FSP Aurum CM Series Gold 650W PSU review

1. Introduction2. FSP Aurum CM Series Gold 650W (Bundle & Cabling)3. FSP Aurum CM Series Gold 650W (External)4. FSP Aurum CM Series Gold 650W (Internal)5. FSP Aurum CM Series Gold 650W (Super High Res Gallery)6. Testing Methodology & Results7. Closing Thoughts8. View All Pages

The FSP Aurum CM Series Gold 650W power supply is a disappointing product, especially when we had such high hopes going into the review. There is no doubt that the bundle is good, and we love the appearance. The gold accenting on the textured black surface of the main chassis is invigorating and attractive.

The modular cables are beautifully designed, and we like the ‘flat' design which makes them easy to route, especially behind a motherboard tray. On an purely aesthetic level, the FSP Aurum certainly does not disappoint.

Unfortunately when we get around to the technical data, the unit raises a few concerns, especially in regards to load regulation. The +5v output fails the 100% load test, dropping below the recommended 4.75V rating. The other rails fare a little better, but are far from what we would expect from a flagship, high cost unit in this particular sector. The cross load results didn't satisfy me either and by this stage I already knew that the product wasn't going to be an award winner.

Overall efficiency is good, although we had expected it would be, considering the 80 Plus Gold Certification rating. That said, it is far from being a class leader, outperformed by many other similar units available on the market today.

We had hoped that the unit might be silent, but it is clearly audible in the last 20% of power output. Not a concern, but just another disappointment to add to the growing list by now.

Back in the real world, we tested this power supply with an overclocked, watercooled Intel Core i7 990X system, with HD7970 graphics card. It didn't cause any problems during the stress testing, but as I had already analysed the technical data, I was unsure whether I would trust this power supply long term with a high end system such as this.

The power supply is available online now for £97, although we simply could not recommend it on any level. There are better performing power supplies at similar price points, which produce superior results on a variety of levels.

Pros:

• Looks great.
• nice cabling.
• efficiency.

Cons:

• load regulation is weak.
• failed our cross load test.
• noise suppression could be better.
• Isn't silent.

Kitguru says: This is one to miss, the market has many great power supplies around £100.

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