Performance and Testing
As you know, I do not have the specialized equipment for PSU testing (which costs thousands of dollars). So the best way I could do test the PSU is by using what we’ve got. My testing method involves comparing the voltage and power consumption reading during idle and at full load. I know it’s not the most accurate method technically, but I think this simple method should provide some ideas of the performance of the power supply in terms of stability and power consumption.
Efficiency Requirements for 80Plus Certification
The main thing to watch out for, is the fluctuation on the +12V line. If the +12V line drops to below 12V during full load or large fluctuations in the V readings … then we’re in trouble. The system may unstable and you might also get random reboots.
We used AIDA64 and simultaneously ran both CPU and GPU stress test which produces 100% load. We then checked the voltage readings on AIDA64, we were able to read the sensor onboard the Gigabyte Z790M AORUS Elite AX ICE motherboard. We were able to take the readings of the total power consumption of the CPU and GPU.
Idle
Voltage readings taken from ADIA64 at idle
- +12V : 12.168V
- +5V : 4.980V
- +3V : 3.344V
Load
Voltage readings taken from ADIA64 under load
- +12V : 12.096V (-0.072)
- +5V : 4.980V (no change)
- +3V : 3.324V (-0.02V)
Total power consumption (in wattage)
- CPU (Core i9-13900K) – Max: 221.42 W
- GPU (RTX 4080 Super) – Max: 285.44 W
At full load, using the Core i9-13900K processor along with the GeForce RTX 4080 SUPER, the system drew a total of around 506.86W … 221.42W for the CPU and 285.44W for the GPU.
The +12V line and was pretty stable at +12.096V. It did drop ever so slightly from +12.168V (idle), but nothing to worry about. For those who don’t know … if the 12V line drops below 11V, the system will become unstable and most likely crash.
As for the +5V line, it was pretty solid too with no fluctuations detected, and remained a constant +4.980V. While the +3.3V line dropped ever so slightly from +3.344V to +3.324V. Based on our overall tests, the Corsair SF1000 is a rock solid SFX power supply.
Now lets move on to the Conclusion and Verdict!
