Cougar GX 800W Power Supply Review

Today we are going to look at the current high grade 800W power supply from Cougar - the GX 800W. This is a modular design which has received 80 Plus Gold Certification and it features Cougar Vortex HDB fan technology. Retail pricing is around £140 in the United Kingdom so it is facing stiff competition. We haven't reviewed many Cougar power supplies in the last year, however they are a retail subset of parent company HEC. The Aerocool GT-1050SG which we reviewed last week was an HEC design and it walked away with an award after a commendable set of results. Company Specifications: MAXIMUM EFFICIENCY Up to 93% of efficiency, compliant with 80-PLUS® GOLD efficiency requirement . RST (RAPID SWITCH TECHNOLOGY) POWER COUGAR GX provide highest efficiency performance with Rapid Switch Technology. DC-DC TECHNOLOGY DC-DC technology provides highest efficiency, most stable performance, and perfect regulation (Regulation <3%). CLC FILTER DESIGN CLC filter design efficiently suppress Ripple/Noise <1% COUGAR VORTEX FAN TECHNOLOGY The entire COUGAR GX are equipped with the new exclusive COUGAR VORTEX 140mm fan, this unique design with it´s high-vortex-airflow turbine blade and enhanced frame design provide optimum cooling efficiency which in turn leads to a reduction of the fan speed and extremely quiet operation. In addition the advanced HDB (Hydro-Dynamic-Bearing) not only minimizes potential noise even further but also prolongs it´s effective best lifespan. ADVANCED MODULAR CABLE The advanced modular cable management is further improved by utilizing new flat cables that simplify installation as well as reducing air friction in order to maximize airflow. This gives gamers the power they need, and flexibility of easy upgrades they demand. COMPATIBLE WITH LATEST PC-TECHNOLOGY Supports the newest specifications of ATX12V Created for usage with current and next-generation multi-core CPU platforms. SUPPORT MULTI-GPU TECHNOLOGY Support PCI Express 2.0 next-generation graphic card with 8(6+2)pin PCI-E connector HIGHEST DURABLE & RELIABLE SOLID CAPS FOR 12V, 3.3V, 5V The best solution for a High-End PSU by using solid caps for 12Vs, 3.3V, 5V, solid caps provide highest efficiency, best reliability, and extend power lifespan. 105 °C JAPANESE CAPACITORS COUGAR use highest durable 105°C Japanese capacitors provide uncompromised performance and reliability, delivering 4 times the lifespan of conventional 85°C rated capacitors. HIGH PERFORMANCE AT 50°C Non-stop high performance and full rated wattage at 50°C/122°F ambient temperature. DYNAMIC MULTI-12V Automatic dynamic load distribution on multi-12V line to provide power separately to the GPU and the CPU. If you are not using all output lines, the PSU automatically reroutes needed power from unused lines. This improves the performance and safety of the 12V lines considerably for systems with high-end graphics cards in SLI® or CrossFire® mode. and provide high voltage stability to keep components safe. COMPLIANT WITH LATEST EUROPEAN DIRECTIVE 2009/125/EC (ErP) In Standby consumption is <0.3W, compliant with economy-friendly electrical equipment. SUPPORTS THE ENERGY STAR 5.0 Compatible with Energy star 5.0 computer system. FULL PROTECTIONS WITH OCP, SCP, OVP, UVP, OPP, OTP The box artwork features a 'top down' view of the supply and the name along the top. The five year warranty and 80 Plus Gold Certification is highlighted bottom right. Inside the box is a user manual, case badge, mounting screws and the modular cables. The Cougar GX 800W Power Supply is not a pure modular design, so some of the cables are hardwired into the chassis (image above right). We were surprised at how long the main CPU power cable is, measuring around 1,200mm from end to end. We would like to see more modular cables and less hardwired into the chassis however. The modular cables look great as Cougar are using flat style cables with the company branding on the sleeves. Cable Connectors MB 20+4 pin x1 (625mm) CPU 8 pin, 4+4 pin & 4 pin x1 (620 + 300 + 300 mm) PCI E 8 pin (6 pin +2) x2 (530mm) hardwired x2 (500mm) modular SATA x10 (500mm + 150mm) MOLEX Floppy x6 (500mm + 150mm) x1 There are certainly no shortage of cables on this unit, with x2 hardwired 6+2 PCI E cables and x2 modular 6+2 PCI E cables. The Cougar GX 800W is quite attractive, although we know some enthusiast users who really hate gold panels. It measures 180mm x 150 mm x 81 mm (LxWxH). A large fan rests underneath the gold grill, with the Cougar logo in the center. We will take a closer look at the fan shortly, when we get the unit cracked open. One side of the unit is honeycomb vented to ensure airflow is adequate. A power connector and switch are offset at the side of the unit. This unit sadly failed our paint quality stress test (see images directly above). This involves us applying light/moderate pressure with a screwdriver head across the surface of the unit. Most of us know how easy it is to accidentally brush the surface of a power supply during the build phase with a variety of tools. The GX 800W was rather easy to mark, and a lot of attention will need to be paid during the build phase if you want it looking pristine. The modular connector panel is fully loaded, and colour coded for ease of installation. The design of this panel is excellent and easy to access even inside a system chassis. Cougar GX 800W Power Supply DC Output +3.3V +5V +12V1 +12V2 +12V3 +12V4 -12V +5Vsb Max Output 25A 25A 22A 22A 24A 24A 0.5A 3A Total Power 150W 792W 6W 17.5W 800W Cougar list the +12V1, +12V3 and +12V4 output on the rear of the unit, with the +12V2 linked to the hardwired cabling. Cougar are using a Power Logic fan which is made in China, model number PLA14025S12M EP. This is a 9 blade 'hydro-dynamic bearing' model rated 12V/0.40A. As we mentioned earlier, Cougar power supplies are built by HEC. Soldering and build quality is good, although not quite in the same league as the Seasonic units we have reviewed in recent months. The hardwired cables are fully sleeved into the chassis to help prevent long term fraying. The AC filtering stage starts with two Y and an X capacitor. It continues with two bidirectional breakdown diodes, two more X capacitors and two Y capacitors and two coils. The image above right shows the PWM controller (CM6802 based). The primary capacitor is high grade, by Panasonic. It is rated 105c 560uF 420V. Most of the secondary capacitors are made by Teapo. 12V filtering is also handled by Teapo aluminum electrolytic capacitors. On this page we present some super high resolution images of the product taken with the 24.5MP Nikon D3X camera and 24-70mm ED lens. 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. We set ambient temperatures to 35c in our environment to reflect warm 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 DC Output Load Regulation Combined DC Load +3.3V +5V +12V +5VSB -12V A V A V A V A V A V 100W 1.55 3.35 1.77 5.07 6.66 12.14 0.5 5.07 0.20 -12.02 200W 3.13 3.34 3.48 5.05 13.54 12.10 1.0 5.05 0.30 -12.03 400W 6.17 3.33 7.17 5.04 27.65 12.16 1.5 5.03 0.50 -12.06 600W 9.44 3.32 10.75 5.00 41.29 11.97 2.0 5.01 0.60 -12.08 800W 13.24 3.32 15.08 4.98 55.55 11.94 2.5 5.00 0.80 -12.10 The Cougar GX 800W passes this test, although there is a little droop on the +12v output, dropping from 12.14V to 11.94V across the full range. Not the best set of results we have seen in recent months, but not bad. Cougar GX 800W Maximum Load 824W The Cougar CX 800W managed to only deliver another 24W above maximum rated output before it shut down, safely. 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 760W 1.0 3.34 1.0 5.07 60.0 11.88 0.2 -12.02 0.50 5.05 165W 15.0 3.30 18.0 4.94 2.0 12.12 0.2 -12.03 0.50 5.04 Cross loading results exhibit a few minor weaknesses. The +12V output dropped to 11.88V when hit with 60A. Likewise the +5V output dropped to 4.94A when hit with 18A. 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 100W 20 15 20 15 200W 20 15 25 20 400W 30 20 35 25 600W 40 30 45 30 800W 50 35 55 35 Ripple suppression is quite disappointing. The +5V output peaked at 35mV which is one of the better results. +12V held well within the rated tolerances, peaking at 55mV at full load. The +3.3V hit 50mV at full load, which is the limit of industry tolerance specifications. A borderline fail, and far from the best we have seen in recent months. Efficiency (%) 100W 81.43 200W 85.67 400W 91.33 600W 89.42 800W 88.79 The unit achieves a maximum efficiency of 91.33 percent in our tests at 50 percent load, dropping to 88.79 percent at full 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 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) 100W 29.2 200W 30.3 400W 32.7 600W 34.2 800W 37.4 The large fan is quite quiet until the last 200W of output when it spins faster to compensate for rising temperatures. Still it isn't too intrusive, especially if you are demanding less than 600W under full load. If you need a power supply to deliver 700W or more on a regular basis, we recommend you pay a little extra for a high quality 1000W rated unit. Temperature (c) Intake Exhaust 100W 37 40 200W 39 44 400W 42 47 600W 44 52 800W 47 56 The temperatures rise as the fan becomes more active. The overall cooling performance is very good. Maximum load Efficiency 824W 87.95% For those interested, we measured efficiency when stressing the unit to breaking point. 87.95% at 824 watts. Not realistic at all, but an interesting closing point. The Cougar GX 800W is a capable power supply that fails to impress in any key area but when considered as a 'sum of its parts' is actually deserving of a reserved recommendation. The appearance of the GX 800W is certainly going to split opinion, we know from past experiences that some of the enthusiast user base loathe gold panels as they can clash against specific colours when featured in a windowed case. The quality of finish is reasonably good, although the paintwork is easily damaged and a lot of handling care will be needed if the unit is to maintain a pristine appearance during multiple build phases. The modular cabling looks great and there are no shortage of cables for an 800W rated unit. We would like to see this HEC design evolving, with a lower reliance on the amount of hardwired cables. We do like the flat, branded ribbon modular cables however, they really do look fantastic. Cougar supply 4 x PCI E 6+2 pin cables with this unit, which is enough to power a high end dual card Crossfire or SLI system. We would recommend you aim for a 1000W unit if you want to power more than two high end graphics cards anyway. Technically the GX 800W is pretty good and HEC are using a high grade 105c Panasonic capacitor in the primary stage. The GX 800W delivers decent load regulation and passed our cross loading test without a problem. Ripple suppression isn't the best we have seen in recent months however and our test unit recorded a 50mV result from the +3.3V output, which is borderline to a fail. We wouldn't expect any problems long term, but it is worth noting. The large fan in this unit cools the components well although in the last 200W of total output it can spin up noticeably, generating a reasonable amount of noise. It is never that intrusive, but if you need to push more than 600W on a regular basis you may want to look at another unit. HEC really could have balanced the fan speed a little better, opting for a slightly quieter profile. Internal build quality is quite good, although not at the same level as the Flextronics or Seasonic designs we have seen in recent months. It falls short of the top grade. The price in the United Kingdom as we go to publication is around £140 inc vat, we found it on Amazon for £137.99 inc vat. Cougar will really have a problem selling the GX 800W when you can pick up superior alternatives such as the Corsair AX850W for only £147.42 inc vat or Seasonic X Series 850W for £149.99 inc vat. We think this is really is going to be a tough sell for Cougar in the UK. Pros: Good all round build. brightly coloured. quality cables. can deliver over 820W before shutting down. Cons: paintwork could be better. ripple issues on +3.3V output. quite expensive. not fully modular. Fan profile is quite aggressive at higher load. Kitguru says: A quality power supply let down by some ripple concerns, a fairly high price and less than stellar paintwork.