Date:
Thursday , March 04, 2010
Author:
Paul Johnson
Editor:
Kyle Bennett
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Enermax MODU87+ 700W Power Supply Review

Enermax has been one of the "de facto standard" names in computer power supplies for years now. Enermax continually comes to the enthusiast with solidly built power supplies that deliver top notch power and stability for years and years. Today we are looking at the MODU87+ 700 watt PSU and its Dynamic Hybrid Transformer Topology technology, AKA DHT.

Introduction

Enermax Technology Corporation is a company that is well known in the world of power supplies and general computing alike. Founded in 1990 Enermax has made a name for itself by providing solid performing power supplies, among other computer components, and accessories. Enermax' current lines of power supplies encompass a wide range of products targeted at various market segments including the Liberty ECO, Infiniti DXX, Galaxy EVO, ECO80+, MODU82+, Revolution85+, and PRO82+ series.

In addition to being a retail presence with its Enermax brand power supplies, Enermax Technology Corporation appears to be one of the few real OEM designers of power supplies. Its power supplies however, have only rarely shown up under other labels including Grow Up Japan and Sapphire. For the most part Enermax appears to be a factory-to-retail presence with its own discreet lines of power supplies including today’s MODU87+ 700W (EMG700AWT).

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It Glitters, but is it Gold?

The MODU87+ 700W we have in for review today is the 8th power supply we have seen from Enermax. In all of those reviews so far, we have seen only one other unit in the ~700W range before and that was almost 2 1/2 years ago now with the Infiniti 720W. In those intervening years Enermax has finally worked their way up to a new and more efficient ~700W unit. Indeed, the new MODU87+ line represents the most efficient line of power supplies currently being marketed by Enermax and looks to be filling the shoes of the older Infiniti units. This would make these units something of the middle ground between the older independently regulated MODU82+ , Liberty Eco, Infiniti, and ECO80+ units and the newer DC-DC designs such as the Revolution85+ and Galaxy EVO. With that in mind, what does Enermax have to say about these MODU87+ units?

ENERMAX is stepping up to the need of energy and money-saving products with these two desktop PSU series with models in 500, 600, 700 and 800W. PRO87+ is the native cable series, while MODU87+ is modular. Both will complement ENERMAX’ running 80+, 82+ & 85+ PSU series and incorporate the latest technologies with a major breakthrough:

DHT, Dynamic Hybrid Transformer Topology

To improving the efficiency all manufacturers concentrated on the DC stage, up to now. But the technology used in the DC stage (during and after conversion of AC to DC) has come to the maximum and achieving 87+ efficiency is the very limit of this approach. To achieving 87+ or even higher efficiency with good performance needs additional innovations on the AC stage. ENERMAX has invented three innovations bundled into the new DHT-topology:

Obviously, the inventions center around the adoption of dynamic frequencies, voltages and conversion instead of traditional static ones. These dynamic optimization designs not only push the efficiency up to shocking 92%, but also improve stability and performance to new heights without sacrificing any safety or regulations. Moreover, the incorporation of a 13.9cm Twister bearing fan with the patented SpeedGuard fan control bring PRO87+ and MODU87+ to unprecedented silence @ 50oC.

So let’s move on to see what else may be just like that unit when we purchase the Enermax MODU87+ 700W in terms of documentation, accessories, cable count, rail layout, output characteristics, and general build quality.