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- Date:
- Thursday , July 16, 2009
- Author:
- Paul Johnson
- Editor:
- Kyle Bennett
- Google +1
Enermax Galaxy EVO 1250W Power Supply
When we buy new PSUs for ourselves here at HardOCP, a company that always makes our short list is Enermax. Its build quality and performance has been topnotch for years. Today we put its 1.25 kilowatt computer power supply to the test. Crash and burn or continue to shine brightly?
Build Quality
As we already know the Enermax Galaxy EVO 1250W features a single 135mm fan design that is slightly larger than the 120mm which has come to be the preferred standard for quiet cooling environments due to the ability to move a larger volume of air at slower speeds than a smaller diameter fan. The 135mm fan used here is the second largest fan that users will find in a standard ATX size power supply due to size restrictions. While great for quiet computing environments the key criteria in our evaluation is whether or not the cooling solution is sufficient, rather than its sound level or form factor.
External Build Quality
Raise your hand if this power supply looks familiar. That is what I thought. The exterior of the Galaxy EVO is the exact same as the Revolution85+ except that it says Galaxy EVO on it. We once more get a textured finish which is somewhat reminiscent of "spray on truck bed liner," but is really a very durable powder coat application. The color choice is once more a subdued grey trimmed with white lettering and stamped-in arrow designs. The top of the unit is dominated by its 135mm fan while the front of the unit features the modular interface along with a window. Once again, I say window because while the grill looks open in the picture it is completely obstructed by clear plastic on the inside. Behind that window you can see the coils and filtering capacitors for the DC-DC VRM's that produce the minor rails output. If you raised your hand at the beginning of this exercise you were correct, we are apparently looking at a binary Galaxy EVO here.
The Enermax Galaxy EVO 1250W comes in itself comes in at a lengthy 7 ½ inches like the Revolution 85+. The cables provide a serviceable length of ~18 inches to the first or only connector which is certainly long enough for most applications. The sheathing on the cables, both fixed and modular, is the same as in previous Enermax units color-wise and once more is a bit short of being complete on both ends of the modular cables.
Internal Build Quality
Once we open the Galaxy EVO 1250W we encounter our least shocking moment of the day (somehow beating out oatmeal for the 10th day in a row) as this unit is identical in design to the Revolution85+. Really, this is a Revolution85+ that has worse efficiency than that line is rated for, and nothing different. Which leads me to my biggest "WTF" moment of the day as the Revolution85+ line already goes up to 1250W. Why are relabeling this unit as a Galaxy EVO when the Revolutions are already available in the US up to 1050 watts? Moving on, everything I said about the Revolution can be substituted here as this particular unit has the standard power supply layout, includes Rong Chyuan transformers once more, features two large black finned heatsinks, and a 135mm GlobeFan rated at 0.28A at 12v.
Over on the primary side we see that the primary is exactly like the Revolution in topology (that interesting interleaved dual forward that Enermax bills as quad forward) and even features the same three Matsushita capacitors rated at 220uF 400v 85c tucked behind the APFC card. Once more we see here that Enermax continues with the magical levitating APFC coil that is only anchored by its legs, no caulk, or zip ties yet floated well above the PCB level. Finally, we see the input filtering housed on the AC receptacle and situated on the PCB by the secondary. Everything here is identical to the Revolution.
As we move to the secondary side again we see only two coils as we did with the Revolution85+. The secondary is once more filled out with excellent Nippon Chemi-con capacitors which are good to see, and a departure from the usual CEC Holdings International capacitors that we often see in Enermax units. The one exception to this being on the DC-DC VRM PCB which houses some Elcon capacitors. The wiring on the secondary is all well bundled and routed to the fixed cable outputs or the modular interface as necessary. The modular interface itself is well constructed, very clean, and identical to the Revolution85+, no surprise there by now. Moving along, once more while the add-in PCB actually houses the protection circuitry the fan header is on the main PCB just next to this add in PCB. Lastly, while not pictured the soldering on the main PCB was generally clean and free of defect with the diodes that had popped up on many Revolution units being absent here.
Build Quality Summary
Overall the build quality of the Galaxy EVO 1250W is identical to the previously reviewed Revolution 1050W and overall very good. The external finish is once more certainly resistant to cosmetic damage with cabling that is all well sleeved for the most part. The interior of the unit continues the trend of being identical to the Revolution85+ as the topology and power components are identical on both the primary and secondary sides. The Galaxy EVO also has the same capacitor selection as the primaries are Matsushita while the secondaries have had the typical CEC Holdings International capacitors replaced with Nippon Chemi-con with the DC-DC VRM's also containing some Elcon capacitors. The actual integration and build of the unit is also very well done with the only oddity still being the magical floating coils that are secured only by their legs on the primary side, which is a design that Enermax defends stringently. Moving on, let's see if this repackaged Revolution can do as well as the original Revolution.