With great power usually comes a
hefty bill, but not always.
XFX has moved very smoothly in the past few
years from a company that I normally associated with video cards to one that
makes all manner of useful PC parts.
XFX
Pro 750w XXX Edition Bronze PSU Modular
Included in its extensive range are power
supplies (normally made for it by Seasonic) is its flagship hardware, the Pro
Series supplies, of which this Pro 750W XXX Edition is just one. Actually, it's
meat in a 650W and 850W sandwich offering, and it comes in three flavours. At
the top end is a Silver Certified model, then this Bronze, and then it also
makes a fully wired Core version. That makes the review model a middle child in
a middling family.
Being 'Bronze' Plus it's certified to 85%
efficiency under typical load, compared with 88% on 'Silver'. That might sound
like this isn't the best quality, but it uses solid state capacitors
throughout, Japanese parts, and has a simple but effective cable management
system. Not all cables are modular (all the ATX lines are wired), but those
that supply the PCIe and drives are.
However, where this PSU is more cost
impacted is in the power rails, because this design only includes a single
massive +12V rail, one that's rated to a whopping 62A/744W. Normal logic might
suggest that only having a single rail might impair performance when two video
cards (and the CPU) all start pulling on that line, but the scale of amps XFX
has given it should ride that particular storm.
In fact, the whole design of this PSU is
focused on the generation of 12V, as both the +5V and +3.3V lines are created
by two tiny DC-DC converters that hang off the +12V rail. If you're wondering
how this all hangs together (and it does rather well), then the answer is a
sophisticated power management chip, which directs a bank of MOSFET transistors
to smooth out the wrinkles in demand.
XFX has call this design concept called
EasyRail, and the advantages are not only cost but the ability to offer the whole
operating capacity of the supply across all the voltages, rather than holding
back power for a line that's not in use or underutilised.
In terms of protection, for when things go
sideways, this supply ticks offers Over Current (OCP), Over Power (OPP), Over
Temperature (OTP), Over Voltage (OVP), Short Circuit (SCP) and Under Voltage
(UVP). Because of this, should a part in the system fail, the likelihood that
it will damage the PSU or other parts is much less likely.
What's clear from what testing I can do is
that this is a nice power supply, but not anything especially wonderful. You
can pay another $16 or more and get the Silver Certified model that's
marginally more efficient, if you like.
However, this product is designed for those
system builders who want to go dual-GPU and don't want to hear their existing
PSU pop. And it does that job more than acceptably, which makes the price
something of a bargain.
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Details
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Price: $128 (Overclockers)
·
Manufacturer: XFX
·
Website: xfxforce.com
·
Required spec: ATX12V 2.2 & ESP12V 2.91
compliant system
·
Part Number: P1-750X-XXB9
Connectors
·
1 x 4+4-pin CPU +12V
·
5 x 4-pin Molex
·
4 x 6+2-pin PCI-power
·
1 x 8pin CPU +12V
·
1 x FDD power
·
8 x SA TA power
Key Features
·
DC to DC converter design
·
Conductive polymer aluminum solid electrolytic
capacitors
·
Active power factor correction [99% pf
typical]
·
High +12V output
·
Ultra ventilation [grid structure]
·
Multi-GPU technologies supported
·
All-in-one DC cabling design
·
Universal AC input [full range]
·
Five-year limited warranty
Ratings
·
Quality: 7
·
Value: 8
·
Overall: 8
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