INTRODUCTION

   With less than a month before NVIDIA officially unveils their latest RTX 30XX line of graphics cards (and a few more for the debut of the RDNA2 models by AMD) enthusiasts and serious gamers all around the world are with their fingers at the trigger in regards to whether or not to purchase a new PSU or to wait just in case NVIDIA decides to surprise everyone with the introduction of a new PCIe power port. Now considering that the market has been ready for something like that ever since the very first fully-modular power supplies made their appearance almost a decade ago (in the case of new motherboard connectors) i don't think it's far-fetched, although difficult (and for owners of modular models that shouldn't really matter since manufacturers are sure to supply the new cables - some will probably even do so for free). Chieftec recently updated their product catalog with the brand new Proton line of power supply units and for the past week or so I’ve been testing the 1000W model (BDF-1000C).

   For over 25+ years CHIEFTEC has been a world-wide renowned Brand, associated with high-quality PSU, PC cases, 19” IPC cases and Accessories manufacturing for the computer industry, servicing the global OEM, ODM and distributing (consumer) segments. With our manufacturing plants located in Asia (China and Taiwan), we cover the entire production scope beginning with the in-house R&D, including the final assembling and ending with product distribution, marketing and positioning in the respective markets, segments and channels worldwide.

   The Proton series includes both semi-modular (400/500/600W) and fully-modular (650/750/850/1000W) models all of which bear the 80 Plus Bronze electrical efficiency certification (up to 88%). The 1000W variant which I’ve been testing for the past week also features a powerful 83A +12V rail capable of delivering up to 996W, strong minor rails with a total output of 161W (1155W peak output), DC to DC design, Active PFC, 135mm ball-bearing fan, ATX v2.4 support, Energy Star v6 support and a full set of electrical protections including OCP (over charge protection), OVP (over voltage protection), UVP (under voltage protection), SCP (short circuit protection), OPP (over power protection), OTP (over temperature protection) and SIP (surge & inrush protection). So how does the 1KW variant of the Proton series perform? Time to find out.

SPECIFICATIONS AND FEATURES

PACKAGING AND CONTENTS

The line name along with the 80 Plus Bronze and manufacturer logos take up most of the front area of the box.

The output selection is located on the left side of the box.

The PSU is wrapped inside a plastic bag and placed in a single foam spacer whereas the modular cables are placed under a piece of cardboard.

Along with the Proton 1KW PSU and its modular cables you'll also get the power cord, user manual and 4 mounting screws.

THE PROTON BDF-1000C EXTERIOR

Chieftec chose flat modular cables with the 24pin motherboard cable as the sole exception.

The 1KW Proton model measures 160mm in length, 150mm in width and 87mm in height.

An 135mm ball-bearing fan is located at the base of the PSU right under the company logo.

The 80 Plus Bronze and company logos are printed alongside the model line on a sticker placed on the left side.

The units electrical table is as usual printed on a sticker located on the base of the enclosure.

All 11 modular connectors are both different in shape and tagged.

Moving at the rear of the PSU we find the on/off power switch and the power port.

THE PROTON BDF-1000C INTERIOR

The 135mm fan used in the BDF-1000C is manufactured by Globe Fan and from what I’ve gathered it can reach speeds of up to 1800RPM (specs are not available).

Judging by the design of the interior this should be a High Power (Sirtec/Sirfa) model.

Both the primary capacitor and the secondary capacitors are manufactured by Taiwanese TEAPO and are rated for use up to 105 degrees Celsius.

TEST BED

TESTING METHODOLOGY

     Using a dedicated measurement instrument such as a Chroma or a SunMoon to test power supply units is without doubt the most ideal and accurate way (not to mention the fastest) to do that currently. However, it's certainly not the only way there is and so pretty much anyone can test a power supply unit just by using a test rig. Certainly, limitations do apply and so you can't really push a 1000W power supply to its limits if your system only uses 500W at peak loads and that's why over the years we saved certain hardware components for the purpose of building a dedicated PSU test rig. True it may not be as accurate as the above mentioned solutions but it comes really close and is in fact much closer to real world usage. So as always, we ran several games with maximum graphic options enabled at a resolution of 2560x1600 in order to stress every hardware component and increase the overall power demands of the system. The Passmark BurnIn Test was also used to overstress the components in an effort to provide the most accurate results possible. As a final test we also used the latest OCCT 4.4 software and its dedicated PSU testing suite since it can really bring a power supply to its knees after inside a few minutes.

   Rail stability was checked/measured with the CPUID Hardware monitor and a Metex multimeter which also recorded the system load in idle and in load. As always try to remember that the power consumption numbers listed in the graph are the highest (Peak) ones recorded during the entire duration of the tests and not the average ones. Noise levels coming from the fan were recorded using the high precision HD600 ExTech Sound dBA Meter from the rear of the unit and at a range of no more than 5-10cm. Readings under load are recorded the exact moment we manually switch the fans of all graphics cards from full speed to almost zero, that way the fan of the power supply does not have enough time to slow its RPM and so by doing this we get very accurate noise level readings. Needless to say in order to get 100% accurate readings you need to have a noise isolated room for that exact purpose, something which is quite impossible unless you are working inside a real lab (some people use very small noise insulated boxes but due to their size both heat and noise exceed normal levels and so the results can't really be considered to be 100% accurate, nor realistic for that matter). Also do take into account that since all noise measurements take place from just 5-10cm away the final noise levels to reach your ears will be considerably less.

* After almost 8 years of testing PSU’s the Intel Core i7-920 CPU of this rig failed and so we replaced it with a Xeon X5660 (we also swapped the GA-X58A-UD7 for the G1. Assassin).

TEST RESULTS

……..

CONCLUSION

   The Proton is the latest affordable line of PSU’s by Chieftec (emphasis on the affordable) and so at least when it comes to rail stability things are very good. Not as good as the PowerPlay series but close and that’s very good for a model that should cost significantly less. Build quality is at surprisingly good levels and although the Taiwanese TEAPO is not as popular as some of its Japanese competitors I never had an issue with their capacitors (nor did i have with a High Power manufactured unit). Noise levels, especially at maximum load (and then some) and the somewhat "short" 2-year limited warranty is what may really push away some potential customers but it is what it is (Chieftec is considering upping their warranty period and honestly, I think they should – even though it may not be needed, the extra warranty always makes for good marketing).

   The Proton BDF-1000C by Chieftec currently retails for just 119.52Euros inside the EU (Amazon.de) a price tag which is not something we see a lot, not for 1KW units. Yes, performance may not be top-notch but you will have a very hard time finding another PSU capable of delivering 1KW (even more so with a single 83A +12V rail) with the same amount of electrical protections at around the same price and that’s primarily why the Proton BDF-1000C by Chieftec comes highly recommended by us.

PROS

- Good Rail Stability
- Fully Modular Design
- 80 Plus Bronze Certified
- Electrical Protections (AFC/OVP/OPP/OCP/OTP/SIP/SCP/UVP)
- Peak Output (1155W)
- Price (For Some)

CONS

- Warranty (2 Years)
- Noise Levels