NZXT HALE90 V2 850 W Power Supply Review

[nextpage title=”Introduction”]

The HALE90 V2 power supply series from NZXT has 850 W, 1,000 W, and 1,200 W models, all with the 80 Plus Gold certification and a fully modular cabling system. Let’s take an in-depth look at the 850 W version.

The HALE90 V2 power supplies are manufactured by FSP, while the previous version of this series was manufactured by Super Flower.

Figure 1: NZXT HALE90 V2 850 W power supply

Figure 2: NZXT HALE90 V2 850 W power supply

The NZXT HALE90 V2 850 W is 7.5” (190 mm) deep. It uses a 135 mm ball-bearing fan on its bottom (Protechnic MGA13512XB-O25).

Figure 3: Fan

The modular cabling system from this power supply is fully modular and has 14 connectors: two for the main motherboard cable, two for EPS12V/ATX12V connectors, four for video card power connectors, and six for peripheral and SATA power connectors. This power supply comes with the following cables:

• Main motherboard cable with a 20/24-pin connector, 25.6” (65 cm) long
• Two cables, each with two ATX12V connectors that together form an EPS12V connector, 25.6” (65 cm) long
• Four cables, each with one six/eight-pin connector for video cards, 25.6” (65 cm) long
• Three cables, each with four SATA power connectors, 19.7” (50 cm) to the first connector, 3.9” (10 cm) between connectors
• Two cables, each with four peripheral power connectors, 19.7” (50 cm) to the first connector, 3.9” (10 cm) between connectors
• Two cables, each with three peripheral power connectors and one floppy disk drive power connector, 19.7” (50 cm) to the first connector, 3.9” (10 cm) between connectors

All wires are 18 AWG, which is the minimum recommended gauge.

This is a somewhat standard configuration for 850 W units. However some competing products bring two additional video card power cables, allowing you to install up to three high-end video cards out-of-the-box. (The reviewed power supply only supports up to two high-end video cards out-of-the-box.)

Figure 4: Cables

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

[nextpage title=”A Look Inside the NZXT HALE90 V2 850 W”]

We decided to disassemble this power supply to see what it looks like inside, how it is designed, and what components are used. Please read our “Anatomy of Switching Power Supplies” tutorial to understand how a power supply works and to compare this power supply to others.         

On this page we will have an overall look, and then in the following pages we will discuss in detail the quality and ratings of the components used.

 

Figure 5: Top view

Figure 6: Front quarter view

Figure 7: Rear quarter view

Figure 8: The printed circuit board

[nextpage title=”Transient Filtering Stage”]

As we have mentioned in other articles and reviews, the first place we look when opening a power supply for a hint about its quality, is its filtering stage. The recommended components for this stage are two ferrite coils, two ceramic capacitors (Y capacitors, usually blue), one metalized polyester capacitor (X capacitor), and one MOV (Metal-Oxide Varistor). Very low-end power supplies use fewer components, usually removing the MOV and the first coil.

In the transient filtering stage, this power supply is “flawless.”

Figure 9: Transient filtering stage (part 1)

Figure 10: Transient filtering stage (part 2)

On the next page, we will have a more detailed discussion of the components used in the NZXT HALE90 V2 850 W.

[nextpage title=”Primary Analysis”]

On this page, we will take an in-depth look at the primary stage of the NZXT HALE90 V2 850 W. For a better understanding, please read our “Anatomy of Switching Power Supplies” tutorial.           

This power supply uses two D15XB60 rectifying bridges, which are attached to an individual heatsink. Each bridge supports up to 15 A at 100° C if a heatsink is used, which is the case here. In theory, you would be able to pull up to 3,450 W from a 115 V power grid. Assuming 80% efficiency, the bridges would allow this unit to deliver up to 2,760 W without burning themselves out (or 3,105 W at 90% efficiency). Of course, we are only talking about these particular components. The real limit will depend on all the components combined in this power supply.

Figure 11: Rectifying bridges

The active PFC circuit uses three IPA60R190C6 MOSFETs, each one supporting up to 20.2 A at 25° C or 12.8 A at 100° C in continuous mode (note the difference temperature makes), or 59 A at 25° C in pulse mode. These transistors present a 190 mΩ maximum resistance when turned on, a characteristic called RDS(on). The lower the number the better, meaning that the transistor will waste less power, and the power supply will have a higher efficiency.

Figure 12: Active PFC transistors

The output of the active PFC circuit is filtered by two 180 μF x 450 V Japanese electrolytic capacitors, from Chemi-Con, labeled at 105° C. They are the equivalent of a single 360 μF x 450 V capacitor.

Figure 13: Capacitors

This power supply uses the active clamp reset forward configuration, which is the configuration chosen by FSP for their power supplies with the 80 Plus Gold and Platinum certifications. Two SPA11N80C3 MOSFETs connected in parallel are in charge of the switching. Each transistor supports up to 11 A at 25° C or 7.1 A at 100° C in continuous mode, or up to 33 A at 25° C in pulse mode, with a maximum RDS(on) of 450 mΩ. A third transistor (resetting transistor) is used for turning off the switching transistors and is controlled from the secondary side of the power supply. The transistor used for this function is an FQPF3N80C.

Figure 14: The switching transistors and the active PFC diode

The primary is managed by a custom-made active PFC/PWM controller called FSP6600. Since this is a custom integrated circuit, no datasheet is available for it.

Figure 15: Active PFC/PWM controller

Let’s now take a look at the secondary of this power supply.

[nextpage title=”Secondary Analysis”]

As one would expect in a high-efficiency power supply, the NZXT HALE90 V2 850 W uses a synchronous design, where the Schottky rectifiers are replaced with MOSFETs, which is done in order to increase efficiency.

The +12 V output uses four IPP023NE7N3 G MOSFETs, each one supporting up to 120 A at 100° C in continuous mode, or up to 480 A at 25° C in pulse mode, with a maximum RDS(on) of 2.3 mΩ.

Figure 16: The +12 V transistors

The +5 V output uses one PSMN2R6-40YS (“2R640PBm”) MOSFET for the direct rectification. This transistor supports up to 100 A at 100° C in continuous mode, with a maximum RDS(on) of 3.7 mΩ. For the “freewheeling” part of the rectification, one IPD036N04L G MOSFET is used. This transistor supports up to 90 A at 25° C or 87 A at 100° C in continuous mode or up to 400 A at 25° C in pulse mode, with a maximum RDS(on) of 3.6 mΩ. These transistors are controlled by an FSP6601 custom integrated circuit.

The +3.3 V output uses the same configuration as the +5 V output, as described above.

Figure 17: The +5 V and +3.3 V transistors

Figure 18: The two synchronous controllers

The outputs are monitored by a WT7527 integrated circuit, which supports over voltage (OVP), under voltage (UVP), and over current (OCP) protections. There are two +12 V over current protection (OCP) channels, but the manufacturer decided to use only one of them, giving this unit a single +12 V rail.

Figure 19: Monitoring circuit

This power supply uses Japanese electrolytic capacitors, from Chemi-Con, labeled at 105° C in its secondary. There are some solid capacitors on the printed circuit board of the modular cabling system.

Figure 20: Capacitors

Figure 21: Capacitors

[nextpage title=”The +5VSB Power Supply”]

The +5VSB (a.k.a. standby) power supply is independent of the main power supply, since it is on continuously.

The switching section of the +5VSB power supply uses an AP03N70I MOSFET, which supports up to 3.3 A at 25° C or 2.1 A at 100° C in continuous mode or up to 10 A at 25° C in pulse mode, with a maximum RDS(on) of 3.6 Ω.

Figure 22: The +5VSB switching transistor

The rectification of the +5VSB output is performed by an STPS20L60CT Schottky rectifier, which supports up to 20 A (10 A per internal diode at 140° C, 0.74 V maximum voltage drop).

Figure 23: The +5VSB rectifier

[nextpage title=”Power Distribution”]

In Figure 24, you can see the power supply label containing all the power specs.

Figure 24: Power supply label

This power supply is has a single +12 V rail, so there is not much to talk about here.

Let’s find out how much power this unit can deliver.

[nextpage title=”Load Tests”]

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 and the +12VB inputs were connected to the power supply’s single +12 V rail (the +12VB input was connected to one of the power supply’s EPS12V connectors).

Input	Test 1	Test 2	Test 3	Test 4	Test 5
+12VA	6 A (72 W)	13 A (156 W)	19 A (228 W)	25.5 A (306 W)	32 A (384 W)
+12VB	6 A (72 W)	13 A (156 W)	19 A (228 W)	25.5 A (306 W)	31.5 A (378 W)
+5 V	1 A (5 W)	2 A (10 W)	4 A (20 W)	6 A (30 W)	8 A (40 W)
+3.3 V	1 A (3.3 W)	2 A (6.6 W)	4 A (13.2 W)	6 A (19.8 W)	8 A (26.4 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	165.6 W	345.6 W	507.3 W	678.4 W	846.8 W
% Max Load	19.5%	40.7%	59.7%	79.8%	99.6%
Room Temp.	46.6° C	46.3° C	49.2° C	47.4° C	49.9° C
PSU Temp.	49.1° C	49.5° C	50.0° C	47.5° C	50.8° C
Voltage Regulation	Pass	Pass	Pass	Pass	Pass
Ripple and Noise	Pass	Pass	Pass	Pass	Pass
AC Power	187.2 W	380.3 W	559.4 W	758.0 W	958.0 W
Efficiency	88.5%	90.9%	90.7%	89.5%	88.4%
AC Voltage	117.2 V	115.2 V	112.7 V	110.7 V	108.7 V
Power Factor	0.977	0.992	0.997	0.997	0.997
Final Result	Pass	Pass	Pass	Pass	Pass

The 80 Plus Gold certification promises efficiency of at least 87% under light (i.e., 20%) load, 90% under typical (i.e., 50%) load, and 87% under full (i.e., 100%) load. The NZXT HALE90 V2 850 W was able to surpass these requirements at high temperatures, which is excellent.

Let’s discuss voltage regulation on the next page.

[nextpage title=”Voltage Regulation Tests”]

The ATX12V specification states that positive voltages must be within 5% of their nominal values, and negative voltages must be within 10% of their nominal values. We consider a power supply as “flawless” if it shows voltages within 3% of their nominal values. In the table below, you can see the power supply voltages during our tests and, in the following table, the deviation, in percentage, of their nominal values.

The NZXT HALE90 V2 850 W presented excellent voltage regulation for the +12 V and +5 V outputs. The +3.3 V output, however, was outside the 3% range that we like to see to consider a power supply as “flawless”.

Input	Test 1	Test 2	Test 3	Test 4	Test 5
+12VA	+12.20 V	+12.14 V	+12.10 V	+12.04 V	+12.00 V
+12VB	+12.20 V	+12.13 V	+12.05 V	+11.97 V	+11.89 V
+5 V	+5.01 V	+4.98 V	+4.96 V	+4.94 V	+4.91 V
+3.3 V	+3.26 V	+3.24 V	+3.21 V	+3.19 V	+3.17 V
+5VSB	+4.98 V	+4.95 V	+4.92 V	+4.89 V	+4.85 V
-12 V	-11.96 V	-11.98 V	-12.00 V	-12.03 V	-12.05 V

 

Input	Test 1	Test 2	Test 3	Test 4	Test 5
+12VA	1.67%	1.17%	0.83%	0.33%	0.00%
+12VB	1.67%	1.08%	0.42%	-0.25%	-0.92%
+5 V	0.20%	-0.40%	-0.80%	-1.20%	-1.80%
+3.3 V	-1.21%	-1.82%	-2.73%	-3.33%	-3.94%
+5VSB	-0.40%	-1.00%	-1.60%	-2.20%	-3.00%
-12 V	0.33%	0.17%	0.00%	-0.25%	-0.42%

Let’s discuss the ripple and noise levels on the next page.

[nextpage title=”Ripple and Noise Tests “]

Voltages at the power supply outputs must be as “clean” as possible, with no noise or oscillation (also known as “ripple”). The maximum ripple and noise levels allowed are 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. We consider a power supply as being top-notch if it can produce half or less of the maximum allowed ripple and noise levels.

The NZXT HALE90 V2 850 W provided extremely low ripple and noise levels, making it a “flawless” unit on this test.

Input	Test 1	Test 2	Test 3	Test 4	Test 5
+12VA	6.2 mV	7.4 mV	9.2 mV	11.2 mV	13.2 mV
+12VB	6.2 mV	7.4 mV	9.2 mV	10.4 mV	13.0 mV
+5 V	6.2 mV	6.8 mV	8.8 mV	10.2 mV	11.2 mV
+3.3 V	8.8 mV	7.4 mV	8.2 mV	8.8 mV	10.2 mV
+5VSB	11.6 mV	11.4 mV	12.6 mV	13.4 mV	15.2 mV
-12 V	29.8 mV	37.8 mV	47.0 mV	56.2 mV	67.8 mV

Below you can see the waveforms of the outputs during test five.

Figure 25: +12VA input from load tester during test five at 846.8 W (13.2 mV)

Figure 26: +12VB input from load tester during test five at 846.8 W (13.0 mV)

Figure 27: +5V rail during test five at 846.8 W (11.2 mV)

Figure 28: +3.3 V rail during test five at 846.8 W (10.2 mV)

Let’s see if we can pull more than 850 W from this unit.

[nextpage title=”Overload Tests”]

Below you can see the maximum we could pull from this power supply. The objective of this test is to see if the power supply has its protection circuits working properly. We were unable to check whether the protections from the reviewed power supply were active or not, since we were limited by our testing equipment, which can only pull up to 1,000 W. During this test, noise and ripple levels were still extremely low, and voltages were still inside the allowed range, except for the +3.3 V output, which was at +3.09 V (6.36% below its nominal value).

Input	Overload Test
+12VA	33 A (396 W)
+12VB	33 A (396 W)
+5 V	26 A (130 W)
+3.3 V	26 A (85.8 W)
+5VSB	3 A (15 W)
-12 V	0.5 A (6 W)
Total	998.4 W
% Max Load	117.5%
Room Temp.	44.8° C
PSU Temp.	49.7° C
AC Power	1,179 W
Efficiency	84.7%
AC Voltage	106.2 V
Power Factor	0.997

[nextpage title=”Main Specifications”]

The main specifications for the NZXT HALE90 V2 850 W power supply include:

• Standards: ATX12V 2.31 and EPS12V 2.92
• Nominal labeled power: 850 W
• Measured maximum power: 998.4 W at 44.8° C (limited by our equipment)
• Labeled efficiency: Up to 90%, 80 Plus Gold certification (87% at light/20% load, 90% at typical/50% load, and 87% at full/100% load)
• Measured efficiency: Between 88.4% and 90.9% at 115 V (nominal, see complete results for actual voltage)
• Active PFC: Yes
• Modular Cabling System: Yes, full
• Motherboard Power Connectors: One 20/24-pin connector and two cables, each with two ATX12V connectors that together form an EPS12V connector
• Video Card Power Connectors: Four six/eight-pin connectors on four cables
• SATA Power Connectors: 12 on three cables
• Peripheral Power Connectors: 14 on four cables
• Floppy Disk Drive Power Connectors: Two on two cables
• Protections (as listed by the manufacturer): Over voltage (OVP), under voltage (UVP), over power (OPP), over temperature (OTP), and short-circuit (SCP)
• Are the above protections really available? Couldn’t test (limited by our equipment).
• Warranty: Five Years
• More Information:https://www.nzxt.com
• Average Price in the U.S.*: USD 190.00

* Researched at Newegg.com on the day we published this review.

[nextpage title=”Conclusions”]

The NZXT HALE90 V2 850 W is a very good power supply with the 80 Plus Gold certification and a fully modular cabling system. During our tests it presented efficiency between 88.4% and 90.9% at high temperatures, extremely low noise and ripple levels, and excellent voltage regulation for the +12 V and +5 V outputs. The voltage regulation on the +3.3 V output, however, was not spectacular, although this output remained within the allowed range. Another slight negative point of this power supply is the presence of “only” four cables for video cards, where some competing products offer six, allowing you to install three high-end video cards without the need for power adapters.

The main problem of this power supply, however, is pricing. At USD 190, it is an expensive unit. For instance, the Corsair AX850, which also comes with a fully modular cabling system and the 80 Plus Gold certification, is sold for USD 170.