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Enermax Infiniti 720w Modular PSU Page: 1
Introduction

Just over a month ago I was given the opportunity to review the Enermax Galaxy 1kw PSU. The unit performed amazingly well in the OC3D tests and obtained our Editors Choice award along with a really respectable 96% final score.

For me, there was only one small downfall with the Galaxy - its enormous size. Those of us with full-tower cases and plenty of space around the PSU area certainly wouldn't have any problems, but for people like me with a fully packed-out case, squeezing the Galaxy inside would require much more than a shoe-horn and some petroleum jelly.

Enermax have always been innovators, and one of the very few companies that actually design and build their own PSU's. For this reason it's no surprise to see them answering consumers demands by producing a power supply that combines some of the Galaxy's award winning features inside a standard ATX sized casing. Are Enermax on to a winner? Let's find out..

Packaging

Packaging is an area where Enermax never fails to impress. All of the previous Enermax products I've reviewed here on Overclock3D have shown originality, attention to detail and most importantly good protection for the item contained within.

The Infinity comes in a rather professional looking box with a grey and white gradient theme throughout. On the front of the box Enermax have printed the Infinity's slogan of "Dual Quad Triple + 18" with some information on what this actually means. Turning the box around to the back we can see that Enermax have printed the Infiniti's specifications in a total of 8 languages along with diagrams on what modular cables are included with the unit.

The images above show all four corners of the Infiniti's packaging which are jam packed with information to say the least. Enermax have provided figures on the Infiniti's efficiency compared with 2 other un-named power supplies and have even calculated how much money you could save by purchasing the Infinity over a lower-efficiency unit.

In addition to this, Enermax have also printed information on two of the Infiniti's more unique features: Coolguard (a system that keeps your fans running after the PC has been turned off) and PowerGuard (an LED and Buzzer system that warns of any potential issues with the unit).

To make sure that no damage comes to the Infiniti, Enermax have placed a cardboard sleeve around the unit to prevent anything from scratching its surface, and then placed it inside a bubblewrap bag. Additional padding is also provided by the cable bundle and Infiniti accessories box.

You can expect to find the following items inside the box:
• Enermax Infiniti PSU
• Pack of modular cables.
• Infiniti manual and leaflets
• ATX screws
• Power cord
• Enermax Stickers
• Molex > 2x Floppy power adapter.

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Specifications

The following information has been taken directly from Enermax's website:

• Three separated 12V rails
The best rail design for this PSU class.
• Modular Cables
SATA or PATA without restrictions.
• DUAL QUAD TRIPLE + 18
DUAL CPU QUAD CORE TRIPLE GRAPHICS 18 DRIVES.
• 82-85% efficiency
@20-100% load to minimizing the electricity bill.
• 24/7 @ 40°C
Running with full power in industrial environments.
• Tight & Stable
Essential to high-end systems.
• CoolGuard
The new patent feature, running not only PSU fan after shutdown, but all system fans to get the heat out of the system and increasing system lifetime by up to 20%.
• PowerGuard
The world’s first desktop PSU series with 4-mode PSU status alarm with reset button.
• Security
OCP, OLP, SCP, OVP, UVP & OTP secure PSU and system from damage.
• Leading PCB design
The foundation of ENERMAX’ philosophy and its products to make the utmost possible.
• Silent & Cool
A special 13.5cm fan ensures cool performance and silent operation

CoolGuard
Infiniti Coolguard

PowerGuard
Infiniti PowerGuard

From the above list of features it's clear to see that Enermax have stuck to their word about encorporating some of the Galaxy's best features into the Infiniti. The 'PowerGuard' system found on the Galaxy has been fully ported over, allowing the end-user to see at a glance the status of their PSU and diagnose any potential faults.

A new and very cool feature (excuse the pun) found on the Infiniti is 'CoolGuard'. This keeps the fan inside the PSU and your system running for a set amount of time after the PC has been switched off. Enermax claims that this can help extend the life of PC components by actively cooling them after shutdown rather than allowing them to cool via natural convection.

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Appearance

Enermax have never been the kind of company to go for a mat black finish on their high end units and the Infiniti is certainly no exception. With its brushed aluminium gunmetal grey housing, the Infiniti oozes quality and would certainly be a great companion for any high-end brushed aluminium PC case.

No Enermax PSU is complete without its trademark gold 'bling' fan grill and I certainly wasn't surprised to see it making a re-appearance on the Infiniti. Beneath the grill is the very same 135mm clear plastic fan found on the Galaxy series, which proved to be very quiet in our previous tests.

Around the back of the unit we can see Enermax's PowerGuard LED along with an inset reset button for silencing the PowerGuard's buzzer. As with most modern PSU's the Infiniti has the ability to auto-detect input voltage and switch between 110v/240v accordingly. Therefore, the back of the unit does not feature a voltage selector switch.

The front of the Infiniti sports 8 modular power connectors, 2 of which are dedicated to providing power to PCI-Express cards. Like many other modular units, Enermax have decided not to make the ATX and P4/EPS power cables modular.

The left-hand side of the unit is covered with the usual specifications sticker detailing the wattage output of the PSU across all of its 7 rails, with the right-hand side of the unit being a blank canvas apart from the embossed Enermax logo.

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Cables & Connectors

The modular power supply is one of those inventions that has the PC enthusiast communities split down the middle. Some think that the modular design is a great design - keeping the inside of your PC tidy while also maximising airflow. Others believe that it is unreliable and can cause increased resistance where poor connectors are used. In the end it really comes down to the quality and type of connectors the manufacturer has adopted for the unit and how well they have implemented the design.

Enermax have made the wise decision of using PCI-E style modular connectors on the Infiniti. These connectors have proven to be extremely sturdy on the Galaxy and Libery series, so it's good to see that Enermax have continuted to use them on the Infiniti.

As you can see from the images above, the Infiniti is not entirely modular. Cables like the main ATX 24-pin connector, 8-pin EPS connector and a 6/8-Pin PCI-E connector are hard-wired into the unit as almost every PC will require these cables as a bare minimum.

The Infiniti comes with enough modular cables for almost any system configuration, and even has a canvas pouch to keep any unused ones in afterwards. All cables are professionally sleeved in gold and black mesh up to the first connector making a nice change from the usual plain black mesh sleeving found on other PSU's.

We measured the modular cables on the Infiniti to be around 40cm in length, however Enermax have informed us that retail versions of the Infiniti will have 50cm cables to avoid any problems with full-tower PC cases.

The main ATX cable is native 24-pin with no way of reducing it down to the older 20-pin standard. Users of 20-pin ATX motherboard will need to purchase an adapter separately in order to use the Infiniti.

Quite a few of the most recently released motherboards still utilise the 4-Pin (P4-12v) connector, and for this reason Enermax have enabled the 8-Pin EPS12v connector to be split in half for support with the older P4-12v standards.

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Looking Inside

As with all power supplies that pass through Overclock3D, I'll be taking a look inside the Infiniti. By doing this I should be able to get a good idea of the overall build quality of the unit and how it is likely to perform in our tests.

For a power supply based around standard ATX sized casing the Infiniti manages to have an extremely tidy interior. All of the cables entering the unit have been bunched together with cable ties to prevent hindering airflow through the components.

With its low profile black aluminium heatsinks and large ferrite coils, the Infiniti does resemble a cut-down version of the Galaxy 1kw. This theory is further re-inforced when we look at the Infiniti's transformers, which bear the same model numbers as those used on the Galaxy.

As previously mentioned, the Infiniti also makes use of the same 135mm Globefan used in the Galaxy 1kw. The specifications of this fan can be seen below:

Model: Globefan RL4T B1352512MB-3M
Size: 135mm
Noise: 40.4dbA
Speed: 1800RPM
Airflow: 95.8CFM

With a rated noise level of 40.4dBA when running at full speed, you'll be forgiven for thinking that the Infiniti is going to be a noisy power supply. However, due to the size of the fan it is able to push a whopping 95.8CFM - far more than what would be required to cool the unit. Therefore I'm willing to bet that Enermax have limited the fans maximum speed to a level that can effectively cool the unit without too much noise.

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Load & Efficiency Testing

To provide our readers with the most accurate results, Overclock3D uses a custom built PSU load tester on all reviews. This not only gives much more reliable results than the testing methods employed by other sites, but also allows for all current and future review results to be compared side-by-side.

Efficiency tests are performed by measuring the wattage consumed by the power supply at the mains (Mains Draw) against the power consumed by the OC3D power supply stress tester (PSU Load). These results may not be 100% accurate, but have proven to be extremely close to results obtained from professional equipment.

As of 01/02/07, all PSU reviews will feature test results for the PSU at 0%, 50% and 100% load. The table below defines the load (in watts) placed on each rail during these tests.

	0%	50%	100%
+3.3v Rail	0w	33w	66w
+5.0v Rail	0w	50w	100w
+12v Rails	0w	240w	480w

The results are collected from a Mastech MAS-345 Multimeter which logs its readings via RS232 to a PC.

The Enermax Infiniti provided impressive results in both the 50% and 100% load testing with a maximum fluctuation of 0.13v being exhibited on the +12v rails. Both the +3.3v rail and +5.0v rail proved to be extremely sturdy too - never dipping below their rated outputs.

Efficiency was fairly average for this type of power supply, managing almost 82% efficiency at a 646w load. As you may have seen in the Infiniti's specifications, the unit is 80+ certified. This essentially means that in any given situation, the Infiniti will be able to manage at least 80% efficiency, hopefully provide you with savings on your energy bill and helping the environment in the process.

Temperature Testing

In our continuing efforts to make power supply reviews more thorough, rather than simply checking voltage stability, Overclock3D will now be recording the temerature of each PSU as it undergoes testing. Temperature recordings will be taken from the PSU's outer casing at 0%, 50% and 100% load levels in an attempt to gauge how much heat is likely to radiate into the end-users case, and how effective the cooling methods are.

With an ambient temperature of 20°c, we can see from above that even at 0% load the internal 135mm fan does a good job of keeping things cool and actually drops the PSU temperature to 2°c below room temperature. The same is true for the 100% load test (taken after 1hr), with the casing temperature being recorded at 35°c (15°C above ambient).

It is certainly safe to say that users of the Infiniti PSU will see very little 'heat dump' into their cases and may even see a reduction in case temperatures when switching from a less efficient power supply.

Noise Testing

Possibly the hardest part of any PSU review is summarising the level of noise given out by the unit. The threshold for what is considered 'noisy' varies from person to person and therefore what I may consider a quiet unit, another person may consider extremely loud. A common way to resolve this issue is to use a dBA meter to measure the units noise level, however this doesn't take into account the pitch (type) of noise emitted and whether it is likely to irritate end users.

For this reason OC3D records all power supplies at idle and load in wav format for you to make your own informed decisions. All recordings are taken at 30cm away from the PSU and outside of a PC case. You will need to remember that noise levels will be reduced by varying amounts once the PSU has been installed inside your PC enclosure.

0% Load Recording - Download
50% Load Recording - Download
100% Load Recording - Download

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Conclusion

Without a doubt the Enermax Infiniti is one truly awesome power supply. Manging to combine excellent rail stability, good efficiency and a cooling system that is quieter than a dead mouse is certainly no easy task. Not only have Enermax achieved this, but they have also done it with style, elegance and a rock solid build quality that feels like a German engineered automobile.

Enermax haven't stopped there either. By incorporating features such as CoolGuard, Powerguard, 8-Pin PCI-E and the top quality components used in their award winning Galaxy series, you can be sure that the Infiniti is a power supply that will outsmart and out-last a large majority of the competition.

With a price tag of around £152 (see below for our recommended retailers), the Infiniti certainly isn't a product for the budget builder, however the phrase "you get what you pay for" certainly rings true.

Tekheads.co.uk - £152.69

Pro's
• Stable, well arranged rails. Suitable for high-end GPU's.
• Support for 8-Pin PCI-E graphics cards.
• Silent, even at high loads.
• Efficiency on-par with rest of market.
• Well designed modular system.
• Professionally sleeved cables.
• Packed with features such as CoolGuard & PowerGuard.
• Brushed Aluminium casing to suit high-end PC cases.

Con's
• Price at the top end of the market.

In recognition of these excellent qualities I need to congratulate Enermax for managing to obtain Overclock3D's "Best In Class" award. This award signifies that the Enermax Infiniti 720w PSU is considered by Overclock3D to be the best all-round power supply in the 600w - 900w classification for the month of Febuary, 2007.

Best In Class Award

A big thanks goes out to Enermax for providing the Infiniti 720w PSU for review.

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