INTRODUCTION

   With both NVIDIA and AMD slowly unveiling more information on their upcoming graphics cards it's safe to say that many people will be upgrading their systems to include one of the latest ATX 3.0 power supply units. Again, since many of you have been asking as of late this isn't a must, thanks to 12VHPWR adapters even ATX 2.x models should work well with next generation graphics cards. Still if you want optimal all-around performance from your system ATX 3.0 power supply units do offer certain features (most notably the up to 3 times excursion tolerance, higher electrical efficiency and double the peak power output for up to 100ms) which can help deliver just that. ENERMAX is a name i haven't had in the lab for roughly a full decade now so you can imagine how surprised i was when their latest REVOLUTION D.F.X 1050W ATX 3.0 Power Supply Unit arrived in the lab.

   ENERMAX was founded in Taiwan in 1990 and is a world-renowned PC Power Supply manufacturer and maker of award-winning PC components such as chassis, coolers, fans, and peripherals, with recognition from consumers around the world. Our farsighted R&D capability is our key strength and we stick to our spirit of “Technical Innovation” and “Quality First” to create products that unleash the full potential of the system for every PC enthusiast. For more information, please visit us at www.ENERMAX.com

   The Revolution D.F.X line of ATX 3.0 power supply units includes 3 different power output models (850/1050/1200W) all of which support the latest PCIe v5.0 standard, are fully modular and come ready with the 80 PLUS Gold certification (up to 92% electrical efficiency). The 1050W unit which i have here with me today also features two 12VHPWR power connectors (600W), single strong +12V rail (87.5A) capable of delivering 100% of the units’ total power output (1050W) and a peak power output of no less than 1198.6W (peak should now be up to 2.4KW for up to 100ms - once again however this is not something i can test). As for other features ENERMAX has equipped their Revolution D.F.X with half bridge LLC with DC to DC design, semi-fanless mode (fan starts spinning after 20% load), side RGB lighting (14 effects - via button and mainboard RGB sync), high-quality Japanese capacitors certified for use up to 105 degrees Celsius and a full array of electrical protections including over-current (OCP), over-voltage (OVP), under-voltage (UVP), short-circuit (SCP), over-temperature (OTP) and over-power (OPP). As for warranty well i was glad to see that ENERMAX hasn't change their stance in all these years and so once again you can expect a 10-year limited one with their Revolution D.F.X line.

SPECIFICATIONS AND FEATURES

PACKAGING AND CONTENTS

ENERMAX uses a black and red box the front of which has a product picture, their logo and the main product features.

A product description is printed on the left side in 13 languages.

At the rear of the box, we find all available cables, electrical table and the product features.

All of the cables are placed inside a storage pouch whereas the PSU is placed inside a bubble wrap and between two foam spacers.

Along with the Revolution D.F.X 1050W and its power cord inside the box you'll also find the modular cables with their storage pouch, two cable ties, PSU tester, 4 mounting screws, side sticker, paper with ENERMAX social media printed on it and the user manual.

THE REVOLUTION D.F.X 1050W EXTERIOR

ENERMAX has used low-profile flat cables for everything, both 12VHPWR included.

Measuring 150mm in length, 140mm in width and 86mm in height the Revolution D.F.X 1050W is a rather compact model.

The company logo is placed on the grill located just over the 120mm intake fan.

The right side of the enclosure has the model’s name on it behind which ENERMAX has placed several RGB LEDs.

Taking a look at the belly of the Revolution D.F.X 1050W we find a sticker with its electrical table on it.

At the front of the enclosure, we find 13 modular connectors all of which are tagged.

The usual honeycomb perforation along with the RGB on/off button, the on/off power switch and the power port are all located at the rear.

THE REVOLUTION D.F.X 1050W INTERIOR

ENERMAX uses an 2100RPM fan to keep interior temperatures in check.

Interior layout although very clean is actually completely new to me so i had to do a bit of digging to find out that this unit is manufactured by the Chinese SANR Electronic Technology Co. Ltd (established in 2005).

The two primary capacitors are manufactured by the Japanese Rubycon and are certified for use up to 105 degrees Celsius.

Secondary capacitors are manufactured by the Japanese nichicon and are also certified for use up to 105 degrees.

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 well over 10 years of testing PSUs 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

   ENERMAX was one of the very first manufacturers to actually release high-end power supply units almost 2 decades ago and even though increased competition resulted in them focusing their activities in some specific countries I am glad that they are getting back to how they used to be (or at least that seems to be the case). Now in regards to the REVOLUTION D.F.X 1050W I think pictures and numbers speak for themselves. Rail stability may not be the greatest I’ve seen lately but it’s solid across the board and as for noise levels even at almost maximum load the 120mm fan is not very audible. Build quality is also good and what did surprise me was the fact that a Chinese manufacturer actually used Japanese capacitors (obviously according to ENERMAX’s specs). The side ARGB illumination is also something which I expect some people will like and as for the semi-fanless mode I would had liked to be able to disable it as with most models out there but at least it’s only functional up to 20% load.

   Right now, the REVOLUTION D.F.X 1050W ATX 3.0 power supply unit by ENERMAX retails for 169.78Euros inside the EU (Amazon.de) a price tag which is actually quite balanced. That being said yes, the REVOLUTION D.F.X may not be the best ATX 3.0 & PCIe 5.0 power supply line out in the market today but at least the 1050W performs very well, is not loud even at 100% load, comes with two 12VHPWR plugs, is 80 PLUS Gold Certified and it looks nice thanks to its ARGB LEDs so the Golden Award is obviously in order.

PROS

- Good Build Quality
- Solid Rail Stability
- ATX 3.0 & PCIe 5.0 (2x 600W 12VHPWR Connectors)
- 80 PLUS Gold Certified
- Electrical Protections (OCP/OVP/SSP/OPP/UVP/OTP)
- Single Strong +12V Rail (87.5A)
- Side ARGB LEDs (14 Effects)
- Semi Fanless
- 10 Year Limited Warranty

CONS

- Overall Availability