Our First ATX 3.1 Energy Provide

Simply over 18 months in the past, Intel launched their considerably revised ATX v3.0 energy provide commonplace, and with it, the 600 Watt-capable 12VHPWR cable to energy video playing cards and different high-drain add-in playing cards. The discharge of the usual got here with plenty of fanfare and pleasure – the trade was getting ready for a future the place even flagship video playing cards might return to being powered by a single cable – however shortly after, issues turned thrilling once more for all of the fallacious causes.

The brand new 12VHPWR connector proved to be much less forgiving of poor connections between cables and gadgets than envisioned. With tons of of watts flowing via the comparatively small pins – and critically, inadequate means to detect a poor connection – a nasty connection might lead to a thermal runaway state of affairs, i.e. a melted connector. And whereas the problem was an edge case general, affecting a fraction of a fraction of programs, even a fraction is an excessive amount of while you’re ranging from hundreds of thousands of PCs, by no means thoughts the sad clients with damaged video playing cards.

So the PC trade is taking a mulligan on the matter, rapidly revising the ATX specification and the 12VHPWR connector to repair their design flaws. As a replacement now we have the brand new ATX v.3.1 energy provide specification, in addition to the related 12V-2×6 connector, the mixture of that are supposed to serve the identical objectives, however with far much less of an opportunity of errant electrical energy inflicting injury.

In the end, the mixture of the 2 new requirements has required backwards-compatible adjustments on each the system (video card) facet, in addition to the ability provide facet. And consequently, energy provide producers are actually within the technique of releasing ATX v3.1-compliant PSUs that implement these revisions. For PSU distributors, the adjustments are comparatively trivial general, however they’re none the much less necessary adjustments that for a number of causes, they’re ensuring to advertise.

Getting right down to enterprise, the primary ATX v3.1 energy provide to enter our testing labs comes from ADATA sub-brand XPG, a prolific participant within the PSU market. XPG lately expanded its product lineup with the introduction of the Core Reactor II VE collection, the corporate’s first foray into ATX 3.1-compliant PSUs. As a direct successor of the Core Reactor II collection, the Core Reactor II VE is a comparatively easy 80Plus Gold unit that distinguishes itself with its easy design, aimed toward offering regular efficiency with out the excessive expense.

In right now’s evaluation, we’re looking on the 850W model of the Core Reactor II VE collection, which is, in the interim, probably the most highly effective ATX 3.1 unit XPG provides.

Packaging and Bundle

The XPG Core Reactor II VE 850W PSU options strong and visually interesting packaging. The field, comprised of sturdy cardboard, is adorned in a vivid crimson shade and prominently showcases a picture of the unit on the entrance. To make sure the PSU is well-protected throughout transport, it’s securely encased in dense packaging foam.

The bundle is easy, containing simply important parts akin to mounting screws and the required AC energy cable. Moreover, it consists of a number of ornamental stickers so as to add a contact of personalization.

This PSU encompasses a absolutely modular design, which permits the removing of all DC energy cables, together with the 24-pin ATX connector. The cables are uniformly black, from their connectors to the wires, and are designed with out sleeving, leading to a constant visible aesthetic.

The XPG Core Reactor II VE 850W ATX 3.1 PSU

Exterior Look

The XPG Core Reactor II VE 850W PSU is encased in a chassis that measures 86 mm × 150 mm × 140 mm (H × W × D), aligning with the usual ATX dimensions. This comparatively compact dimension permits the ability provide unit to suit seamlessly into most tower PC circumstances. XPG’s engineers had been pressured to make use of a 120 mm fan for cooling, as a bigger fan doesn’t slot in such a small chassis.

Choosing a refined aesthetic, the Core Reactor II VE 850W PSU encompasses a glossy matte black end. The design maintains a refined look, enhanced by embossed geometric patterns on the edges and an summary geometric fan cutout that provides visible curiosity. The highest of the unit shows an in depth sticker that gives its electrical specs and certifications.

The entrance facet of the XPG Core Reactor II VE 850W PSU hosts solely the usual on/off swap and AC receptacle. The modular cable connectors are neatly organized on the rear of the unit, facilitating straightforward and mistake-free connections. Though the connectors will not be color-coded, they’re enclosed by a clearly printed, brilliant white legend on the chassis, which assists in exact cable set up.

Inside Design

The XPG Core Reactor II VE 850W PSU is supplied with a Hong Hua HA1225H12F-Z 120 mm fan, which incorporates an FDB (Fluid Dynamic Bearing) engine. This sort of fan is favored by producers of high-quality PSUs. The fan on this mannequin can attain a most pace of 2200 RPM, a formidable determine for a 120 mm fan. The producer’s web site states that there must be a 2400 RPM fan put in however that in all probability was a typographic error.

The XPG Core Reactor II VE 850W ATX 3.1 PSU is manufactured by Channel-Properly Applied sciences (CWT), a famend OEM identified for its functionality in producing mid to excessive energy output PC energy provides. CWT’s popularity as a revered OEM is firmly established, with their platforms being integral to among the hottest energy provide models available on the market. We will additionally see that the identical precise platform was used for the Core Reactor II 850W ATX 3.0 PSU, verifying that the distinction between the ATX 3.0 and ATX 3.1 requirements are very refined, primarily diminished to the size of the PCI-Categorical 5.0 connector sense pins and their configuration. If something, the standard went down a bit in comparison with the ATX 3.0 model of the collection, as we are able to see that larger high quality passive parts had been getting used.

The Core Reactor II VE 850W PSU employs well-established topologies, guaranteeing dependable efficiency with out surprising deviations. The enter stage of the ability provide encompasses a extra strong transient filter than the ATX design information baseline, outfitted with 4 Y capacitors, two X capacitors, however only one filtering inductor, adopted by two bridge rectifiers on their devoted heatsink. A copper sheet shields the filtering stage from the remainder of the unit. The Lively Energy Issue Correction (APFC) circuit lively parts lie on the first heatsink alongside the sting of the PCB. The lively APFC parts are two 33N60M2 MOSFETs and a diode, together with a filtering inductor and an enormous 400V/680μF capacitor from Elite.

Within the main inversion stage, the Core Reactor II VE 850W PSU makes use of a half-bridge LLC topology with predominant switchers (25N60EFL) mounted on a devoted heatsink, a typical setup in up to date energy provides for its cost-effectiveness and reliability. The secondary stage conversion options eight OnSemi NTMFS5C430N transistors on a vertical daughterboard, delivering a single 12V output. The three.3V and 5V rails are managed by DC-to-DC conversion circuits on one other daughterboard.

On the secondary facet, the PSU incorporates a mixture of each electrolytic and solid-state capacitors from Elite and CapXon, each of that are identified however will not be thought-about to be amongst probably the most premium capacitor producers. The ATX 3.0 model of the collection featured capacitors from Japanese producers as a substitute.