The 1STPlayer Steampunk 80+ Gold 750W PSU Review: A New Challenger Emerges
by E. Fylladitakis on May 12, 2020 8:30 AM EST- Posted in
- Cases/Cooling/PSUs
- PSUs
- 80Plus Gold
- Modular
- 1STPlayer
Cold Test Results
For the testing of PSUs, we are using high precision electronic loads with a maximum power draw of 2700 Watts, a Rigol DS5042M 40 MHz oscilloscope, an Extech 380803 power analyzer, two high precision UNI-T UT-325 digital thermometers, an Extech HD600 SPL meter, a self-designed hotbox and various other bits and parts. For a thorough explanation of our testing methodology and more details on our equipment, please refer to our How We Test PSUs - 2014 Pipeline post.
Interestingly, the 1STPlayer Steampunk 750W PSU easily meets the 80Plus Gold certification standard when powered from either a 230 VAC or 115 VAC source. As a matter of fact, it almost complies with the 80Plus Platinum certification, surpassing its requirements for the most of the chart. It only suffers from a quickly diminishing efficiency at loads greater than 90%, dropping its efficiency down to 88.3% under maximum load, which prevented the unit from getting an 80Plus Platinum certification. In fact we're a bit surprised that the manufacturer didn't use this platform to make an 80Plus Platinum unit as well. 1STPlayer could have easily used the same platform and dialed down the maximum rated power output of the unit slightly, which would have allowed them to market a slightly less powerful PSU but with an 80Plus Platinum certification.
Overall 1STPlayer kept everything as simple as possible, and they did not implement any advanced thermal control schemes, such as semi-fanless operation. The fan is dead quiet at low loads but will start becoming noticeable when the unit is at about 50% of its rated capacity. Noise levels keep climbing after that, reaching 46.1 dB(A) under maximum load, a high figure for most users. That said, it would not be sensible to run the PSU at a maximum load for prolonged periods of time, so the noise levels during regular use should always be within comfortable levels so long as the unit is installed inside a well-ventilated case.
Facebook
Twitter
RSS
53 Comments
View All Comments
South_DL - Tuesday, May 12, 2020 - link
Not enough Japanese Caps, design not coming from a well known designer, nor innovative either, so, no thank! Go back with your communist party investment back to mainland China and play games with their money, not ours...PeterCollier - Wednesday, May 13, 2020 - link
What's the hype behind Japanese caps? Were they always good? Because in the 80s and 90s, there was a "ghost" or a Japanese capacitor plague that affected everything, including cars.The_Assimilator - Wednesday, May 13, 2020 - link
Pssst! It's no longer the 80s or 90s. Hasn't been for a few decades, in fact.PeterCollier - Wednesday, May 13, 2020 - link
That's why I asked "were they always [considered] good"? Or are the only people who think they're good the people who were born in the last few years?CrystalCowboy - Thursday, May 14, 2020 - link
Wikipedia says the "Capacitor plague" lasted roughly 1999-2007. The brands most affected were Taiwanese. A botched formula stolen through industrial espionage was blamed. Following the plague, board and part manufacturers started paying more attention to cap quality.PeterCollier - Monday, May 18, 2020 - link
This is what I'm talking about:https://ednjapan.com/edn/spv/1208/01/news006.html
Tomatotech - Tuesday, May 12, 2020 - link
Please do a review of some picoPSU units! Pick some cheap 200w ones from Amazon or eBay, and test them next to the gold standard, a HDPLEX picoPSU unit!Samus - Wednesday, May 13, 2020 - link
Overall this is a really impressive showing for something built from the ground up, and using Chinese capacitors.My concern with those ripple measurements is, over time, component tolerances will deteriorate and ripple will increase. It's already halfway to the bare minimum spec on the 5v rail, possibly implying this thing will only be reliable for a few years. It's almost definitely undersized or lower quality caps causing the ripple, unless the filtering stages are inherently poorly designed.
wilsonkf - Wednesday, May 13, 2020 - link
This brand is well-known for mediocre quality and cutting corners in Mainland China, though priced very aggressively.promocodelive - Monday, June 1, 2020 - link
In a flash, astonished with all the helpful data that is on it. Exactly what I was searching for and I am anticipating perusing your different https://www.promocodeslive.com/store/bluehost-coup... posts soon!