The Fractal Design Ion+ 760P 80Plus Platinum PSU Review: A High-End PSU For the Mainstream Builder
by E. Fylladitakis on August 6, 2019 9:00 AM EST
Fractal Design is a reputable Swedish manufacturer of PC components. The company started off as a PC case manufacturer and quickly became known for their sleek, quality, and innovative case designs. Having an established presence as a designer of advanced PC cases, Fractal Design is reservedly but steadily diversifying into other segments of the market, such as power and cooling. Aside from numerous of their cases, we reviewed some of their first liquid cooling solutions when the company was diversifying into that part of the market.
Meanwhile, although Fractal Design has not been completely inactive when it comes to the power supply unit (PSU) market, they have not released new products in several years. The last new product in the company’s PSU product line-up, the 80Plus Gold certified Edison series, was four years ago. However, that four year drought is finally coming to an end, as the company is releasing a completely new series, the Ion+, which is meant to be the technological pinnacle of their PSU lineup.
Overall, Fractal Design is aiming rather high with their new Ion+ PSUs; the official specifications list some rather impressive quality and electrical figures, including 80Plus Platinum efficiency levels. And, as we'll see in our review, they have the real-world performance to back up those lofty claims.
Interestingly however, rather than going for ultra high wattage power supplies as some other PSU vendors do, the company has sized their PSUs more conservatively, releasing just four units that are rated from 560W up to 860W. Considering that an 860 Watt PSU is enough power for a dual GPU gaming/workstation system, the company can still cover almost the entire market, with the infrequent exception of users requiring a PSU for quad GPU or other power-hungry systems.
Even then, 860 Watts is going to border on overkill for most of today's single-CPU/single-GPU systems. So for our first review of an Ion+ PSU, we're going to take things down one step to their 760 Watt model, the Ion+ 760P.
| Power specifications ( Rated @ 50 °C ) | |||||
| AC INPUT | 100 - 240 VAC, 50 - 60 Hz | ||||
| RAIL | +3.3V | +5V | +12V | +5Vsb | -12V |
| MAX OUTPUT | 22A | 22A | 63,3A | 3A | 0,3A |
| 120W | 760W | 15W | 3,6W | ||
| TOTAL | 760W | ||||
Packaging and Bundle
Fractal Design loves simple, functional designs, and the very box of the Ion+ PSU is a testament to that philosophy. The artwork on the box is very simple, with a picture of the PSU itself on a white background. However, there are many details regarding the performance and specifications of the PSU on the sides and rear of the box. The box itself is very sturdy, with extra packaging foam surrounding the PSU itself, providing ample shipping protection.
The bundled items are few but useful. Fractal Design supplies a standard AC power cable, four black mounting screws, a couple of cable straps and a typical user’s guide.
The Ion+ series is fully modular, meaning that every cable can be detached, including the 24-pin ATX cable. The modular cables are "flat" type, ribbon cables, with the sole exception being the main 24-pin ATX cable. It is noteworthy that Fractal Design is using highly flexible multi-stranded wires, which the company calls “UltraFlex” cables, allowing for easier cable management.
| Fractal Design Ion+ 760P | ||
| Connector type | Hardwired | Modular |
| ATX 24 Pin | - | 1 |
| EPS 4+4 Pin | - | 2 |
| EPS 8 Pin | - | - |
| PCI-E 6+2 Pin | - | 6 |
| PCI-E 8 Pin | - | - |
| SATA | - | 10 |
| Molex | - | 4 |
| Floppy | - | - |
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mat9v - Tuesday, August 6, 2019 - link
I wonder, did they not get the memo, that "Warranty void if seal is broken" stickers are illegal now?PeachNCream - Tuesday, August 6, 2019 - link
They're not illegal. It's just that voiding a warranty based solely on breaking a factory seal (unless that seal is critical to the operation of the item in question like say opening a helium filled HDD casing) is no longer legally enforceable in the United States when it is reasonably possible for the owner to perform self-service or upgrades. In something like a desktop PC case filled with components that can be swapped or can accept new hardware it's an obvious thing that you can't void something out by adding RAM. A PSU that lacks user serviceable parts is an arguably different critter though so that sticker might actually pass muster in court.notashill - Tuesday, August 6, 2019 - link
Those stickers have been unenforceable since before PCs even existed, the Magnuson–Moss Warranty Act was passed in 1975.PeachNCream - Tuesday, August 6, 2019 - link
Courts had to later decide whether or not the law applied to PC hardware and there was subsequent litigation regarding the matter that verified the voiding a warranty was not something that could be enforced for computing equipment. I'd be reluctant to say the decision was broad enough to encompass component-level items like power supplies though as there are no parts inside that are designed with end user modular upgrade capabilities in mind which circles back to my prior post. Where the is obvious user upgrade and replacement capabilities inside a PC, the lack inside a power supply gives the PSU manufacturer a lot more leverage to legitimately void a warranty if tampering is evident.mickulty - Tuesday, August 6, 2019 - link
It's a PSU, not a laptop - you're not going to upgrade it with third-party components.The provision that made the stickers a problem on *laptops and games consoles* is that "No warrantor of a consumer product may condition his written or implied warranty of such product on the consumer’s using, in connection with such product, any article or service (other than article or service provided without charge under the terms of the warranty) which is identified by brand, trade, or corporate name".
In the context of games consoles this was decided to be relevant as people should be able to have a third-party technician upgrade their hard drive, or do it themselves - rather than being restricted to "PlayBox authorised technicians". However it is not relevant to a power supply.
It should also be noted that this law does not prevent the use of tamper seals, even in laptops and games consoles - it just requires that they not mislead consumers about their rights.
It's also worth mentioning that some GPU manufacturers who have been criticised for the stickers, such as XFX, will install a third-party cooler for *free* and so are completely entitled to condition the warranty on you not installing the cooler yourself (even though they'll usually be happy to authorise you to do so and make a note that your warranty remians intact if you make contact).
Ultimately it's complicated and '"Warranty void if seal is broken" stickers are illegal now' is at best a serious oversimplification.
kyuu - Tuesday, August 6, 2019 - link
While the stickers aren't "illegal", they aren't enforceable. There's nothing complicated about it. The law is that a company cannot void a warranty simply because a user breaks a seal. A warranty can only be legally voided if the company can prove that the user's actions actually resulted in the damage the user is attempting to make a warranty claim for. Otherwise, the company must honor their warranty. An arbitrary determination of what is "user-serviceable" or not by a company does not matter.TheUnhandledException - Wednesday, August 7, 2019 - link
Those stickers are unenforceable period. Unlike the prior posters claim they aren't "illegal" they are just a lie and totally unenforceable. To void a warranty requires that the manufacturer prove the user damaged the device. PERIOD. That is true for consoles, that is true for power supplies, hell that is true for lightbulbs.zepi - Wednesday, August 7, 2019 - link
Over 95% of world population doesn't live in US and therefore US legislation is mostly irrelevant for them.MobiusPizza - Thursday, August 8, 2019 - link
Exactly, I know Anandtech is a US site, but a lot of readers are international.I am surprised how narrow minded most Americans are about globalization, it's like they live in a bubble, no offense, just find it funny that's all. Surely that sticker is there not because they are targeting US customers and it may well be unenforceable in the US, but for majority of the population in the world the legislation is different. This should be the first thing that spring into the mind for those commenting.
Skeptical123 - Wednesday, August 14, 2019 - link
MobiusPizza come on man, I thought people on this site were better than that -"I am surprised how narrow minded most Americans are about globalization," that could be said about almost any other country on the planet. Brexit being the comically obvious example. We just have the largest English speaking population and trashing on "americas" is like trashing on one age demographic for the media. While not necessarily wrong there just doing it for the clicks/views. Also while globalization is very much increasing make no mistake we are still about a quarter of the GLOBAL GDP. Almost any product on the market at any reasonable scale is made for the US market and adapted for other countries. (I’m not saying this is a or bad thing) Do some research into standards body and that will become apparent. Phones, planes etc. Those warranty stickers are very much to deter US customers from opening up devices.