The Enermax Revolution SFX 650W PSU Review: Compact & Capable
by E. Fylladitakis on June 30, 2017 12:00 PM EST- Posted in
- Cases/Cooling/PSUs
- PSUs
- Enermax
- SFX
Cold Test Results
For the testing of PSUs, we are using high precision electronic loads with a maximum power draw of 2700 Watts, a Rigol DS5042M 40 MHz oscilloscope, an Extech 380803 power analyzer, two high precision UNI-T UT-325 digital thermometers, an Extech HD600 SPL meter, a self-designed hotbox and various other bits and parts. For a thorough explanation of our testing methodology and more details on our equipment, please refer to our How We Test PSUs - 2014 Pipeline post.
The efficiency of the Enermax Revolution SFX 650W PSU is very good, with the PSU meeting and surpassing the 80Plus Gold guideline with an input voltage of 230V AC. We recorded a maximum efficiency of 92.3% at 50% load, with an average efficiency across the entire nominal load range (20% to 100% of the unit's capacity) of 91.2%. What could have been a lot better is the low load efficiency of the PSU, as the performance figures take a sharp dive when the load is lower than 100 Watts, dropping down to 80.4% with a load of 65 Watts and to below 72% with a load of 30 Watts.
Enermax designed the thermal control of the Revolution SFX units to undertake a semi-fanless mode, meaning that the fan will start only after the load is greater than 195 Watts or when it is absolutely necessary. Due to its very small proportions and chockfull interior, the internal temperatures of the Revolution SFX will rise sharply before the fan starts, but they remain well below hazardous figures. Once the fan does start, the temperatures drop to relatively low levels considering the size and compactness of the design.
The small, thin fan of the Revolution SFX will be audible as soon as it starts. Its speed increases almost linearly in relation to the load, reaching noise levels that we consider uncomfortable for everyday use when it becomes heavily loaded. Assuming that it will be powering a powerful dual-GPU gaming system, the game’s sound effects are likely to mask the noise coming from the PSU, assuming that the user does not want to be discreet.
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jrs77 - Friday, June 30, 2017 - link
SFX-L is the way to go, as these regular SFX-PSUs do struggle with thermal issues due to the small 80mm fan used.I have two Silverstone SFX PSUs. One 450W with 80mm fan and one 500W SFX-L with a 120mm fan. The difference in temperatures and noise-levels is huge.
Alistair - Friday, June 30, 2017 - link
Should try the Corsair 450W SFX power supply. It is my most satisfying purchase ever. No need for SFX-L.nijimon - Monday, July 3, 2017 - link
Agreed, the 92mm fan on the Corsair doesn't spin at system idle on my rig (Haswell i5, 2 SSDs, 1 HDD, RX470 and WiFi card on a Mini ITX mobo). It will make noise during gaming, but every fan is spinning by then, it will however spin down when the load drops unlike what I read about the Silverstone units. There is also a 600W version.DanNeely - Friday, June 30, 2017 - link
While dual gpu is unlikely in the systems this is likely to be used with. 2x 8pin connectors can run a pair of 225w cards. Combined with a full power desktop CPU and 80% load seems doable even without an overclock.prateekprakash - Saturday, July 1, 2017 - link
I have an Enermax Revolution SFX 650 power supply in an NCASE M1.One sata power cable with 3 sata power points is being used to power 4 things:
1. An 8 TB 3.5" HDD
2. A 5 TB 2.5" HDD
3. A Swiftech 8 way PWM Fan splitter
4. An EK XTOP REVO D5 PWM Plexi Pump.
I am using a "SATA converts to right angle SATA + molex pin" adapter to split one of the SATA power points between fan splitter and the pump.
http://www.performance-pcs.com/sata-15pin-converts...
My question is, is the SATA power cable sufficient to supply the power, or am I at risk?
For your reference, the SATA power cable is modular with 6pin pcie looking connector on the PSU side.(which in my guess would be able to supply 75 watts, wouldn't it?)
I went this route because the pump needs a molex connector, and adding the molex cable would be quite messy inside the case, especially because I have a custom cpu + GPU water loop in there with a 240 rad.
500px.com/iamprateekprakash/galleries/ncase-m1-v5-0-build-log
prateekprakash - Saturday, July 1, 2017 - link
Also, in my case the psu fans keeps spinning even when the desktop is idling, sipping ~70watts. Perhaps because of the higher temps (ambient temperature is ~28° here)... I was quite disappointed because I expected it to be in fanless mode all the time (my config is i7 6700, gtx 1060, 1 3.5" HDD, 1 2.5" HDD, 1 D5 Pump, and I measured ~170w from the wall in unigine heaven and max 224w in FIFA 17 demo)HomeworldFound - Saturday, July 1, 2017 - link
You're fine with that build. Your pump is going to run at 37w maximum and you don't need to run it anywhere near full speed. Keeping your power supply fan running in that build would be beneficial anyway.nwarawa - Wednesday, July 5, 2017 - link
Sleeve bearing fan? Instant fail. I would rather have some decent middle-ground capacitors like Teapo if it meant getting a at least modified sleeve bearing (rifle,etc). It's an unbalanced design. Anything over $50, there is no excuse.