ocaholic - PSUs > Chieftec GPS-700A8 Review

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Preview

Page 2 - Preview

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Delivery and Specifications

Delivery
Cable	Length
1 x ATX 20+4 pin	50 cm
1 x EPS/ATX 12V 8 & 4+4 pin	50 cm
2 x PCI-E 6+2 pin	55, 15 cm
2 x 3 SATA	50, 65, 80 cm
1 x 2 Molex / 1 x Floppy	50, 65, 80 cm

The delivery of the A80 GPS-700A8 is adequate and in line with its pricing. We recommend to not attach more than one high-end GPU as well as the usual peripherals to this power supply.

With this power supply Chieftec is offering a single rail design regarding 12V. In total you get 54A which would be enough to supply two graphics cards with current. Nevertheless, as we already mentioned, we'd recommend to use no more than one high-end graphic card.

Specifications (according to Chieftec)
Voltage	Current	Power
+ 3.3 V	22 A	130 Watt	700 Watt (Total)
+ 5.0 V	22 A	130 Watt
+ 12 V	54 A	648 Watt
- 12 V	0.3 A	3.6 Watt
+ 5 Vsb	2.5 A	12.5 Watt

Since this power supply has been built with the European market in mind, it only supports 230V. This explains why there is no certificate from 80Plus. Back in the days, when this power supply was launched, 80Plus.org only tested power supplies with 115V and therefore they simple didn't test/certify this unit. According to the manufacturer efficiency of this PSU is >85% and therefore it can be compared to the 80Plus Bronze certificate.

At this point the feature list:

80%
OVP, UVP, OCP, SCP, OPP
Dimensions (W x H x D): 150 mm x 87 mm x 140 mm
120 millimeter fan
Warranty: 2 Years
Price: ~67 CHF / ~75 Euro

Page 3 - Delivery / Specs

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Result Analysis and Discussion

Efficiency
Load	Pin(W)	Pout(W)	Efficiency
20 %	162	140	86.54 %
50 %	397	349	87.99 %
100 %	819	693	84.61 %

The 80Plus Bronze certification requirements (82% - 85% - 82%) are surpassed especially at 50% Load.

Output Stability
Load	Rail	Loading(A)	Output(V)
20 %	3.3V	3.1	3.4
	5V	2.5	5.1
	12V	9.5	11.9

50 %	3.3V	7.7	3.4
	5V	6.3	5.0
	12V	23.8	11.9

100 %	3.3V	15.4	3.3
	5V	12.6	5.0
	12V	47.5	11.9

Noise

Noise
Load
20 %	Silent
50 %	well audible

If we listen closer with this power supply, this unit is silent at 20 percent load. The GPS-700A8 uses a fan from Globe Fan that is based on a sleeve bearing and overall this fan is rather cheap. When demanding 50 percent load from this unit, the noise level can be described as audible and when there is 100 percent load, the unit is well audible.

Page 4 - Result Analysis and Discussion

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Conclusion

With the GPS-700A8 Chieftec released a power supply that offers 700 Watt output power for as low as 75 Euro. In the end this is a highly competitive price considering the wattage, but as usual compromises do bear downsides. At such a price point one really shouldn't expect high-end components on the inside of this unit. According to the manufacturer the efficiency of this unit is up to >85%. Checking our test results we found this value was surpassed at 50 percent load and overall the GPS-700A8 would comply with the 80Plus Bronze guidelines.
A closer look on the inside of this unit quickly shows why Chieftec only charges 75 Euro for this power supply. There is a very sparsely populated PCB and the capacitors used for example are all from China. Therefore this PSU is definitely an entry level product and its not meant to be put into powerful builds. The GPS-700A8 makes for example sense in cost optimized systems and especially assemblers might want to have a look at this unit. Something we've been mentioning in every review on Chieftec power supplies is the fact that the company only provides two years warranty. We would love to see a bolder reliability statement from Chieftec and therefore providing longer warranty.

The Chieftec A80 GPS-700A8 receives 3.5 out of 5 stars.