Performance and Testing
As you know, I do not have the specialized equipment for PSU testing (which costs thousands of dollars). So the best way I could do test the PSU is by using what we’ve got. My testing method involves comparing the voltage and power consumption reading during idle and at full load. I know it’s not the most accurate method technically, but I think this simple method should provide some ideas of the performance of the power supply in terms of stability and power consumption.
Efficiency Requirements for 80Plus Certification
The main thing to watch out for, is the fluctuation on the +12V line. If the +12V line drops to below 12V during full load or large fluctuations in the V readings … then we’re in trouble. The system may unstable and you might also get random reboots.
We used AIDA64 and simultaneously ran both CPU and GPU stress test which produces 100% load. We then checked the voltage readings on AIDA64, we were able to read the sensor onboard the ASRock X870 LiveMixer motherboard. We were able to take the readings of the total power consumption of the CPU and GPU.
Idle
Voltage readings taken from ADIA64 at idle
- +12V : 12.096V
- +5V : 5.060V
- +3V : 3.296V
Load
Voltage readings taken from ADIA64 under load
- +12V : 11.904V (-0.192V)
- +5V : 5.060V (no change)
- +3V : 3.296V (no change)
Total power consumption (in wattage)
- CPU (Ryzen 9 9950X) – Max: 199.44 W
- GPU (RTX 4080 Super) – Max: 289.13 W
At full load, using the Ryzen 9 9950X processor along with the GeForce RTX 4080 SUPER, the system drew a total of around 488.57W. So imagine having 2 x GeForce RTX 5090 cards for your AI workloads (in a workstation) … with a TGP of up to 575W for each card, that’s a total of 1,150W.
During our tests, the +12V line was very stable with only a slight drop from +12.096V to +11.904V. For those who don’t know … if the 12V line drops below 11V or lower, the system will become unstable and most likely crash.
As for the +5V line, it was rock solid and remained unchanged at +5.080V at full load with no fluctuations at all. The +3.3V line also remained unchanged at +3.296V. Based on our tests, I’m more than happy with the results and I’m pleased with the overall performance and stability.
Now lets move on to the Conclusion and Verdict!
