Enermax Revolution XT Power Supply Review
Lately, the push for smaller and quieter systems leaves many enthusiasts and the D.I.Y. crowd needing smaller and smaller power supplies (PSU’s). It’s not entirely uncommon to see systems being built with powerful hardware like the 780Ti, but with PSUs no larger than 550-600 watts. This article is about Enermax Revolution XT PSU which offers high performance and quality for demanding PC builds.
It, therefore, makes more sense than ever to go for a PSU that is as efficient as possible to make sure you have as few problems as possible while still being able to do what we all love to do: tune our systems and squeeze the most performance out of them as possible.
Enermax has seen fit to produce what they feel is a worthy solution to your small system-building needs. The Revolution XT PSU lineup ranges from 430 to 730-watt capabilities; all carry the 80+ Gold certification for power efficiency, have flat cables, and are semi-modular. Could this be the next PSU you select for your system builder needs? Let’s delve deeper and find out as we review the Enermax Revolution XT Power Supply.
The Rosewill Xtreme 850W is a good option for power supply.
A Closer Look
When we pulled the PSU out of its packaging we were expecting it to be properly packaged, as per Enermax protocol… but we weren’t expecting quite this level of protection! Traditional bubble wrap has nothing on this stuff. You would probably have to quite purposefully do something to injure this PSU while it’s in the box.
The included extras are fairly typical fare as PSU packaging contents go: you get your spare modular cables for system expansion, an Enermax-themed bag to hold the unused stuff in, the power cord, Velcro cable bundling strips with the Enermax logo on them, screws and the cable protection clip; more on the clip in a bit. The supplied manual is also typical fare, nothing to write home about.
All supplied cables are of more than reasonable length and are well constructed. With a flat cable design, you have a few trade-offs: on the one hand, with the right routing, flat cables will theoretically let you manage your cables to be tidier… but if you have to bend them too many times they can sometimes take up more room than non-flat cables. So long as you route everything carefully in your case this shouldn’t be an issue though.
The PSU itself is a small form factor that won’t take up all of the room inside your case. Cabling integrated into the PSU includes the 24-pin ATX cable, a 4+4 pin EPS 12V cable (CPU), and a split PCI-E cable with two 6+2 connectors. Aesthetically it bears a flat black paint job with gold “Revolution XT” lettering on the sides.
The only issue I took with the overall design was the front of the PSU where the cables plug in: it would have been nice to have similarly thoughtful thinking with the logo like they did on the sides of the PSU, but that’s just us nitpicking. The other issue here was the orientation of the plugs: when mounting this PSU in a case that uses a floor-mounted intake fan, the cables can prevent the use of this fan slot due to the connectors protruding into the fan spacing.
It’s not the biggest deal in the world, but it is something to be mindful of when planning out your build using this PSU if your intention was to use that fan slot.
Internal Components and Layout
Removing the lid of the PSU reveals… well… not a whole lot, really. The beauty of modern PSUs is that they also tend to follow Moore’s Law. The components keep getting smaller and smaller with increasing efficiency. In this case, they also managed to keep a relatively clean overall layout despite the compact nature of the circuitry present.
All soldering points are remarkably clean and even, and the transient filtering is nicely laid out. The primary capacitors are by Panasonic while secondary caps are produced by CapXon, an odd blend of capacitors given that CapXon caps are usually only seen in lower-tier product lines.
The fan mounted here is a 140mm unit made in-house by Enermax that is part of a special feature this PSU includes, called HeatGuard: after you power down your system the fan will stay running for anywhere from 30 seconds to a full minute to ensure that all of the heat that was saturating the PSU is dissipated away from the parts. This is supposed to increase its overall life expectancy, and in practice does work rather well as our PSU never feels like it holds much, if any, residual heat after a system shutdown.
Now let’s see how the Revolution XT 630W holds up under pressure with some stress testing.
Testing, Methodology and Results
To measure available voltage and ripple, we are using separate hardware to ensure the most accurate results possible. All testing is conducted for ten minutes using OCCT’s Power Supply test to load the entire system at once and to generate enough system heat for ripple results to be the most telling.
Our test system today is capable of drawing up to 145 Watts at idle and 505 Watts at load for approximately 80% PSU load. This should be fairly telling for behavioral traits you would typically see when using this PSU.
Voltage Regulation
When examining the voltage regulation results we are looking for the voltage output and any fluctuations that might occur. The current ATX specifications allow for the following fluctuations in voltage outputs, and these represent a 3% variance:
To measure available voltage and ripple, we are using separate hardware to ensure the most accurate results possible. All testing is conducted for ten minutes using OCCT’s Power Supply test to load the entire system at once and to generate enough system heat for ripple results to be the most telling.
Our test system today is capable of drawing up to 145 Watts at idle and 505 Watts at load for approximately 80% PSU load. This should be fairly telling for behavioral traits you would typically see when using this PSU.
Voltage Regulation
When examining the voltage regulation results we are looking for the voltage output and any fluctuations that might occur. The current ATX specifications allow for the following fluctuations in voltage outputs, and these represent a 3% variance:
vreg chart
Our voltage readings show fairly good voltage control, though the 3.3V and 5V lines seem to dip a little lower than we would prefer. Still, this is within specification and never once created cause for concern.
Final Thoughts
Simply put, this PSU is very good. It’s got all the cables you could need at this wattage with plenty of length. It also has a clean, classy look. It’s 80+ Gold rated for efficiency, meaning you’re losing very little power to heat waste and maximizing its rated wattage. It runs dead quiet even at high loads, then stays on when you’re done to make sure that all residual heat is pushed away so it can live a long and happy life.
Voltage regulation and ripple are all in relatively decent order; the unit is cleanly laid out with high-quality components, and Enermax backs everything with its excellent five-year warranty.
Pricing for this PSU is currently 120 dollars (USD) through Newegg with free shipping. Though most would think this is a relatively high price for a PSU of this size/wattage, we must consider that it is also 80+ Gold certified. You will always pay more for efficiency; however, there are other options that are 80+ Gold certified that output more wattage with a smaller price tag and similarly good build quality.
Some of them even offer the advantage of fully modular cables, so ultimately the decision is yours. We would most likely select this as our PSU if we were using something like the Asus A88X PRO for the sake of color matching our system and for matching an appropriately sized PSU for an APU system.
For producing a solid PSU at a most reasonable price with great looks and great performance, we present the Enermax Revolution XT 630W PSU with a highly polished PureOverclock Great Hardware award. If Enermax would come down on the price a tad, and tighten up that voltage regulation, this power supply would make its way into Editor’s Choice territory easily!