Akasa ES Series 450W Power Supply Review
Andy Ruffell / 14 years ago
Results
We will start with testing the 3.3V rail, which doesn’t cater for many of the computer’s components in this day and age. They are generally left for higher voltage rails, mainly the 12V rail.
The results of testing the 3.3V rail were nice and stable at 3.37V on idle and 3.37V on load. This shows good stability across the 3.3V rail which is what this power supply is all about.
Next in our tests was the 5V rail, which being very similar to the 3.3V, doesn’t power the higher end components of a computer system but is still a vital part of a power supply.
The 5V rail showed results of 5.01V on idle and 5.02V on load which is bang on the money with some of the closest results we’ve ever seen to the rated voltage. Even power supplies over three times the price didn’t give as clear results as this.
The third test is for the most important rail; the 12V. Some brands opt for multiple 12V rails to distribute the power evenly, Akasa have gone ahead with this logic of thinking and have dual 12V rails. The 12V rail powers the most vital components of a system, and is in our eyes the most important.
This unit showed results of 12.13 on idle and 11.89 on load which shows the 12V1 rail isn’t as stable as the likes of the 5V but that is why Akasa have plumped for the second 12V rail so that the unit is perfect for extreme gaming and overclocking rigs.
As said, this PSU has dual 12V rails to give extra stability across the system. We test this rail in exactly the same way as the 12V1 rail.
The 12V2 rail gives 12.11 on idle and 11.88 on load which is very similar results to the 12V1 rail. A power supply of this nature will harness both of these rails to give fantastic results and even power as and when needed.