NZXT HALE90 V2 850 W Power Supply Review

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.