Enermax PRO82+ 525 W Power Supply Review

Introduction

Enermax has recently released two high-efficiency power supply series, MODU82+ and PRO82+. The name implies that products from these two series have efficiency of at least 82%, but Enermax says they actually have efficiency of at least 84%. Both use the same internal project, with MODU82+ models using a modular cabling system. Today we are going to take an in-depth look at the 525 W model from the PRO82+ series (also known as EPR525AWT) and see if it can really deliver its labeled power and efficiency. Read on.

Figure 1: Enermax PRO82+ 525 W power supply.

Figure 2: Enermax PRO82+ 525 W power supply.

As you can see, this power supply uses a big 120 mm ball bearing fan on its bottom (the power supply is upside down on Figures 1 and 2) and a big mesh on the rear side where traditionally we have an 80 mm fan. We like this design as it provides not only a better airflow but the power supply produces less noise, as the fan can rotate at a lower speed in order to produce the same airflow as an 80 mm fan.

This power supply has active PFC, which provides a better usage of the power grid and allowing Enermax to sell this product in Europe (read more about PFC on our Power Supply Tutorial). As mentioned, Enermax says that this product has at least 84% efficiency. Of course we will measure this to see if what the manufacturer claim is true. The higher the efficiency the better – an 80% efficiency means that 80% of the power pulled from the power grid will be converted in power on the power supply outputs and only 20% will be wasted. This translates into less consumption from the power grid (as less power needs to be pulled in order to generate the same amount of power on its outputs), meaning lower electricity bills.

The main motherboard cable uses a 24-pin connector (no support for 20-pin motherboards) and this power supply has two ATX12V connectors that together form an EPS12V connector.

This power supply comes with seven peripheral power cables: three auxiliary power cables for video cards – two of them with 6/8-pin connectors –, two cables containing three standard peripheral power connectors – one of them with a floppy disk drive connector attached –, one cable with three SATA power connectors and one cable with four SATA power connectors.

The number of connectors provided by this power supply is simply amazing for a unit from its power rage. First it provides three (and not just two) video card power cables. Second, it provides seven SATA power plugs, which is more than enough even for extreme high-end users.

This power supply also provides a cable for you to monitor the speed of the power supply fan. This cable should be installed on any empty fan connector on the motherboard and you can monitor the fan speed using your favorite monitoring program.

On this power supply all wires are 18 AWG, which is perfect for a product on this power range.

On the aesthetic side Enermax used nylon sleevings on all cables and they come from inside the power supply housing.

Now let’s take an in-depth look inside this power supply.