Fractal Design Ion+ Platinum 660P PSU Review

1. Introduction2. Bundle & Cabling3. External4. Internal5. Testing Methodology and Results6. Closing Thoughts7. View All Pages

Today we take a look at one of the new power supplies from Fractal Design – their Ion+ 660p, a Platinum rated fully modular power supply which according to the company focuses on low noise performance. Fractal are also keen to highlight their new UltraFlex DC Cable design along with a full 10 year warranty for peace of mind. It is a single +12V rail design.

Fractal are making a concerted effort to break a price point with these Ion+ Platinum rated power supplies. This 660Watt model is priced at only £104.99/$109.99. There are three other models in the range, a 560P (£94.99/$99.99), a 760P (£114.99/$119.99) and a 860p (£124.99/$129.99). We also have the 860p model in our labs and a full review of that model will be published shortly.

One of the companies key focus points are the aforementioned UltraFlex DC cables. These are high stand count cables with specially formulated insulation which make it possible to reduce the conductors to just 0.08mm in diameter without loss of efficiency or current capacity.

I have no idea who Fractal's OEM partner is for these supplies, but we will be able to tell once we open the unit later in the review.

Key features:

• Fractal Design UltraFlex DC wires have game-changing flexibility for effortless cable-routing and connectors that
  twist and bend to fit your installation
• Custom-tailored Dynamic Series 140 mm fan with exceptionally low minimum speed and true long-life FDB bearing
• 80 PLUS® Platinum Efficiency for optimized electrical performance and reduced heat generation
• User selectable Zero RPM mode allows for either silent, passive operation in low load situations or continuous low
  speed fan operation for additional cooling
• Outstanding output quality with tight voltage regulation and extremely low noise and ripple
• Fully modular design for reduced clutter and maximum ease of installation
• Premium Japanese 105°C capacitors provide enhanced reliability and durability
• Compact 150 mm depth easily fits compact spaces, allowing extra headroom for cable management
• Full electrical protection suite includes Over Power Protection, Over Voltage Protection, Short Circuit Protection,
  Under Voltage Protection, Over Current Protection and Over Temperature Protection
• Extra-long 600 mm 24-pin ATX cable and 700 mm 4+4 pin cable
• Extensive 10 year warranty

We wouldn't say the Fractal box artwork was very creative, but its effective enough – showing the power supply clearly on the front.

The rear of the box highlights the 80 Plus Platinum efficiency, the 10 year warranty and the semi passive zero fan mode alongside some photographs, including one that highlights the full modular bay.

Inside the box is some literature on the power supply, as well as mounting screws and cable ties. All the modular cables are supplied inside a little storage bag – ideal for keeping the extra cables safe in case you need them later.

The power supply is wrapped in a little bag, protected between foam slabs.

The Ion+ 660P ships with 4 PCIe connectors, the same as the smaller 560P model. It has 4 extra SATA connectors however. Some of the cables are sleeved, others are flat ‘ribbon' style.

The larger 760P and 860P ship with 6 PCIe, and 10 SATA connectors. The higher powered models also incorporate an extra EPS/ATX12V connector for more CPU demanding systems such as AMD's Threadripper. Fractal are using an extra long 600mm 24 pin ATX cable and a 700mm 4+4 pin cable.

We like this cable design, and while we can somewhat take all the buzz words with a pinch of salt, these cables are in reality very flexible and we can see them being quite easy to route during a system build. We can believe that due to the flexible nature, they would put less stain and resistance when bent in tight spaces.

The Fractal Ion+ 660P is a clean looking power supply with a neutral colour scheme set to appeal to system builders. That said, with more and more cases coming with PSU shrouds, this is likely less of a problem.

The chassis measures 150mm x 150mm x 86 mm and weighs 1.61kg.

Beneath the metal grille lies a large 140mm fan. Fractal say this is a FDB fan (Fluid Dynamic Bearing) – these are generally lower noise fans with good long life and reliability. We will take a closer look at it when we open the unit.

One side of the unit has a vented panel to help with airflow, as well as a power on/off switch and a power connector.

The other side of the power supply is home to the modular bay, all clearly labelled. There is also a switch here to toggle the semi passive fan mode.

Fractal Design Ion+ Platinum 660P PSU
DC Output	+3.3V	+5V	+12V	-12V	+5Vsb
Max Output	20A	20A	55A	0.3A	3A
Total Power	110W		660W	3.6W	15W
	660W

The single +12V rail is able to deliver 55 Amps for 660W of the total load. This is plenty for a single GPU system in 2019. Interesting to see that Fractal have placed the power characteristic sticker on the rear – this can be seen from the outside of the system build when the power supply is installed. Good or bad? Its certainly intentional and the first time we have seen a company do this.

The fan inside is an FDB model, measuring 140 mm x 140 mm x 25 mm. It has a counter balanced magnet to reduce axial tension on the bearing and has an optimised fan geometry to balance airflow and static pressure. There is an Aerodynamic stator with embedded wiring to reduce turbulence. Fractal have notched the blade edges to reduce fan hum at higher speeds. Life expectancy of the fan is 100,000 MTBF.

You may notice there is a piece of plastic covering one quarter of the fan – this is intentional, so the company can specifically direct air flow over key components on the PCB.

Below - a High Resolution Gallery of the internal layout of the Power supply.

Looking inside we can see that the Fractal Design power supply is created by OEM partner High Power. The design is 12V Synchronous Rectification to improve efficiency with low conduction loss. High Power are incorporating a high efficiency step down DC-DC circuit to help improve voltage regulation and to improve ripple suppression. There is a MOV (Metal Oxide Varistor) used for AC line surge and transient protection.

The 660P uses Japanese capacitors throughout the design with two very fine Japanese 105C rated capacitors in the primary stage, from the excellent Rubycon. They are both rated 400v 390uF, for a total output of 780uF.

Due to the high rated efficiency of this power supply there are only several rather small heatsinks visible over one side of the PCB design cooling certain components.

Soldering quality on the board is certainly acceptable. The PSU offers Over voltage protection, under voltage protection, over power protection, short circuit protection, over current protection and over temperature protection as well.

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 run at 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

We test in a single +12V configuration.

DC Output Load Regulation
Combined DC Load	+3.3V		+5V		+12V		+5VSB		-12V
	A	V	A	V	A	V	A	V	A	V
65W	0.92	3.34	0.88	5.04	4.42	12.05	0.50	5.02	0.20	-12.03
130W	1.63	3.33	1.65	5.03	9.18	12.04	0.50	5.02	0.20	-12.02
325W	2.93	3.33	3.00	5.02	24.25	12.03	1.50	5.01	0.20	-12.03
490W	4.04	3.33	4.10	5.01	36.90	12.02	2.00	5.01	0.30	-12.02
660W	5.05	3.33	5.30	5.01	50.23	12.01	2.50	5.00	0.30	-12.02

Load regulation is good, within 1.5%.

Fractal Design Ion+ Platinum 660P PSU	Maximum Load
	743 watts

We managed to get the PSU to deliver 743 watts before it would shut down, delivering just over 80 watts 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
590W	1.0	3.34	1.0	5.04	48.0	12.02	0.2	-12.03	0.50	5.02
145W	12.0	3.33	15.0	4.99	2.0	12.05	0.2	-12.04	0.50	5.01

The unit passed our cross load test without any noticeable concerns or issues.

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
152W	5	5	10	5
270W	5	10	10	5
400W	10	10	15	5
523W	10	10	15	10
660W	10	15	20	15

Ripple suppression rates as excellent, peaking at 10mV and 15mV on the +3.3V and +5V rails respectively. The +12V rail hit a maximum of 20mV under full load conditions. Another fantastic result.

Efficiency (%)
152W	90.6
270W	93.8
400W	93.7
523W	93.1
660W	92.5

Efficiency peaked at around 94%, falling to around 92.5% at full load. Very solid results indeed.

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 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)
152W	<28.0
270W	<28.0
400W	31.7
523W	32.4
660W	33.9

This is a quiet power supply throughout the range, peaking at 33.9db when the power supply is at full load. The pitch of this particular FDB fan is very low too which means it is never intrusive and will likely be drowned out by a couple of case fans.

Temperature (c)
	Intake	Exhaust
152W	36	40
270W	39	42
400W	42	44
523W	44	47
660W	47	54

Temperatures inside are very good indeed, helped by the high efficiency of the unit.

Maximum load	Efficiency
743 watts	91.7

At 743 watts, the efficiency level measures 91.7%. Not a practical situation to be running 24/7, but worth noting.

There is no doubt the Fractal Design Ion+ Platinum 660P is a very high efficiency supply that delivers quality power at a very reasonable price point.

Fractal are using High Power as the OEM partner for this unit, and in reality, it's a solid, technically proficient unit ideal for a wide range of systems.

First impressions are positive, the unit is well finished and the neutral colour scheme will ensure it will fit into themed system builds without standing out. If you are hiding it behind a PSU shroud, I guess it doesn't matter either way.

Load regulation is very tight, and the 660P dealt with our cross loading test without a problem. Ripple suppression is another high point for this product, hitting a maximum of only 10-20mV from all rails under a full load situation. Thanks to the adoption of a quality Fluid Dynamic Bearing fan, noise levels never get too intrusive either, even under very high load situations. You could happily run this unit at 500w all day long without noticing fan noise.

Efficiency is impressive, with the unit hitting around 94% around 40-50% load. Ideally you want to be running between 300 and 450 watts to achieve the highest levels of efficiency from this supply – this is actually a sweet spot for the majority of gaming systems on the market today.

The modular cabling is one of the key talking points with this new range of Ion+ Platinum power supplies. The trademarked ‘UltraFlex DC cables' are a very high strand count cable with specially formulated insulation to reduce the conductors to just 0.08mm in diameter. While we look at marketing ‘buzz' words with a raised eyebrow, in reality, these cables are very soft and flexible, ensuring they are pleasant to use during a system build. You can bend and twist them to ease routing in tight spaces for instance, without fear of damage. I give them a resounding thumbs up.

The 660P model featured in this review will be available for $109.99/£104.99 in the coming weeks. At this price, it is hard not to recommend the 660P. While many people still think we all need a 1000 watt power supply for ‘peace of mind' – the fact is that many gaming systems under full load will be taking between 300 and 400 watts at the wall- a high efficiency zone for this particular 660w unit.

Pros:

• Well built.
• Very well priced.
• We love the new bendy, flexible cables.
• Very quiet.
• Quality Rubycon 105C Japanese capacitors used.
• Fully Modular.
• 10 year warranty.
• Delivered almost 750 watts before shutting down.

Cons:

• None

KitGuru says: An extremely proficient Platinum rated supply – with enough power to cope with the majority of systems on the market today. At only £104.99 we feel it offers exceptional performance at a very competitive price point.

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