X-bit labs

ATX Power Supply Units Roundup: 9 Powerful Models Tested (page 13)

Category: Other

by Oleg Artamonov

[ 02/28/2006 | 10:46 PM ]

The cross-load characteristic of this PSU is far from impressive. Too-high +5V voltages limit the diagram from below and too-high +12V voltages do the same from above. The narrow strip remaining can’t be considered normal, either, because the +5V voltage is 4% higher than normal.

At a load of 440W, the voltage ripple on the +5V rail was 47 millivolts (18 millivolts of high-frequency pulsation and the rest is 100Hz pulsation). The voltage ripple on the +12V rail was 65 millivolts (with high-frequency pulsation accounting for only 17 millivolts) and on the +3.3V rail, 32 millivolts.

As you see, the speed of the fans depends but slightly on the load and is mostly determined by the position of the manual control knob (there are two lines in each graph, for the two extreme positions of the controller). The PSU becomes rather hot under maximum load when the fan speed is set at the minimum. I wouldn’t recommend you to use it in this mode.

The PSU efficiency is good, but the power factor is far inferior to that of PSUs with active PFC; the Vigor lacks any PFC whatsoever.

All in all, the MGE Vigor 500 model can hardly be interesting for today’s users. It is compliant with an obsolete standard, has poor voltage stability, and offers inefficient automatic fan speed management. So, it just can’t stand a chance in a competition against the numerous and better opponents.