Enermax PSU

[cody_horner]

Just curious why you never read of the high-end Enermax PSU's anymore?

All the talk lately is around Corsair units, Antec, Cooler Master etc. and IMO these units are #1 all made by the same company and #2 just aren't as good as an Enermax. Granted, Enermax PSU's are usually a good bit more expensive I've found than the equivalent wattage PSU of other brands... but worth it to me.

Am I off base, or is Enermax no longer the 'gold standard'? Personally after using other units (at one time a long while ago I used to have an Antec 400watt PSU) and having seen buddies system builds with stability issues, dead drives etc. etc. from other brand PSU's I'll never buy another brand.

My last two PSU's purchased were the Enermax Modu80+ 625 watt and recently a new Enermax Modu87+ 700 watt. Excellent, and I mean excellent construction (tear one apart, it's almost dare I say beautiful) in comparison to other brands, extremely quiet and offers very clean power with ample Amperage ratings on each power line.

 

[theAnimal]

All the talk lately is around Corsair units, Antec, Cooler Master etc. and IMO these units are #1 all made by the same company

No. Not even all the PSUs from one of those companies are made by a single OEM.

and #2 just aren't as good as an Enermax.

Based on reviews, I would say the best from each of those companies is better than any current Enermax.

 

[Makaveli]

i'm with you on this most of my builds have been with enermax psu's.

Still using a Infinity 720 Watt from a few years ago its solid.

 

[cody_horner]

theAnimal, I'm not sure what reviews you've read but the very few I have read have put them to be in excellent light, which backs up my personal findings. The Seasonic units while good, are certainly not any better than the top of the line Enermax PSU's for certain.

I wish you saw more reviews of Enermax... Anandtech could use a few!

Makaveli, nice

 

[theAnimal]

theAnimal, I'm not sure what reviews you've read but the very few I have read have put them to be in excellent light, which backs up my personal findings. The Seasonic units while good, are certainly not any better than the top of the line Enermax PSU's for certain.

I read reviews from jonnyguru, hardocp, hardwaresecrets & any others which properly test PSUs. The review of the new Revolution on jonnyguru stated that the efficiency & ripple were worse than the previous generation. The top of the line Antec, Corsair & Seasonic are definitely better performers.

 

[tomoyo]

Actually there were a lot of reviews of the enermax revolution series. While the old revolutions were quite awesome, the newer ones were disappointing because they were worse than the old model.

 

[HOOfan 1]

Yeah Enermax has decided to cut costs and make their products not quite as awesome as they were now.

I wouldn't say that Enermax has EVER been "the Gold Standard" They are one of the higher quality brands, but they have also had some problems in the past, just like other high quality brands.

Corsairs are made by Flextronics, Seasonic and CWT
Antecs are made by Delta, Seasonic, FSP, and Enhance
Coolermasters....well their higher quality stuff is made by Enhance and Acbel

Not all the same manufacturers...in fact the top of the line Corsair 1200W+ unit is made by Flextronics, the top of the line Antec 1200+ is made by Delta, the top of the line Coolermaster 1200+ is made by Enhance.

 

[Meghan54]

theAnimal, I'm not sure what reviews you've read but the very few I have read have put them to be in excellent light, which backs up my personal findings. The Seasonic units while good, are certainly not any better than the top of the line Enermax PSU's for certain.

Well, reading reviews at JonnyGuru, the preeminent power supply review site.....a review site that AT should strive to emulate with their testing......the latest Enermax power supplies tested, a Modu+87 700W unit and a Revolution 85+ 1020W unit, their performance was good but not great.

The Modu+87.....ripple on the +12V rail was 60mV. True, within spec, but at half the spec, there are numerous ps's that trump it by a wide margin. And this doesn't mention the odd wavy ripple/noise waveform being generated......

The Revo+ 85......ripple on the +12V rail was 74mV....again, within spec but as noted with the Modu+87, trumped by a host of other power supplies.

Then there is voltage regulation. The Modu+ 87 managed 4% on the 3.3V rail in the hot box.....within spec, but barely. The Revo+ 85 managed to stay under 4%.....hooray.

On the +12V rail, both managed no better than 2% regulation. Again, within spec in the above cases, but certainly not the cream of the crop in their respective output classes of power supplies like Enermax's prices would suggest. (And this doesn't address the Modu+ 87's below average transient overshoot response....within spec but well off the better units out there.)


Some quotes from Oklahoma Wolf's testing of both units:


Modu+ 87:

...the Modu87+ does what it does pretty well. It holds reasonably stable voltages, it is extremely efficient, it keeps ripple and noise to about half the ATX spec or lower, and it is very resistant to heat. That said, it is not the best performing unit I've ever seen. Except for the efficiency, there is room for improvement on just about everything here from voltage regulation to turn on spike suppression.

The Modu87+ 700 watter is incredibly efficient, it keeps its voltages relatively stable, and it has good ripple and noise suppression. Unfortunately, it doesn't do quite enough to stand out from the pack. The MSRP is on the high side, and the performance could stand to be improved yet by just a bit. When all is taken into account, this is a very good but not great power supply.

The Revo+ 85:

...this unit is pretty clearly a step down from the previous generation 1050W model. Yes, they dealt with all the stuff I had to complain about on that model, but some things seem to have slipped through their fingers. Ripple was higher. The -12V had a problem with ZERO LOAD conditions. Efficiency was only just clinging to 80 Plus Silver and slipped into Bronze in the hot box, while the older version did Silver both times.

The old 1050W model did just about everything right. This one does most of that stuff right too, but it also does a lot of things not as well. Ripple on the 12V was higher, though still not close to spec. Efficiency didn't clear Silver in the hot box, like the old model did. Voltage drops on the main rails were smaller, but the -12V ended up out of spec on one test. It just seems to me that in dealing with the issues I found in the previous model, a lot of things went neglected this time. Really, what is this new LLC resonant platform bringing to the table that merits replacing the old platform?

The complete reviews are here:

Modu+ 87 700W: http://www.jonnyguru.com/modules.php?name=NDReviews&op=Story&reid=179


Revo+ 85 1020W: http://www.jonnyguru.com/modules.php?name=NDReviews&op=Story&reid=194




My thinking about them.....nice units, average performance that certainly does NOT justify the price premium Enermax slaps on them.

 

[Puffnstuff]

I remember reading that enermax was supposed to release some new models however I've not seen anything since then. I used them for the past several years with great results however I'm currently using a corsair hx1000.

 

[Jhatfie]

I have always liked Enermax, historically they have made upper tier PSU's. However the competition is pretty tough these days and they seem to be losing the battle on price/performance. I currently do not own one, and it is tough to justify the premium, not when I can get my XFX Black 650W for $60, Antec TP New 750W for $75 and Antec NeoEco 520W for $35 (when they are on sale). Tough to compete with those prices for quality PSU's.

 

[Zap]

Enermax was more popular in the past, but I really haven't heard much about them with enthusiasts/gamers after their exploding PSU debacle from a couple years ago.

Couple that with how competitive and price sensitive the PSU market is nowadays, and it's a wonder that more and more companies are vying for a slice of the pie.

 

[WorldExclusive]

I have the original Enermax Revolution. Super PSU.
One of the highest rated PSUs ever at JonnyGuru and around the web.

 

[cody_horner]

I don't know, call me "misinformed" or whatever you'd like but even reading those reviews... the Enermax PSU's are solid. Johnny Guru pretty much has the same bloody thing to say about every PSU he reviews after reading a whole bunch of them - quite frankly, he sounds lazy. Not that I can 100% discredit his testing, but not all tests are the same and in some articles he has admitted a malfunction in some of his testing equipment if you read carefully.

Not to mention, the less than 47mV across the board ripple suppression is pretty darn good (Modu87+ 700watt), considering it doesn't falter and provide whacky results that otherwise mess with the average. You've got to pay close attention ontop of just reading as you can assume the dude get's bored of the same test time after time... seriously, read his articles. He says the same exact crap about every PSU unless it stinks. Efficiency is great, and the build quality, layout, and cooling with extremely low noise levels is just excellent with all top-quality components inside and excellent soldering quality.

Sorry I don't buy it - the Enermax PSU's are great; no doubt others are up there too but I see no evidence otherwise. Again... I wish Enermax was put out on more of the more paid attention to review sites. Enermax has been around for 20+ years now, and they also OEM for a handful of other companies as well.

Personally again... I've never ripped apart another computer PSU that has had quite the attention to detail as these. Of course, no company is 100% perfect and every once in a while releases a 'dud' that's not as good as the last, but the greater portion of the time they are excellent.

[/end rant] haha

 

[HOOfan 1]

I wish Enermax was put out on more of the more paid attention to review sites.

Um...of the review sites that actually do REAL PSU testing, Jonnyguru is one of the most popular. Also HardOCP. Both of them have reviewed a bunch of Enermax units.

Many other sites don't even know how to, or have the equipment to review PSUs.

He says the same exact crap about every PSU unless it stinks. Efficiency is great, and the build quality, layout, and cooling with extremely low noise levels is just excellent with all top-quality components inside and excellent soldering quality.

What else do you expect to be said about the units if they pass the tests? You expect them to rave about the useless bling on some PSUs? Maybe you would like to donate a Thesaurus to them so they can say all of that stuff in many different ways?

 

[Rifter]

Um...of the review sites that actually do REAL PSU testing, Jonnyguru is one of the most popular. Also HardOCP. Both of them have reviewed a bunch of Enermax units.

Many other sites don't even know how to, or have the equipment to review PSUs.



What else do you expect to be said about the units if they pass the tests? You expect them to rave about the useless bling on some PSUs? Maybe you would like to donate a Thesaurus to them so they can say all of that stuff in many different ways?

This X2

If you dont think jonny guru knows what hes talking about all that proves is you have no idea what you are talking about.

 

[tomoyo]

Ya what the heck do you expect him to say about freaking power supplies. It's not like there's a million ways to talk about them. I find you disappointing because you don't even care about the details of jonnyguru's reviews. What's the point of arguing brands if all you care is that enermax is loved. Like I said, make enermax stop charging $50 too much and maybe people will care.

 

[Meghan54]

Not to mention, the less than 47mV across the board ripple suppression is pretty darn good (Modu87+ 700watt),

So, I see reading comprehension isn't your strong suit, eh?


Here's what I'm speaking about.....in JG's hot box test (the cold test is irrelevant as most power supplies are mounted inside a case along with other heat producing components like a cpu, video card, motherboard VRM's, memory, etc.):

....yawningly average ripple and noise suppression. 12V is at about 60mV, or half the spec.

Yawningly, as in so average it makes one yawn......and the ripple was 60mV, not 47mV (where did you get that number?) And that's a ripple level that's quite handily beaten by the likes of Corsair, Seasonic, Antec, Silverstone, etc.

Like I said, make enermax stop charging $50 too much and maybe people will care.

Too true.....Enermax's claim to fame these days seems to be producing average-to-slightly above average performing power supplies, giving them hideous colors, and then charging like there are no better out there......well, as has been said, suckers are born every minute. And Enermax finds more than a few.

 

[cody_horner]

Sorry, it was another site I saw with the <47mV across the board - I'll see if I can find the link again, but it too was a pretty thorough review.

Anyways, I suppose I need to get off my fanboy train for Enermax then and read more reviews before I throw down another $50 on top of what other competitors charge. I suppose as well I just like the peace of mind in knowing that at least Enermax is never absolute garbage, so there is some level of buying confidence there.

Whereas from my experience, and what I'm seeing now you tend to have to cherry pick good PSU releases from other manufacturers.

 

[Rifter]

Anyways, I suppose I need to get off my fanboy train for Enermax then and read more reviews before I throw down another $50 on top of what other competitors charge. I suppose as well I just like the peace of mind in knowing that at least Enermax is never absolute garbage, so there is some level of buying confidence there.

Whereas from my experience, and what I'm seeing now you tend to have to cherry pick good PSU releases from other manufacturers.

This is true, even good companies such as corsair have a few bad PSU's(like the new builder series is crap, the old CX series was alot better)

You do need to know what you are buying. And research the exact model.

Enermax is not a bad PSU brand they are just very overpriced for their performance especially with the new series, its worse than the old series but priced the same. You can get better PSU's for the money.