BFG LS-450 Power Supply Review
Overload Tests
Contents
Before overloading power supplies we always test first if the over current protection (OCP) circuit is active and at what level it is configured.
In order to do that we increased current on the +12 V rail until the power supply shut down. This happened when we tried to pull more than 43 A from it.
Manufacturers always leave a margin between what is written on the label (29 A in this case) and the level the OCP circuit is really configured (43 A in this case). We always like to see this margin as tight as possible and in this case we think OCP was configured at a value that is too high.
Then starting from test five we increased currents to the maximum we could with the power supply still running inside ATX specs. The results are below. When we tried to increase one more amp at any output ripple would go to the roof, meaning that the unit stopped working correctly.
| Input | Maximum |
| +12V1 | 22 A (264 W) |
| +12V2 | 21 A (252 W) |
| +5V | 6 A (30 W) |
| +3.3 V | 1 A (3.3 W) |
| +5VSB | 1 A (5 W) |
| -12 V | 0.5 A (6 W) |
| Total | 539.4 W |
| % Max Load | 119.9% |
| Room Temp. | 47.1° C |
| PSU Temp. | 52.9° C |
| AC Power | 669 W |
| Efficiency | 80.6% |
Even when overloaded this power supply presented efficiency above 80%.