Cougar CMX V3 850W Power Supply Overview
Testing
[sc:power_supply_testing_disclaimer ]
Our testing of power supplies is very basic. We do not have a load tester nor do we have an oscilloscope so true load testing and power quality are out of the question. But what I can do is measure voltage both outside the system and inside. To test outside the system, I use a Thermaltake Dr. Power II. Testing during a load is done with the aid of OCCT and Aida 64.
| System Configuration | |||
| CPU | Intel i7 4770K | ||
| Ram | Adata XPG DDR3 2133 MHz 8 GB | ||
| GPU | EVGA nVidia GTX 650 TI Boost OC | ||
| Hard Drives | Kingston HyperX 120 GB SSD | ||
| OCZ 120 GB SSD | |||
| Power Supply | Cougar CMX V3 850 Watt Power Supply | ||
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After plugging the Cougar CMX V3 850W Power Supply into the Thermaltake Dr. Power II I switched the power supply on. The initial screen on the Dr. Power II gives an overview. We can see here that all the voltages are within spec. Keep in mind this is no load voltage testing.
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The PCI voltage reading came back with 12.2 volts. This result is within the specifications.
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The CPU and Molex tests are next. The CPU voltage came in at 12.2 volts. In the Molex test both the 12 volt and 5 volt rails are read. The 12 volt rail came in at 12.1 volts and the 5 volt rail read 5.1 volts.
Based on my research, the ATX specification allows for a 3% variation in voltages. High quality power supplies will keep this closer to 1 to 2% variation in voltage.
Next up we will test in a complete system. Based on the components chosen for the test rig, I believe I was able to put a load on the power supply of 20-30%.
For the test I installed the Cougar CMX V3 850W Power Supply in my test system and fired up Windows 8.1 Pro. I used OCCT’s power supply test and used the Aida64 plug in to measure voltages. OCCT generated the graphs at the end of the one hour test.
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Voltage on the 12 volt rail during the test ranged from 12.03 volts to 12.10 volts as reported by OCCT. Based on the ATX Specification this falls well within specification.
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The 3.3 volt rail shows similar results. Voltages ranged from 3.35 volts on the low side to 3.37 volts on the high side during the test.
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The voltage on the 5 volt rail remained steady during the test as reported by OCCT. Voltage was constant at 5.08 volts.
I’m not sure what point using a Dr. Power II, an uncalibrated, unqualified low-resolution device, and the built-in voltage monitor has to do with showing if the PSU is in spec.
– No basic multimeter to show voltage under various loads? Cost for a tool capable of this is ~$20-50.
– No basic oscilloscope to view ripple on the lines? Cost for a tool capable of this is ~$50-100.
I don’t expect you to have a good ammeter or dummy loads – this isn’t a professional review after all, more a basic product overview – but how does the statement “I believe I was able to put a load on the power supply of 20-30%” inspire confidence in test results? Especially when, on the last page, the author states “According to the load test results, the Cougar CMX V3 850W Power Supply was able to deliver consistent clean power at 100% load” – but where was this 100% load test? And how did you determine the power is clean? (No, the motherboard voltage monitor won’t tell you this.) And besides, I thought the PSU only had a “believed” 20-30% load? (And if you mean “system” load, perhaps you should have written this…but it still confuses matters even mentioning 100% load).
Even the cheapest PSUs today can look like this between 0% and 40% load. These tests show nothing useful.
Reviewing a power supply isn’t as simple as plugging it in and saying “yup, it works.” It takes time, test equipment, and skills to use said equipment. As for review vs overview, the test results push this into “review” territory, and the results are utterly pointless. Perhaps the tests are best left omitted. However, if the reviewer is wanting to test PSUs and needs guidelines on how to write a quality power supply review, he should look at jonnyguru or HardOCP PSU reviews…and actually read them, as the sites are mentioned in the article!
Thanks for the reply and we appreciate any feedback to see how we can approve our reviews. I can see that you are a fan of power supplies and reviews. I agree that other sites that have the ability to load test the units and do a great job with the reviews. I would point towards http://www.jonnyguru.com as the place to go, and btw I know both Jon and Tony (Tazz) who run the site. Tony is actually a founding member here at Modders-Inc.
I would like to point out one item that is we do state at the beginning of our psu reviews that…”Our power supply reviews are intended to only cover the features of the power supply, thus we call them a Power Supply Overview. This is due to the fact of not having the appropriate equipment to test them to our and your standards. Because of this you will not see any load or performance testing sections, but we will give you our best thoughts about the product. Thank you~ Modders-Inc”
Showing a few voltages and some OCCT screen shots in my option does not make this a full on testing review. Were as still trying to supply some information about the product and at least try to make it more interesting to the readers.
Your statement of “the author states “According to the load test results, the Cougar CMX V3 850W Power Supply was able to deliver consistent clean power at 100% load” – but where was this 100% load test? And how did you determine the power is clean?” The answer to this is listed in plan view. The author clearly states…”According to the load test results (@JonnyGuru), the Cougar CMX V3 850W Power Supply was able to deliver consistent clean power at 100% load and remain within ATX specification and in some cases was able to exceed the 80-plus bronze certification and break into the 80-plus silver arena.”
We are always looking to improve our reviews and your comments will be taken and talked about within the group to see if and how we can make changes.
Thank you, Dewayne