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.
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six_tymes - Sunday, May 17, 2020 - link
true, anything to help when running power hungry heat maker amd chips.Icehawk - Tuesday, May 12, 2020 - link
Does it come with a set of brass goggles?Spunjji - Tuesday, May 12, 2020 - link
Now this is a comment I can get behind 😎1_rick - Tuesday, May 12, 2020 - link
They didn't even stick any[1] gears on it! How can they call it steampunk?[1] I'm not counting the crude drawing on the fan.
Deicidium369 - Tuesday, May 12, 2020 - link
I mean a little brass at least...anirudhs - Tuesday, May 12, 2020 - link
Does Steampunk plan to offer SFX\SFX-L power supplies?Deicidium369 - Tuesday, May 12, 2020 - link
Did you read the review? If you did you wouldn't care about anything else from this company.lmcd - Monday, May 18, 2020 - link
They're a sane fan profile away from a solid power supply. Given that ITX loads tend to be even lower and less likely to use 3.3V and 5V lines, it's possible a market entrant with supply chain advantages could choose to undercut the 500W SFX-L power supply market.ozzuneoj86 - Tuesday, May 12, 2020 - link
Lets write Steampunk on the side of a product and not actually have any even remotely Steampunk themed cosmetic features.Seriously... I know gears, brass and shades of brown aren't exactly new and innovative ideas, but I think it's actually worse to just use the name of a cliche "theme" without having any of it's features.
anirudhs - Tuesday, May 12, 2020 - link
Maybe a Bioshock special edition? :-P