INTRODUCTION

    Whether you just got one of Intel's latest Arc B-Series graphics cards or are waiting for the upcoming Radeon and GeForce cards by AMD and NVIDIA respectively this could be the best time for you to get a brand new power supply unit. However, in a market filled with power supply units this might be easier said than done and so my recommendation for anyone who asks is to always look for 3 things, manufacturer name (both brand and OEM), 80 PLUS certification (the higher up you go the higher quality components you're getting) and warranty period (obviously). Enermax is among the oldest power supply unit manufacturers and since some of you asked today, I'll be testing their Revolution D.F.X 1200W model.

   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 1200W unit which arrived in the office a while back features two 12VHPWR (600W) and five PCIe 6+2 power connectors, single powerful +12V rail (100A) capable of delivering 100% of the units’ total power output (1200W) and a peak power output of no less than 1348.6W (peak should now be up to 2.7KW 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 I was again 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

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

The benefits of ATX 3.0 are mentioned on the left side of the box.

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

Typically, the power 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 1200W 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 1200W EXTERIOR

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

Measuring 150mm in length, 140mm in width and 86mm in height the Revolution D.F.X 1200W is a very 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 1200W 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 1200W INTERIOR

ENERMAX uses an 2300RPM 120mm fan to keep interior temperatures in check.

Exactly like with the 1050W variant the 1200W model 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 Nippon Chemi-Con and Rubycon 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

    The 1200W variant of the Revolution D.F.X series of power supply units by ENERMAX more or less delivered the same results as its smaller output brother (1050W). Rail stability is very good (again, not the best out there but very good) and as for noise levels even though the 120mm fan this time over is faster it’s more silent than the one used in the 1050W variant (at the same power consumption – getting closer to 1200W should also increase noise). Some of you did email after I had reviewed the 1050W model complaining about the fan spinning at random intervals but that’s actually quite normal since CPU and GPU power consumption does increase at random intervals (even just opening your internet browser could do that and yes, all models I’ve used recently do the same). The ATX 3.0 & PCIe 5.0 certifications may also see a bit off when all models released now are ATX 3.1 & PCIe 5.1 certified, but the differences are tiny and shouldn’t really concern consumers, at least not those on a tight budget. Once again, it’s the OEM that would concern me but since they’ve used quality components and ENERMAX covers the entire line with a 10-year limited warranty I can’t complain much.

    When I reviewed the 1050W capacity model of the Revolution D.F.X line availability was not that great something which has changed since then and so today you can get the 1200W model for USD175.99 inside the USA (Amazon.com) and for 166.62Euros inside the EU (Amazon.de). Again, the Revolution D.F.X line by ENERMAX may not produce the best numbers out there but it does offer a very good price/performance ratio and for that the Golden Award is 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 (100A)
- Side ARGB Illumination (14 Effects)
- Semi Fanless Mode
- 10 Year Limited Warranty

CONS

- OEM Manufacturer (For Some)