EVGA SuperNOVA 650GS Review

EVGA recently released new power supplies in their SuperNova GS range and today we take a look at the 650 watt unit. This unit is 80 Plus Gold Certified and is a pure modular design. EVGA state that the components inside are high grade Japanese branded - to ensure long term stability and high performance. At only £76.99 inc vat, is this the mid range power supply you should be shortlisting for a new system build? We recently reviewed the EVGA SuperNova P2 1200 and P2 1600 units - both of which were manufactured by SuperFlower. EVGA have switched partner for the SuperNova 650GS unit - these particular models are in fact manufactured by Seasonic. Features: 80 PLUS Gold certified, with 90% (115VAC) / 92% (220VAC~240VAC) efficiency or higher under typical loads. Highest quality Japanese brand capacitors ensure long-term reliability. Fully Modular to reduce clutter and improve airflow. NVIDIA SLI & AMD Crossfire Ready. 5 Year Warranty and unparalleled EVGA Customer Support. Heavy-duty protections, including OVP (Over Voltage Protection), UVP (Under Voltage Protection), OPP (Over Power Protection), and SCP (Short Circuit Protection). Not the most exciting of box designs, although you get enough basic information, including the 80 Plus Gold Certification. The back of the box lists some of the major features, alongside some images. The EVGA power supply box contains a user manual, power cable, Velcro cable ties, mounting screws and a 24 pin test connector. The modular cables are high grade flat ribbon style, except for the main ATX cable. Cable Length ATX Cable 1x 600mm (m) EPS Cable 1x 650mm (m), 1x 550mm+550mm (m) PCIE Cable 2x 500mm, 600mm (m) SATA Cable 1x 550mm, 650mm, 750mm, 850mm (m), 1x 550mm, 650mm Four-Pin Peripheral Cable 1x 550mm, 650mm, 750mm, 850mm (m) Floppy Adapter 1x 100mm AC Power 1x 1500mm (m) Modular Cable Type Full The SuperNOVA 650GS is designed to deliver power to two graphics cards, ideal for those with SLI or Crossfire configurations. It is worth pointing out that you cannot use both the PCI-E cables along with both EPS12V cables, as there are only three cable connectors on the unit itself. We like the rough textured finish of the EVGA SuperNOVA 650GS, the matt paint is tough and resistant to scratching, which is always good to see. The fan is hidden behind a grill, which is cut into the chassis. We will take a closer look at the fan when we open the unit later in the review. There are stickers adorning the top and sides of the unit which I have to admit I don't find that appealing. It measures 86mm x 150mm x 150mm (HxWxL). The modular panel has a total of 8 connectors, and the ECO fan switch control is visible top corner. All the connectors are clearly labelled, which makes life easier. The ECO fan switch allows the user to switch the unit into silent, fanless mode for lower power situations. Flipping the power supply around - we can see a vented panel, alongside a power switch and connector. EVGA SuperNOVA 650 GS Power Supply DC Output +3.3V +5V +12V1 -12V +5Vsb Max Output 20A 20A 54A 0.3A 2.5A Total Power 100W 648W 3.6W 12.5W 650W @ +50C This power supply can deliver 54A across the +12V rail. The +3.3V and +5V output 20A each. The unit incorporates a Jet Motor branded T1202512LLN fan. This is a Teflon-Steel Bearing fan, which is claimed to operate very quietly with an extra long life span. It is said that a Teflon Steel bearing fan will hold consistent noise levels over the life of the bearing. Internally we can see the designs are based on the Seasonic G Series platform. Build quality is very good, with plenty of air flow across the full physical space. Soldering quality is high. Two Dc to DC convertors are used to create the +5V and +3.3V minor rails from the +12V. Filtering starts with an X Cap, four Y caps and a coil. On the main board is a TVS diode, two Y caps, an X cap and two coils. We are pleased to see that this Seasonic design utilises all Japanese capacitors, on both primary and secondary stages. The primary stage capacitor is 105c rated, from the Nippon Chemi Con KMR series - rated 420V 560uF. Top marks. On this page we present some high resolution images of the product. These will take much longer to open due to the dimensions, especially on slower connections. If you use these pictures on another site or publication, please credit Kitguru.net as the owner/source. Additional technical assistance: Peter McFarland and Jeremy Price. 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. Due to public requests we have changed our temperature settings recently – previously we rated with ambient temperatures at 25C, we have increased ambient temperatures by 10c (to 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 • SkyTronic DSL 2 Digital Sound Level Meter (6-130dBa) • Digital oscilloscope (20M S/s with 12 Bit ADC) • Variable Autotransformer, 1.4 KVA DC Output Load Regulation Combined DC Load +3.3V +5V +12V +5VSB -12V A V A V A V A V A V 152W 2.08 3.35 2.04 5.05 10.14 12.10 0.50 5.02 0.20 -12.06 270W 3.05 3.35 3.07 5.05 19.16 12.06 0.50 5.01 0.30 -12.07 400W 4.05 3.33 5.05 5.03 29.18 11.99 1.00 5.01 0.30 -12.08 523W 6.08 3.32 7.06 5.02 38.31 11.96 1.50 5.01 0.30 -12.07 650W 8.00 3.31 9.02 4.98 48.00 11.92 2.50 5.01 0.30 -12.09 Load regulation is very good across the range, with only a little deviation. EVGA SuperNOVA 650GS Maximum Load 722W The power supply would shut down at 722W, gracefully. The protection circuitry worked well. 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 11.88 0.2 -12.05 0.50 5.02 145W 12.0 3.28 15.0 4.96 2.0 12.12 0.2 -12.01 0.50 5.01 Cross load results are good, with all rails holding within stable limits. 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 5 15 5 400W 5 5 20 5 523W 10 5 30 10 650W 10 10 45 10 Ripple suppression is excellent. the minor rails hold between 5mV and 10mV. The +12V rail peaks at 45mV, well within the maximum rated specifications. Efficiency (%) 152W 87.54 270W 91.89 400W 90.73 523W 89.44 650W 88.84 Efficiency is strong, peaking at just over 92 percent around 50 percent load. This drops to (close to) 89 percent efficiency at full load. 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 32.3 523W 34.8 650W 36.3 The power supply is not audible until around 450 watts is demanded. This rises a little further, rating at 36.3dBa under full load conditions. It is clearly audible when spinning fast, but actually quite a dull pitch and likely to be drowned out by case fans. Temperature (c) Intake Exhaust 152W 36 42 270W 39 49 400W 42 51 523W 43 55 650W 45 61 At full load exhaust temperature was hitting 61c. Maximum load Efficiency 722W 87.89 Pushing the power supply above its rated limits generates an ultimate efficiency level of around 87.89%. This is not a viable ‘real world’ situation, but it is interesting nonetheless. The SuperNOVA 650GS is another high grade power supply to grace the eVGA ranks. Unlike the very expensive SuperNova P2 1200 and P2 1600 supplies that we reviewed a few months ago, the SuperNOVA 650GS is targeting the mass enthusiast audience. The asking price is more modest, hitting retail at around £80 inc vat in the United Kingdom. Technically, the 650GS is a solid, reliable performer. We would expect this however, as EVGA are working with market leader Seasonic as the OEM partner for these units. Voltage regulation is stellar across the +3.3V, +5V and +12V output, and ripple is held well within industry rated tolerance levels. The EVGA ECO Intelligent Thermal Control System is a nice touch, as it allows the unit to operate in silent, fan less mode during low to mid power demand. Even without this mode enabled, the power supply runs very quietly with fan noise likely to be masked out completely by a single case fan. While overall performance is excellent, the Seasonic G Series platform (which the Supernova 650GS is based on) is not a clear market leader at the price - there are a select group of companies who have created very capable designs in the same price category. Superflower are one such company who spring to mind when making a final shortlist. The modular cabling supplied with the SuperNOVA 650GS is high grade, and the pure modular design will certainly appeal to those building inside a space restrictive, or windowed chassis. You can buy the EVGA SuperNOVA GS 650GS from Overclockers UK for £76.99 inc vat. Discuss on our Facebook page, over HERE. Pros: lovely finish. compact design. pure modular. technically very robust. high levels of efficiency. low noise levels. Cons: stiff competition at this price point. Kitguru says: The EVGA SuperNOVA is a solid performing power supply that delivers great results. The pure modular design, high build quality and low noise levels will appeal to the discerning enthusiast user.