LEPA G700-MA Power Supply Review
Load Tests
Contents
We conducted several tests with this power supply, as described in the article Hardware Secrets Power Supply Test Methodology.
First, we tested this power supply with five different load patterns, trying to pull around 20%, 40%, 60%, 80%, and 100% of its labeled maximum capacity (actual percentage used listed under “% Max Load”), watching the behavior of the reviewed unit under each load. In the table below, we list the load patterns we used and the results for each load.
If you add all the powers listed for each test, you may find a different value than what is posted under “Total” below. Since each output can have a slight variation (e.g., the +5 V output working at +5.10 V), the actual total amount of power being delivered is slightly different than the calculated value. In the “Total” row, we are using the real amount of power being delivered, as measured by our load tester.
The +12VA and +12VB inputs listed below are the two +12 V independent inputs from our load tester. During this test, the +12VA input was connected to the power supply +12V1 and +12V2 rails, while the +12VB input was connected to the power supply +12V1 rail.
| Input | Test 1 | Test 2 | Test 3 | Test 4 | Test 5 |
| +12VA | 4.5 A (54 W) | 9.5 A (114 W) | 14.5 A (174 W) | 19 A (228 W) | 25 A (300 W) |
| +12VB | 4.5 A (54 W) | 9.5 A (114 W) | 14.5 A (174 W) | 19 A (228 W) | 25 A (300 W) |
| +5 V | 2 A (10 W) | 4 A (20 W) | 6 A (30 W) | 8 A (40 W) | 10 A (50 W) |
| +3.3 V | 2 A (6.6 W) | 4 A (13.2 W) | 6 A (19.8 W) | 8 A (26.4 W) | 10 A (33 W) |
| +5VSB | 1 A (5 W) | 1.5 A (7.5 W) | 2 A (10 W) | 2.5 A (12.5 W) | 3 A (15 W) |
| -12 V | 0.5 A (6 W) | 0.5 A (6 W) | 0.5 A (6 W) | 0.5 A (6 W) | 0.5 A (6 W) |
| Total | 138.1 W | 279.3 W | 419.3 W | 545.6 W | 706.2 W |
| % Max Load | 19.7% | 39.9% | 59.9% | 77.9% | 100.9% |
| Room Temp. | 46.1° C | 45.5° C | 46.3° C | 48.0° C | 46.3° C |
| PSU Temp. | 50.6° C | 50.5° C | 50.5° C | 51.0° C | 52.6° C |
| Voltage Regulation | Pass | Pass | Pass | Pass | Pass |
| Ripple and Noise | Pass | Pass | Pass | Pass | Pass |
| AC Power | 154.2 W | 307.2 W | 465.5 W | 618.4 W | 818.0 W |
| Efficiency | 89.6% | 90.9% | 90.1% | 88.2% | 86.3% |
| AC Voltage | 119.4 V | 118.9 V | 117.5 V | 116.0 V | 113.5 V |
| Power Factor | 0.983 | 0.981 | 0.989 | 0.994 | 0.995 |
| Final Result | Pass | Pass | Pass | Pass | Pass |
The LEPA G700-MA can really deliver its labeled wattage at high temperatures.
Efficiency was always extremely high, above 90% when we pulled between 40% and 60% of the unit’s labeled power (i.e., between 280 W and 420 W). At full load (700 W) efficiency, it dropped a little below the 87% minimum required by the 80 Plus Gold certification, but this is normal as Ecos Consulting, the company behind the 80 Plus certification, tests power supplies at lower temperatures.
Voltage regulation was very good, with all voltages within 3% of their nominal values, except the +3.3 V output during tests one and two, and the -12 V output during tests four and five. They were, however, still inside the allowed range. This means that voltages were closer to their nominal values than required by the ATX12V specification most of the time. The ATX12V specification says positive voltages must be within 5% of their nominal values, and negative voltages must be within 10% of their nominal values.
Noise and ripple levels were always very low. Below you can see the results for the power supply outputs during test number five. The maximum allowed is 120 mV for +12 V and -12 V outputs, and 50 mV for +5 V, +3.3 V and +5VSB outputs. All values are peak-to-peak figures.
Figure 21: +12VA input from load tester during test five at 706.2 W (45.6 mV)
Figure 22: +12VB input from load tester during test five at 706.2 W (43.4 mV)
Figure 23: +5 V rail during test five at 706.2 W (17.4 mV)
Figure 24: +3.3 V rail during test five at 706.2 W (26.4 mV)
Let’s see if we can pull more than 700 W from this unit.