TiVECO TVPS450 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.”
Because we had no clue as to the real wattage of this power supply, we tested it differently. Starting from 85 W, we increased the load little by little until we could see the maximum amount of power we could extract from the reviewed unit.
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, both inputs were connected to the power supply’s single +12 V rail.
| Input | Test 1 | Test 2 | Test 3 | Test 4 | Test 5 | Test 6 |
| +12VA | 3 A (36 W) | 3.5 A (42 W) | 4.5 A (54 W) | 5.5 A (66 W) | 6.25 A (75 W) | 7.5 A (90 W) |
| +12VB | 2.5 A (30 W) | 3.25 A (39 W) | 4 A (48 W) | 5 A (60 W) | 6 A (72 W) | 7 A (84 W) |
| +5 V | 1 A (5 W) | 1 A (5 W) | 1.5 A (7.5 A) | 1.5 A (7.5 A) | 2 A (10 W) | 2 A (10 W) |
| +3.3 V | 1 A (5 W) | 1 A (5 W) | 1.5 A (4.95 W) | 1.5 A (4.95 W) | 2 A (6.6 W) | 2 A (6.6 W) |
| +5VSB | 1 A (5 W) | 1 A (5 W) | 1 A (5 W) | 1 A (5 W) | 1 A (5 W) | 1 A (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) | 0.5 A (6 W) |
| Tot al |
85.1 W | 99.7 W | 125.2 W | 148.3 W | 173.0 W | 198.9 W |
| % Max Load | 18.9% | 22.2% | 27.8% | 33.0% | 38.4% | 44.2% |
| Room Temp. | 40.5° C | 40.4° C | 41.1° C | 41.1° C | 41.2° C | 41.4° C |
| PSU Temp. | 40.4° C | 40.1° C | 40.2° C | 40.4° C | 40.6° C | 40.8° C |
| Voltage Regulation | Pass | Pass | Pass | Pass | Pass | Pass |
| Ripple and Noise | Pass | Pass | Pass | Pass | Pass | Pass |
| AC Power | 119.4 W | 130.4 W | 161.4 W | 191.5 W | 224.3 W | 260.4 W |
| Efficiency | 73.9% | 75.3% | 76.7% | 77.4% | 77.6% | 77.5% |
| AC Voltage | 117.9 V | 117.8 V | 117.3 V | 117.2 V | 116.7 V | 116.5 V |
| Power Factor | 0.633 | 0.641 | 0.648 | 0.653 | 0.654 | 0.654 |
| Final Result | Pass | Pass | Pass | Pass | Pass | Pass |
| Input | Test 7 | Test 8 | Test 9 | Test 10 | Test 11 |
| +12VA | 8.25 A (99 W) | 9.25 A (111 W) | 10 A (120 W) | 11 A (132 W) | 12 A (144 W) |
| +12VB | 8 A (96 W) | 9 A (108 W) | 10 A (120 W) | 11 A (132 W) | 11.75 A (141 W) |
| +5 V | 2.5 A (12.5 W) | 2.5 A (12.5 W) | 3 A (15 W) | 3 A (15 W) | 3.5 A (17.5 W) |
| +3.3 V | 2.5 A (8.25 W) | 2.5 A (8.25 W) | 3 A (9.9 W) | 3 A (9.9 W) | 3.5 A (11.55 W) |
| +5VSB | 1 A (5 W) | 1 A (5 W) | 1 A (5 W) | 1 A (5 W) | 1 A (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 | 222.4 W | 244.8 W | 267.8 W | 287.3 W | 309.9 W |
| % Max Load | 49.4% | 54.4% | 59.5% | 63.8% | 68.9% |
| Room Temp. | 42.2° C | 42.6° C | 44.4° C | 45.3° C | 46.6° C |
| PSU Temp. | 41.2° C | 41.9° C | 43.1° C | 43.9° C | 45.3° C |
| Voltage Regulation | Pass | Pass | Pass | Pass | Fail on +12VB |
| Ripple and Noise | Pass | Pass | Pass | Pass | Pass |
| AC Power | 288.6 W | 319.2 W | 353.1 W | 384.9 W | 421.1 W |
| Efficiency | 77.1% | 76.7% | 75.8% | 74.6% | 73.6% |
| AC Voltage | 116.2 V | 115.4 V | 115.5 V | 115.0 V | 114.7 V |
| Power Factor | 0.657 | 0.658 | 0.66 | 0.661 | 0.662 |
| Final Result | Pass | Pass | Pass | Pass | Fail |
As we suspected, the TiVECO TVPS450 can’t deliver its labeled wattage. This power supply burned during what would be our test number 12. The switching transistor was the component that burned.
Efficiency was always below 80%, between 73.6 and 77.6 percent. Keep in mind that the manufacturer promises 80% minimum efficiency, which is a lie. See Figure 1.
Voltage regulation was not bad for a product in this class. Until test seven, all outputs were within three percent of their nominal values, except the -12 V output, which was still inside the proper range. In the table below, we show which outputs were outside the tighter 3% range we like to see in order to consider a power supply “flawless.” The outputs that were within three percent of their nominal values were labeled “≤ 3%.” Only during test 11 the voltage at the +12VB input of our load tester was outside the allowed range. 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.
| Input | Test 8 | Test 9 | Test 10 | Test 11 |
| +12VA | ≤ 3% | +11.61 V | +11.51 V | +11.43 V |
| +12VB | +11.61 V | +11.53 V | +11.40 V | +11.32 V |
| +5 V | ≤ 3% | ≤ 3% | ≤ 3% | ≤ 3% |
| +3.3 V | ≤ 3% | ≤ 3% | ≤ 3% | ≤ 3% |
| +5VSB | ≤ 3% | ≤ 3% | ≤ 3% | ≤ 3% |
| -12 V | -11.53 V | -11.61 V | -11.60 V | -11.62 V |
Let’s discuss the ripple and noise levels on the next page.
