Testing:
The following standard system components were installed for the tests:
• AMD Athlon 64 3500+ processor
• ECS KN1 SLI Extreme motherboard (default settings)
• 2 - BFG Technologies GeForce 6600GT OC PCI-Express in SLI
• 2gb (4x512) Samsung 3200 DDR
• 2 - Seagate 80gb SATA in RAID 0
• 1 - Hitachi 120gb SATA
• Sony DVD-R DRU500A
• Memorex DVD/CDRW
• CoolerMaster CoolDrive 4 (used to take temperatures and fan speed)
• 8n1 3.5 Media Reader
• Logitech MX1000 Cordless Mouse
• Logitech "Natural" Cordless Keyboard
• 4 - 120mm LED Fan
The following components were connected only during the evaluation of the PSU
• 1 - Western Digital 200Gb IDE HD
• Lexar 512mb USB JumpDrive
• Lexar 1gb USB JumpDrive
• 3 - Generic LED 80mm Fans
• 1 - Belkin USB 2.0 4 port Hub - No additional power
Using the Outvision Extreme PSU Calculator as a reference, this system should need over 525 Watts of power. Getting a better estimate is difficult due to the types of equipment such as the CoolerMaster CoolDrive IV, and nVidia does not release true power consumption requirements. Even so, I've estimated a little extra power for the BFG cards since they are O/C.
Power Supply Performance:
Using a Craftsman Auto-Ranging Multimeter (Model 82139), I recorded the idle and load voltages of three other power supplies, the previously reviewed X-Finity 500W, Rexus 500W, and Logisys Pitbull 500W. All load values were recorded while running the following programs: Sisoft Sandra Burn-In Wizard, Dreamweaver, Folding@Home, and Everquest 2. Below you will see the load voltages for the three major rails, 12V, 5V and 3.3V.
The following chart shows the performance of the Power Station 520W at both Idle and Load conditions. The Thermaltake Power Station put out more than the official base ratings, from approximately 0.2% to 0.6% variance across all three rails during idle and load situations. The 12V line was the only rail to drop below the official base rating, but with a drop of 0.15% it's nothing to be concerned about.
The following chart shows the load performance of the Power Station 520W, comparing it to the other power supplies.
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