Fractal Design Newton R3 800 W Power Supply Review

Introduction

The Newton R3 is the new 80 Plus Platinum power supply series from Fractal Design, available in 600 W, 800 W, and 1,000 W versions. Let’s see how the 800 W version fared on our tests.

This power supply is manufactured by ATNG.

Figure 1: Fractal Design Newton R3 800 W power supply

Figure 2: Fractal Design Newton R3 800 W power supply

The Fractal Design Newton R3 800 W is 6.5” (165 mm) deep, using a 135 mm fan on its bottom. We couldn’t identify the fan model. The manufacturer says it is a ball-bearing type. This fan only turns on when you pull 50% or more of the power supply’s labeled wattage, i.e. above 400 W. This allows you to have a completely silent power supply when your system is not demanding a lot of power.

Figure 3: Fan

The modular cabling system from this power supply has eight connectors, two (white) for EPS12V/ATX12V and video card power cables and six (black) for peripheral and SATA power cables. The unit comes with the main motherboard cable, an ATX12V/EPS12V cable, and two video card power cables permanently attached to it. They use nylon sleeves that originate from inside the unit. This power supply comes with the following cables:

• Main motherboard cable with a 20/24-pin connector, 21.3” (54 cm) long, permanently attached to the power supply
• One cable with two ATX12V connectors that together form an EPS12V connector, 26.8” (68 cm) long, permanently attached to the power supply
• One cable with one EPS12V connector, 25.6” (65 cm) long, modular cabling system
• Two cables, each one with two six/eight-pin connectors for video cards, 21.3” (54 cm) to the first connector, 3.9” (10 cm) between connectors, permanently attached to the power supply
• One cable with two six/eight-pin connector for video cards, 18.1” (46 cm) to the first connector, 5.9” (15 cm) between connectors, modular cabling system
• One cable with three SATA power connectors, 15.8” (40 cm) to the first connector 5.1” (13 cm) between connectors, modular cabling system
• One cable with three SATA power connectors, 21.6” (55 cm) to the first connector 5.1” (13 cm) between connectors, modular cabling system
• One cable with three SATA power connectors, 27.6” (70 cm) to the first connector 5.1” (13 cm) between connectors, modular cabling system
• One cable with two standard peripheral power connectors, 23.6” (60 cm) to the first connector, 5.1” (13 cm) between connectors, modular cabling system
• One cable with two standard peripheral power connectors and one floppy disk drive power connector, 25.2” (64 cm) to the first connector, 5.1” (13 cm) between connectors, modular cabling system

The main motherboard cable and the EPS12V/ATX12V cable that are permanently attached to the power supply use thicker, 16 AWG wires. All other wires are 18 AWG, which is the minimum recommended gauge.

The cable configuration is perfect for a 800 W power supply, allowing you to install three high-end video cards that require two power connectors each, without using adapters.

Figure 4: Cables

Let’s now take an in-depth look inside this power supply.