing power supply demand.
Generally their designs have been found in high value for money budget supplies so we are interested today to see how this 80 Plus Gold Certified unit copes throughout our testing.
NZXT have introduced this specific range with a ‘built from the ground up' approach specifically for the extremely demanding enthusiast gaming audience.
The NZXT HALE90 750W power supply arrives in a rather understated white box with orange/red accents. There is plenty of information on all sides, detailing the important features, including the 80 Plus Gold Certification and full 5 year warranty.
Inside, the supply is protected within a plastic cover and surrounded by foam padding.
NZXT include a felt pouch for modular cable storage, 4 mounting screws for the system build, a power cable and user manual. It is a reasonably impressive bundle which covers all the necessary bases.
The first thing to hit you is the fact that the HALE90 750W power supply is finished with white paint. It wouldn't be our first choice, but it certainly stands out in the crowded marketplace. We would love to hear your views on this colour scheme in the comments section or on the forums.
A large 140mm fan takes centerstage, a rather dramatic design, particularly when set behind the black grill. We aren't sure that a large portion of the enthusiast community will be happy with a white power supply as it won't match many systems, but after living with it for a few weeks we actually ended up liking it.
The unit is fully vented at the rear to allow for a high level of heat dissipation when under load.
The HALE90 750W is not a fully modular design with core cabling emitting from the left side of the chassis.
Connectivity support is very good with 4 PCI-Express cables available, it is a shame they weren't all 6+2 pin, but for this power range it is perfectly acceptable. There are seven molex and eight SATA connectors, not the best we have seen for a 750W power supply, but again more than enough for most people.
The NZXT HALE90 750W is closely matched to quality models in the same power output currently available on the market. It has a 12V capability of up to 62A which is 99% of the units total capacity. The minor rails are limited to around 120W at peak which while good, isn't the best we have seen.
The cabling is fully sleeved into the chassis and there is an additional rubber grommet on the naked metal for added protection.
There is not much information available on the white 140mm fan, but it is branded by NZXT and rated at 0.3A at 12V. We were able to ascertain that it is a dual bearing unit.
Once opened we can see the SuperFlower 80 Plus Gold resonant LLC design, which is very clean.
The primary side capacitors are Nippon Chemi-con and are rated at 400w 330uF to 105C which is an excellent start. The APFC coil as well as the input filtering capacitors are positioned next to the primary side heatsink.
On the secondary side, the modern and effective HALE90 design is using capacitors created by Nippon Chemi-con. The layout is good, with more Nippon Chemi-con capacitors on the modular PCB area.
As we noted earlier in the review, the cabling is fully sleeved into the chassis and is protected against the bare metal by a rubber grommet. Three series of cable ties are used to ensure that the sleeving will not slip over time. We like the attention to detail throughout.
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
|
DC Output Load Regulation
|
||||||||||
|
Combined DC Load |
+3.3V
|
+5V
|
+12V
|
+5VSB
|
-12V | |||||
|
A
|
V
|
A
|
V
|
A
|
V
|
A
|
V
|
A | V | |
|
75W
|
1.22
|
3.37
|
1.19
|
5.12
|
4.90
|
12.24
|
0.50
|
5.10
|
0.20
|
-12.15
|
|
150W
|
2.18
|
3.34
|
2.80
|
5.09
|
10.00
|
12.18
|
1.00
|
5.08
|
0.30
|
-12.10
|
|
375W
|
6.15
|
3.31
|
6.00
|
5.07
|
26.10
|
12.14
|
1.50
|
5.05
|
0.50
|
-12.07
|
| 565W |
10.30
|
3.30
|
10.87
|
5.05
|
38.34
|
12.10
|
2.00
|
4.97 |
0.60
|
-12.04
|
|
750W
|
10.74
|
3.30
|
13.86
|
5.04
|
53.51
|
12.05
|
3.00
|
4.94
|
0.80
|
-12.02
|
Load regulation is very impressive, with all the primary rails holding to within 2.5% of the nominal voltage.
| NZXT HALE90 750W | Maximum Load |
| 821.2W |
We managed to get 821.2W from the supply before it would shut down, with the protection circuitry doing the job well.
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 | |
| 734W | 1.0 | 3.34 | 1.0 | 5.07 | 60.0 | 11.98 | 0.2 | -12.06 | 0.50 | 5.01 |
| 154W | 15.0 | 3.28 | 15.0 | 4.98 | 2.0 | 12.07 | 0.2 | -12.08 | 0.50 | 5.03 |
The NZXT HALE90 750W unit held perfectly stable within our cross loading tests. We placed a full 60A on the +12V output and a light load on the remaining outputs. With such a heavy imbalance we were pleased to see the voltages all holding well within specifications.
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 NZXT unit complied with the ATX standard.
| AC Ripple (mV p-p) | ||||
| DC Load | +3.3V | +5V | +12V | 5VSB |
| 75W | 10 | 5 | 10 | 5 |
| 150W | 10 | 10 | 15 | 10 |
| 375W | 10 | 10 | 25 | 10 |
| 565W | 15 | 15 | 35 | 15 |
| 750W | 20 | 20 | 40 | 20 |
The DC output quality of the NZXT HALE90 750W supply is solid, although not as impressive as a few other units we have tested recently such as the XFX Pro Series 750W. Still, ripple suppression falls well within the ATX standard guidelines.
|
Efficiency (%)
|
|
|
75W
|
88.12
|
|
150W
|
89.45
|
|
375W
|
91.93
|
|
565W
|
91.04
|
|
750W
|
89.21
|
The unit achieves 80 Plus Gold Certification in our testing, with some very impressive efficiency figures across the full range of load.
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
|
Noise (dBA)
|
|
|
75W
|
27.3
|
|
150W
|
28.7
|
|
375W
|
29.2
|
|
565W
|
32.4
|
| 750W | 33.1 |
The reason behind using a high quality 140mm fan is certainly showing benefits as this is one of the quietest 750W power supplies we have tested to date, hovering under 30dBa with a 50 percent load. It rises to a maximum of 33 dBa at full load, but this isn't a practical long term situation. Generally in the ‘real world' this supply is basically inaudible and we have to credit the selection of a 140mm quality fan as inspired.
|
Temperature (c)
|
||
|
Intake
|
Exhaust
|
|
|
75W
|
35
|
37
|
|
150W
|
36
|
39
|
|
375W
|
39
|
44
|
|
565W
|
44
|
52
|
|
750W
|
45
|
56
|
Again, the 140mm fan is maintaining a balance of low noise and high levels of airflow, peaking at an 11c above ambient threshold when fully loaded.
|
Maximum load
|
Efficiency
|
|
821.2W
|
83.5
|
Pushing the PSU above its rated limits generates an efficiency level of around 83.5%. This is not a viable ‘real world’ situation, but its interesting nonetheless.
We were not expecting to get such good results when NZXT offered us the HALE90 750W power supply for testing. The SuperFlower design is extremely capable and this product offers high levels of efficiency, low noise and excellent voltage regulation.
The inclusion of a 140mm fan ensures high levels of airflow while allowing SuperFlower the luxury of being able to dial down the speeds to reduce noise, aided further by the high levels of efficiency from this particular design. The selection of high grade Nippon Chemi-con capacitors ensures that this design should last a very long time, a point NZXT are keen to highlight with their 5 year warranty.
While technically the design has minimal weaknesses, the talking point will certainly be the appearance. We understand that it is tough getting seen in such a competitive and demanding market space, but we are unsure that a huge audience will warm to the striking white chassis design. To be fair, NZXT are trying something different, and we are sure that this product will garner attention, just on the colour alone. On a positive note, the finish is very high grade and doesn't mark easily, even when we accidentally glanced a screwdriver head down the side of the chassis.
Efficiency is stellar, achieving a maximum rating just shy of 92 percent at around 50 percent load. Ripple suppression is well within the rated guidelines. Our results indicate a maximum load +12v figure of around 40mV with both +3.3V and +5V peaking around 20mV. Not quite as good as current class leading products, but certainly better than the majority of designs flooding the market.
It is certainly not cheap however the pricing is very good for a 80 Plus Gold Certified product. SCAN are selling it in the UK for £123.56 inc vat.
KitGuru says: High build quality, fantastic efficiency and low noise levels make for a heady, tempting combination. The colour is sure to split opinion however.
