Raidmax Volcano 630 Watt Power Supply - Testing
(Page 4 of 5 )
Testing
For more specifics than the simple list of rails and amps, here’s a picture of the specifications on the power supply.
I wanted to test the stability of the Volcano’s voltages on the 12v and 5v rails. The steadier the voltages are and less they change between idle and load, the better. If there is a lot of variation, it can cause system instabilities, system shutdowns, and bad sectors in hard disks. Heavy overclocking also demands that the voltages stay steady. It’s unavoidable that there will be small changes, but hopefully they stay under control.
I used 2 separate setups to test the power supply with weak and heavy power demands. Here are the setups:
Idle Setup (minimum power requirements) - AMD 64 3500+
- 512MB memory (1 x 512)
- Powercolor x800GTO 128MB
- Foxconn Winfast NF4SK8AA-8EKRS
- 1 x ATA hard drive 7200RPM
- Running: Booted to Windows XP with only firewall running
| Load Setup (large power requirements) - AMD 64 3500+
- 1GB memory (2 x 512)
- Powercolor x800GTO 128MB
- Foxconn Winfast NF4SK8AA-8EKRS
- 3 x ATA hard drives 7200RPM
- 1 x DVD burner
- Running: Compressing 2 ZIP files on separate hard drives in Winzip, copying files from the DVD burner to the third hard drive, playing MP3s in Windows Media Player, and playing Quake 4.
|
With all the hardware in the load setup working hard, there’s no way it should max out a 630 Watt power supply. If it had, there would have been a problem. By educated estimates, the load setup is slightly more than 420 Watts, and the Volcano handles it with no sweat.
Of course, no power supply delivers its entire rated Wattage. Some of its power is lost to resistance and converted into heat. At peak use, the Volcano power supply is rated to never drop below 75% efficiency. If it was turning an entire 25% of its power into heat, that would give you 475 effective Watts. It was running a lot more efficient than that; the Volcano was running more than 10 degrees C cooler than my Antec Truepower 430. Logically, the Raidmax PSU is considerably more efficient than the Antec.
The voltages I used below are all measured with a multimeter. Motherboard monitors and Speedfan reported very different readings, and aren’t worth including.
The voltages don’t need to be at spec, just nearby. I included those to help give perspective. They are all way within the safe limits.
The 12v line fluctuates one tenth of a volt (a 0.99% change), and the 5v rail fluctuates one hundredth of a volt (a 0.99% change as well). Less than one percent is very small, and it's within the Volcano's specifications. It will keep your system stable and overclocks healthy. While some PSUs vary less than this, be aware that this change from idle to load is still negligible. The Volcano does a good job keeping its power under control. Also, some power supplies have voltages that go up and down even while sitting idle without the load changing. While the load remains steady, the Raidmax Volcano 630 is rock solid and doesn’t budge.
One last note on performance is the sound level. I pointed out the "Power of Silence" on the box, and I have to say that it delivers. I can't hear the power supply over two 120mm case fans. With them unplugged, I can hear a soft hum. Sitting up at the desk though, it is basically silent.
Next: Conclusion >>
More Power Supply Units Articles
More By Developer Shed
