Rosewill Green Series 630 W (RG630-S12) Power Supply Review

[nextpage title=”Introduction”]

Rosewill Green Series 630 W (RG630-S12) is an inexpensive power supply, costing only USD 70. But is it a good product? Let’s check it out.

This power supply is manufactured by ATNG. Interesting enough internally this power supply uses the same design from another unit from Rosewill that we’ve already tested, Performance 650 W, which for some reason is not listed on Rosewill’s website. In our tests with Performance 650 W we discovered that it could not deliver its labeled power at high temperatures. It seems that Rosewill got the same power supply, put components with higher current limits on the secondary and reduced its labeled power (and stating that it can deliver 630 W at 40° C), selling it with a different name. It is really nice to see a manufacturer following our reviews! We wish all manufacturers were like this!

Figure 1: Rosewill Green Series 630 W power supply.

Figure 2: Rosewill Green Series 630 W power supply.

Rosewill Green Series 630 W is only 5 ½” (140 mm) deep, using a 120 mm fan on its bottom and active PFC circuit, of course.

All cables are protected by nylon sleevings, which come from inside the power supply housing. Cables are somewhat long, measuring 20 ½” (52 cm) between the housing and the first connector on the cable, and 5 ½” (140 mm) between connectors on cables with more than one connector. All wires are 18 AWG, which is the correct gauge to be used, except the +3.3 V (orange) wires on the main motherboard connector, which are thicker (16 AWG).

The cables included are:

• Main motherboard cable with a 20/24-pin connector (20”or 51 cm).
• One cable with two ATX12V connectors that together form one EPS12V connector (21 ½” or 55 cm).
• One auxiliary power cable for video cards with one six/eight-pin video card auxiliary power connector (19” or 48 cm).
• One auxiliary power cable for video cards with one six-pin video card auxiliary power connector (19” or 48 cm).
• Two SATA power cables with three SATA power connectors each (17” or 43 cm to the first connector, 6” or 15 cm between connectors).
• One peripheral power cable with three standard peripheral power plugs each (17” or 43 cm to the first connector, 6” or 15 cm between connectors).
• One peripheral power cable with three standard peripheral power plugs each and one floppy disk drive power connector (17” or 43 cm to the first connector, 6” or 15 cm between connectors).

There are good and bad news about the wires used on Rosewill Green Series 630 W. On the main motherboard cable the wires are thicker than required (16 AWG), however on the peripheral and SATA cables the wires are thinner than required (20 AWG). The video card and ATX12V/EPS12V cables use the correct wire gauge (18 AWG).

Figure 3: Cables.

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

[nextpage title=”A Look Inside The Rosewill Green Series 630 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.

This page will be an overview, and then in the following pages we will discuss in detail the quality and ratings of the components used. As mentioned, internally this unit uses the same design as Performance 650 W from the same manufacturer, but with components with higher current limits on the secondary.

Figure 4: Overall look.

Figure 5: Overall look.

Figure 6: Overall look.

[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.

This power supply is flawless on this stage, with two Y capacitors and three X capacitors more than the minimum required.

Figure 7: Transient filtering stage (part 1).

Figure 8: Transient filtering stage (part 2).

In the next page we will have a more detailed discussion about the components used in the Rosewill Green Series 630 W.

[nextpage title=”Primary Analysis”]

On this page we will take an in-depth look at the primary stage of Rosewill Green Series 630 W. For a better understanding, please read our Anatomy of Switching Power Supplies tutorial.

This power supply uses one GBU806 rectifying bridge in its primary, which can deliver up to 8 A at 100° C if a heatsink is used, which is the case (without a heatsink the current limit drops to 3.2 A). At 115 V this unit wo
uld be able to pull up to 920 W from the power grid; assuming 80% efficiency, the bridge would allow this unit to deliver up to 736 W without burning this component. Of course we are only talking about this component and the real limit will depend on all other components from the power supply.

Figure 9: Rectifying bridge.

On the active PFC circuit two SPW20N60C3 power MOSFET transistors are used, each one capable of delivering up to 20.7 A at 25° C or 13.1 A at 100° C in continuous mode (note the difference temperature makes), or up to 62.1 A in pulse mode at 25° C. These transistors present a resistance of 190 mΩ when turned on, a characteristic called RDS(on). This number indicates the amount of power that is wasted, so the lower this number the better, as less power will be wasted thus increasing efficiency.

This power supply uses a Taiwanese capacitor from Teapo labeled at 85° C to filter the output from the active PFC circuit.

In the switching section, another two SPW20N60C3 power MOSFET transistors are used on the traditional two-transistor forward configuration.

Figure 10: +5VSB switching transistor, one of the active PFC transistors and the two switching transistors.

The primary is controlled by a CM6800 PFC/PWM combo controller.

Figure 11: PFC/PWM combo controller.

Now let’s take a look at the secondary of this power supply.

[nextpage title=”Secondary Analysis”]

This power supply uses four Schottky rectifiers on its secondary, all the same model: S30D40C (30 A, 15 A per internal diode at 125° C, maximum voltage drop of 0.65 V). The main difference between Rosewill Green Series 630 W and Performance 650 W lies here. Even though on the Performance 650 W sample we’ve got most components were scratched, we can definitely say that at least the +5 V and +3.3 V rectifiers had inferior current limits (the +3.3 V output used a 20 A rectifier). So this 630 W model is, at least in theory, more powerful than this 650 W model.

The maximum theoretical current each line can deliver is given by the formula I / (1 – D), where D is the duty cycle used and I is the maximum current supported by the rectifying diode. Just as an exercise, we can assume a typical duty cycle of 30%.

The +12 V output is produced by two of the rectifiers, giving us a maximum theoretical current of 43 A or 514 W.

The +5 V output is produced by one of the rectifiers, giving us a maximum theoretical current of 21 A or 107 W.

The +3.3 V output is produced by the last rectifier, giving us a maximum theoretical current of 21 A or 71 W.

All these numbers are theoretical. The real amount of current/power each output can deliver is limited by other components, especially by the coils used on each output.

Figure 12: +12 V, +5 V and +3.3 V rectifiers.

The outputs are monitored by a WT7510 integrated circuit, which supports only under voltage (UVP), over voltage (OVP) protections. Any other protection that this unit may have is implemented outside this integrated circuit. Notice how the printed circuit board shown in Figure 13 has space for the installation of another integrated circuit, probably supporting the protections that are missing.

Figure 13: Monitoring circuit.

Electrolytic capacitors from the secondary are also from Teapo and labeled at 105° C.

[nextpage title=”Power Distribution”]

In Figure 14, you can see the power supply label containing all the power specs.

Figure 14: Power supply label.

This power supply uses a single-rail design, so there is not much to talk about here. Notice that this power supply uses +12 V wires with different colors, but this doesn’t mean anything: in order to have more than one rail, a power supply must have separate over current protection circuits for each rail, which is not the case of this unit.

Now let’s see if this power supply can really deliver 650 W.

[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 how the reviewed unit behaved 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 power listed for each test, you may find a different value than what is posted under “Total” below. Since each output can vary slightly (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. On the “Total” row we are using the real amount of power being delivered, as measured by our load tester.

The +12V1 and +12V2 inputs listed below are the two +12 V independent inputs from our load tester. During this test both were connected to the single +12 V rail from this power supply.

Input	Test 1	Test 2	Test 3	Test 4	Test 5
+12V1	5 A (60 W)	10 A (120 W)	14.5 A (174 W)	19 A (228 W)	24 A (288 W)
+1 2V2	4.5 A (54 W)	9.5 A (114 W)	14 A (168 W)	19 A (228 W)	24 A (288 W)
+5V	1 A (5 W)	2 A (10 W)	4 A (20 W)	5 A (25 W)	6 A (30 W)
+3.3 V	1 A (3.3 W)	2 A (6.6 W)	4 A (13.2 W)	5 A (16.5 W)	6 A (19.8 W)
+5VSB	1 A (5 W)	1 A (5 W)	1.5 A (7.5 W)	2 A (10 W)	2.5 A (12.5 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	134.5 W	264.4 W	392.6 W	519.8 W	626.8 W
% Max Load	21.3%	42.0%	62.3%	82.5%	99.5%
Room Temp.	45.9° C	44.8° C	45.2° C	46.3° C	45.4° C
PSU Temp.	50.9° C	50.6° C	50.8° C	52.2° C	53.4° C
Voltage Regulation	Pass	Pass	Pass	Pass	Pass
Ripple and Noise	Pass	Pass	Pass	Pass	Pass
AC Power	159.5 W	311.0 W	469.4 W	633.0 W	780.0 W
Efficiency	84.3%	85.0%	83.6%	82.1%	80.4%
AC Voltage	117.3 V	116.0 V	114.7 V	113.2 V	111.9 V
Power Factor	0.966	0.986	0.993	0.994	0.998
Final Result	Pass	Pass	Pass	Pass	Pass

Rosewill Green Series 630 W can really deliver its labeled wattage at high temperatures.

Efficiency was high when we pulled up to 60% from its labeled wattage (i.e., up to 378 W), being between 83.6% and 84.3%. At 80% load (504 W) efficiency dropped to 82% and at full load (630 W) efficiency dropped to 80.4%.

Interesting enough Ecos Consulting gave this unit 80 Plus Bronze certification, however the manufacturer downgraded this unit to the standard 80 Plus certification, what we think was a smart move, because efficiency drops with temperature and the temperature used to collect data for the 80 Plus certification is unrealistic (read our Can We Trust the 80 Plus Certification? article for more details).

Voltages were always inside the allowed range, the same thing happening with noise and ripple, see below. All values are peak-to-peak figures and the maximum allowed is 120 mV for the +12 V outputs and 50 mV for the +5 V and +3.3 V outputs.

Figure 15: +12V1 input from load tester at 626.8 W (77.8 mV).

Figure 16: +12V2 input from load tester at 626.8 W (81.2 mV).

Figure 17: +5V rail with power supply delivering 626.8 W (37.2 mV).

Figure 18: +3.3 V rail with power supply delivering 626.8 W (17.8 mV).

Now let’s see if we could pull more than 630 W from this unit.

[nextpage title=”Overload Tests”]

Before overloading power supplies we always test first if the over current protection (OCP) circuit is active and at what level it is configured.

In order to do that we configured the +5 V and +3.3 V rails with just 1 A and increased current on the single +12 V rail up to the maximum our load tester can pull (66 A), but the power supply didn’t shut down. This means that either OCP is not present or configured at a value above 66 A.

Then starting from test five we increased currents to the maximum we could with the power supply still running. If we increased one amp on any output the power supply would immediately shut down. In fact after running on the below configuration for about 45 seconds the unit would shut down, showing that its over power protection was active. Nice.

Input	Maximum
+12V1	26 A (312 W)
+12V2	26 A (312 W)
+5V	6 A (30 W)
+3.3 V	6 A (19.8 W)
+5VSB	2.5 A (12.5 W)
-12 V	0.5 A (6 W)
Total	669.8 W
% Max Load	106.3%
Room Temp.	45.4° C
PSU Temp.	53.4° C
AC Power	847.0 W
Efficiency	79.1%
AC Voltage	111.6 V
Power Factor	0.998

[nextpage title=”Main Specifications”]

Rosewill Green Series 630 W power supply specs include:

• ATX12V 2.3
• EPS12V 2.92
• Nominal labeled power: 630 W at 40° C.
• Measured maximum power: 669.8 WW at 45.4° C
• Labeled efficiency: 80% minimum, 85% maximum (80 Plus certified)
• Measured efficiency: Between 80.4% and 85.0% at 115 V (nominal, see complete results for actual voltage).
• Active PFC: Yes.
• Modular Cabling System: No.
• Motherboard Power Connectors: One 20/24-pin connector and two ATX12V connectors that together form an EPS12V connector.
• Video Card Power Connectors: One six-pin and one six/eight-pin connectors in separated cables.
• SATA Power Connectors: Six in two cables.
• Peripheral Power Connectors: Six in two cables.
• Floppy Disk Drive Power Connectors: One.
• Protections: Over voltage (OVP, not tested), under voltage (UVP, not tested), over current (OCP, not tested), over power (OPP, tested and working) and short-circuit protection (SCP, tested and working).
• Warranty: Two years
• Real Manufacturer: ATNG
• More Information: https://www.rosewill.com
• Average price in the US*: USD 70.00.

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

[nextpage title=”Conclusions”]

Rosewill Green Series 630 W (RG630-S12) is a great choice for users looking for a good cost-effective solution. Of course there are better power supplies from this power range on the market (Nexus RX-6300, for example), but not at USD 70.

Efficiency was very high (up to 85%) when we pulled up to 60% from its labeled capacity (i.e., 378 W). Above that efficiency dropped, but still above the 80% mark. Voltages w
ere always inside the allowed range, the same thing happening with noise and ripple.

The number of cables and connectors is satisfactory for users looking for a power supply on this range. The only thing we would do differently was to use 18 AWG wires instead of 20 AWG on the peripheral and SATA cables.

Due to its good cost/benefit ratio we are giving this power supply our “Golden Award.” Of course the price was the item that most helped with this decision.