Enermax Liberty ECO 500w ATX PSU
Conclusion
Published: 18th March 2009 | Source: Enermax | Price: £85.47 |
As we continually stress to our forum members here at Overclock3D: "500w is more than enough power for almost all PC systems providing you pick a good PSU". Judging by the results we've seen today that's exactly what the Enermax Liberty ECO 500w is: a very good PSU.During testing the Liberty ECO managed to hold some extremely tight voltages across all of its rails, with the +12v lines only dropping by 0.13v from idle to full load. Both the +3.3v and +5v rails also maintained good stability with a drop of 0.06v and 0.12v respectively. Only when applying a heavy crossload to the unit did things start to get a bit out of hand in Test 5 with the +12v rails shooting up to around 12.8v. However, as I've said many times before, this isn't a situation that you are likely to ever come across on a normal PC, so it's hard to give the Liberty ECO negative marks for this result alone.
Efficiency was also extremely reasonable with 84-85% being achieved under most loads. Sure there are PSU's out there capable of maintaining 88-90% efficiency, but at present these units are extremely expensive - and let's face it, it's not until you start sucking really large amounts of power from the wall socket that a 3% efficiency difference would actually be noticeable.
Finishing off with the scope results conducted while the PSU was roasting away in our 50°C oven, I think its fair to say that these were outstanding. Ripple on the +12v rails never exceeded 20mV even when at full load, and similarly the results from the +3.3v and +5.0v were also among the lowest I've ever seen. Amazing.
At time of writing the Liberty ECO is only available at a limited number of UK based retailers. Scan is one of these few and has the 500w model listed at £85.47. This in all fairness, is at the top end of the scale for what I'd expect to pay for a 500w unit especially considering respectable PSU's from manufacturers such as Seasonic, Silverstone and Cooler Master can be had for £65+.
The Good
- Excellent ripple results.
- Stable voltages, even under heavy load.
- Around 84-85% efficiency at most load levels.
The Mediocre
- Cable sleeving falls short of the cable length.
- Some dodgy voltage and ripple results in certain crossload situations.
The Bad
- 5 modular connectors on PSU, yet only 4 modular cables provided.
- Price quite high for a 500w unit.
Thanks to Enermax for providing the Liberty EC for review. Discuss this review in our forums.
Most Recent Comments
Nice review mate
. 12v rail looks especially good.
. 12v rail looks especially good.I don't necessarily see anything wrong with the packaging and appearance.
Yay, another OC3D psu review 
Odd though, looks like someone just forgot to include that fifth cable in the bundle. Maybe a packaging error? I bet Enermax could explain somehow.
The psu isn't listed on dutch stores either, so can't give a clue about that. If it's priced around €60-80 this should make a good psu for midrange gaming.
Oh and two suggestions:
- Could you include a 'sound' s... nvm. Already remember the psu tester was too noisy to do so.
- Could you make the review immediately go to a page when you select it with the dropdown menu? I always get annoyed when the page doesn't load until I remember to click the 'go' button.
This must be the weirdest post I've made in quite some time :/
Odd though, looks like someone just forgot to include that fifth cable in the bundle. Maybe a packaging error? I bet Enermax could explain somehow.
The psu isn't listed on dutch stores either, so can't give a clue about that. If it's priced around €60-80 this should make a good psu for midrange gaming.
Oh and two suggestions:
- Could you include a 'sound' s... nvm. Already remember the psu tester was too noisy to do so.
- Could you make the review immediately go to a page when you select it with the dropdown menu? I always get annoyed when the page doesn't load until I remember to click the 'go' button.
This must be the weirdest post I've made in quite some time :/
Quote:
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Originally Posted by name='zak4994'
I don't necessarily see anything wrong with the packaging and appearance.
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Quote:
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Originally Posted by name='monkey7'
Yay, another OC3D psu review
Odd though, looks like someone just forgot to include that fifth cable in the bundle. Maybe a packaging error? I bet Enermax could explain somehow. |
Quote:
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Originally Posted by name='monkey7'
The psu isn't listed on dutch stores either, so can't give a clue about that. If it's priced around €60-80 this should make a good psu for midrange gaming. |
Quote:
|
Originally Posted by name='monkey7'
Oh and two suggestions: - Could you include a 'sound' s... nvm. Already remember the psu tester was too noisy to do so. - Could you make the review immediately go to a page when you select it with the dropdown menu? I always get annoyed when the page doesn't load until I remember to click the 'go' button. This must be the weirdest post I've made in quite some time :/ |
As for the Javascript redirect, ye I've been meaning to put that in. It was an overhang from the very first revision of the OC3D website that worked in every browser back to Netscape 4
Hmm hard one.
Fan speed would sure need an indication, especially if you can tell how the fan itself is at full load by putting it at 12v without the load tester buzzing away. Inside layout of the psu influences sound though, so it would be just an indication.
Fan speed would sure need an indication, especially if you can tell how the fan itself is at full load by putting it at 12v without the load tester buzzing away. Inside layout of the psu influences sound though, so it would be just an indication.
Quote:
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Originally Posted by name='monkey7'
Hmm hard one.
Fan speed would sure need an indication, especially if you can tell how the fan itself is at full load by putting it at 12v without the load tester buzzing away. Inside layout of the psu influences sound though, so it would be just an indication. |
The sound levels would obviously be elevated due to ambient noise, but if I could sound proof the hot box (to an extent) then I could at least produce some semi-accurate dbA readings for relative comparison?
Excuse me??
Quote:
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Originally Posted by name='monkey7'
Hmm hard one.
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I've been so spoilt by the larger numbers such as 700W, 1000W, and 1200W that I seem to look down or often just ignore 500W psu these days. Damn these capitalistic marketing schemes!
Enermax has always been pretty decent with their PSU's, but would it kill them to offer their PSU's via their expensive casings?
-HypoG
Enermax has always been pretty decent with their PSU's, but would it kill them to offer their PSU's via their expensive casings?
-HypoG
Quote:
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Originally Posted by name='Bungral'
Excuse me??
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Not everything has a filthy meaning A sound meter would give at least an indication of the noise. Of course it takes a while before this indication has any meaning because the results have to be compared with other psu's tested with the same equipment.
Could be an idea to make a PHP page with a graph of the results. POST message with a psu ID (review no.) would highlight that particular PSU.
These reviews are picking up attention : http://pchardwareblips.dailyradar.com/story/enermax_liberty_ec_500w_atx_psu/
I'll go out on a limb and guess a £70 or so price tag. Being as the wattage up from this in the states is something like $138, ish.
I'm glad to see all the lovely connections on the unit, it's performance is great, the price is probably gonna be a little over what I'd prefer - but hey it's got some quality behind it and it should be a solid investment.
I'll go out on a limb and guess a £70 or so price tag. Being as the wattage up from this in the states is something like $138, ish.
I'm glad to see all the lovely connections on the unit, it's performance is great, the price is probably gonna be a little over what I'd prefer - but hey it's got some quality behind it and it should be a solid investment.
Very well, we need that attention, should make OC3D more of name
I've got to say google gets us the best publicity though. I got here by googling for reviews of specific components and oc3d regularly turned up on page 1.
I've got to say google gets us the best publicity though. I got here by googling for reviews of specific components and oc3d regularly turned up on page 1.
CSS Valid
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Enermax Liberty EC 500w ATX PSU