Performance

Before we comment on its overall performance, let's first have a detailed look at this unit's key output requirements...

Specifications - Voltage Regulations

Specifications - DC Ripple & Noise

Specifications - Over Voltage Protection

Testing Methodology

Before I even get to the actual performance results,  I would like to strongly focus on the approach taken by many to evaluate such a product.

For those who do their research well, you'll find that PSU reviews are actually on a decline.  What you will find is that many sites fail to even attempt evaluation of such a product in fear that they will not be able to evaluate them in such a way that will satisfy a majority of their readers, resulting in perhaps a negative response from many.  That is actually fine because trying too hard in order to "impress" a majority will, in most cases, lead to inaccurate results that will only put down a product that simply does not deserve it. Sadly, this is the case right now and if you do your research well, you'll probably agree with me.  So why is this?

Well, there has been quite a misconception on how to approach the evaluation of such a product. Their are sites that actually do try too hard in an attempt to gain respect by acquiring test equipment that honestly will only have a negative impact on a product that certainly does not deserve it.  The truth here is that unless your an electrical engineer by profession, have keen knowledge on how these products do function, and/or have access to very expensive equipment that will yield the most accurate results, don't bother testing with cheap equipment that will only confuse a majority and in most cases, have a negative impact on the product itself.

Yes, there is no doubt that unlike a majority of PC components, a power supply requires much more effort and knowledge in order to provide the most credible results.  Testing its reliability does currently require additional hardware that most simply do not have access to.  In fact, most who purchase such a product are PC enthusiasts and not electrical engineers with such knowledge that they will be able to absorb enough of the information found in a select few reviews nor a determining factor in their final decision.  For example, testing ripple & noise requires an expensive oscilloscope and not just any cheap alternative you find on the market.  I've been victim to this and have actually used a few PC-based alternatives that range between $120-380 and found them to be highly unreliable in many aspects of the word.  That's a whole other article though, but the truth here is that many smart buyers who conduct some kind of research before purchase are PC enthusiasts and not electrical engineers with such knowledge that they will be capable of absorbing such a technical review of a product that in reality, does not involve much effort to find one that fits their budget and capable of running their new setup.

Folks, when researching for the best power supply that will fit your specific needs, do not necessarily focus on the number of tools used, but rather the quality of the article and method taken to ensure accurate results. 

So what exactly is required then to have an overall good idea on how well it does perform?  What you want to focus on most is its voltage regulation and how well it is able to stay slightly under or above its typical operating range or "margin of error".  In the past, you could actually get away by simply testing with a select few software-based hardware monitoring utilities.  However, with the constant release of new motherboards and other components, most of the best utilities are either no longer in development or simply can't keep up with the latest hardware.  The results are either highly inaccurate readings, or no support at all for the product.  This is something I will actually demonstrate in the final performance results of the OP1000 below.

Actual Performance Results

All voltage readings were conducted with a quality True-RMS Digital Multimeter with data logging capabilities.  When stress testing, all data was logged on a completely separate system via its interface software.  For the most accurate results, I strongly recommend you purchase a quality Multimeter with the features required for testing such a product.  If you opt for one with data logging capabilities, look for one with an optical interface and mod it for a USB connection.  It will provide the most accurate real-time results.

Note:  When attempting to capture readings using such a device, I strongly recommend you capture all from the 20/24-pin PSU connector.  Attempting to capture readings from leads will not provide the most accurate readings.

Before showing you the results, it is important to show you all some detailed specs on the system used for testing so that you have an overall idea of the power consumption used by this unit.

Note that in order to fully take advantage of all the power this unit has to offer, a large number of components were used.  This included a crossfire setup and a very high overclock of a Quad Core processor that would roughly consume a total of 180W just for the processor alone. (based on max overclock and voltage used for max stability)

The first results were the readings taken with the computer running at idle after 30 minutes from initial boot.  Now, in these results, I threw in the readings from Abit's uGuru monitoring utility to not only provide many with the margin of error, but also to demonstrate how inaccurate these utilities really can be. 

At idle operation, I was impressed to find that the voltages did not seem to budge one bit and the numbers above were pretty much what they operated at throughout the whole testing process.  Not only were the 12v readings just under 3% of specification, but most importantly, they were consistent at 12.32, which is above and not under spec.  Also, you can see how off the readings were from a hardware monitoring utility over the use of a quality multimeter.

Now, it was during the more extensive load tests that this PSU left me completely breathless.  In fact, I had to bump up the numbers to 3 decimals.  That's just how minimal the voltage regulations were when loading the system extensively.  With the +12v rail, you're looking at only a 0.01v difference.  With the +5v and +3.3v rails, the average was a mere 0.003v difference.

These numbers were so impressive, that many may not find them credible.  With that said, I would like to show you a shot of the log file under heavy load so that you have an idea of just how stable this unit is...

**click to enlarge** 

You can clearly see from these results that loading the system heavily barely had an impact at all on all three rails to focus on.

Finally, when testing how well a power supply does perform, it is important to also measure readings at different stages of operation.  This includes readings at POST, OS loading and system shutdown.  Grab yourself a quality multimeter and test this on a standard power supply.  You'll see that the numbers will jump all over the place and won't be stable until the system is finally idle.  With the OP1000, the results during all three stages were just as similar to those provided above.  Truly impressive!

Fan Noise

I would like to end performance by briefly commenting on noise levels from the OP1000.  Upon first glance, many may immediately be disappointed with the choice of a small 80mm fan for cooling and may think that for a unit in this class, may just be too loud to operate.  I will say this is not the case at all with the OP1000.

First, me must take a brief look at the fan specs...

The 80mm fan on the OP1000 is thermally controlled and will run in one of the three following modes:  25dBA @ 300W or below, 30dBA @ 550W, 42dBA @ 1000W.

Considering you will likely never run this unit at its maximum potential, noise levels are not an issue at all.  In fact, in this particular high-end setup, it wasn't noticeable at all and the exhaust fan from the Freezone was really the only noise emanating from this system. 

Next:  Conclusions