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- Date:
- Thursday , March 04, 2010
- Author:
- Paul Johnson
- Editor:
- Kyle Bennett
- Google +1
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.
Overview
The first thing we are going to look at with the Enermax MODU87+ 700W is its packaging, accessories, and documentation. While none of these items is a real make or break item for a power supply the packaging quite often contains a lot of information about the product we are purchasing. The inclusion of an owner’s manual that provides actual information about our product is also of great help. Accessories are almost unnecessary with a power supply as the unit is self contained, unless it is modular, but there cases where a manufacturer can include useful accessories to make installation, routing and use more efficient.
The packaging for the MODU87+ is very basic with a black and gold color scheme that is very similar to what we saw with the Revolution85+. Like the Revolution85+, there is a lot of useful information here including the power table (reproduced below), connector count, efficiency graph, Heat Guard graph, plenty of marketing points, and 80Plus Gold logo. Now while not listed as being certified for CrossFire on the packaging, a quick check of the ATI website shows that it is indeed certified for CrossFire up to HD5870. On the efficiency side of the coin we find this unit is advertised as being 80Plus Gold, and not just with a little sticker but with a whole motif no less! Indeed, when we check the 80Plus website we find that this unit is certified for 80Plus Gold under 80Plus’s standards. How it will fare for us is yet to be seen though. Lastly, the MODU87+ 700W comes with a 5 year warranty which is good to see. The last high end unit from Enermax we reviewed, the Revolution85+, came with a 3 year warranty which was a poor showing in light of the marketing for that product being quite liberally based on how the unit protects users, and users’ components. So, today’s two year bump in warranty length makes a good deal of sense and is certainly appreciated. Additionally, Enermax recently announced that they were increasing the warranty length on the Revolution85+ and Galaxy EVO products to 5 years as well, so users who previously purchased those products now enjoy the same level of support. A big thank you goes out to Enermax for stepping those warranties up to something more consistent with a high end product.
The power output and distribution for the Enermax MODU87+ 700W is interesting to say the least. The three 12v rails of the MODU87+ 700W have a total capacity of 58A which is ~99% of the unit’s total capacity if necessary. The minor rails total output capacity for this unit is capped at 120W which is a bit lower than what we have seen from recent Enermax offerings such as the ECO80+ 620W. An interesting issue we find here with the power distribution is the triple 12v rail setup that Enermax has employed. For some reason Enermax likes to use funky 12v arrangements, and this unit is no exception. We see that the 12v rails are broken down so that the fixed connectors are all on one 12v rail while the modular connectors are split with (from left to right with the fixed cables furthest to the left) 3 modular peripheral connectors on 12v2 followed by 2 peripheral modular connectors on 12v3 and the PCI-Express connectors each split in half across 12v2/12v3. That makes sense…..right? Paired with this "unique" arrangement we find 4 PCI-Express connectors of the modified 8pin design as well as a total of 16 peripheral connectors (evenly split between Molex and SATA). Overall, this is sufficient for just about any system you are going to throw at a 700W unit, but that 12v arrangement is still bizarre.
Once we open the Enermax MODU87+ 700W packaging we find the power supply, the modular cables, a pouch for modular cables, the manual, mounting screws, Enermax sticker, power cord, some cables ties, and the bracket that clips the power cord in place which Enermax is calling their "Cord Guard" feature. The user manual for the MODU87+ is a hefty 45 pages long in seven languages. Included in these pages is a wealth of information including the majority of the normal electrical specifications, warranty information, 12v rail layout, Cord Guard Installation information, cable count, installation instructions, and UPS compatibility and selection guide. Recent power supplies from Enermax have had what we would call less than stellar documentation, so this return to what we are used to seeing from Enermax is a very nice turn of events.