eTeknix Power Supply Testing Methodology

Here at eTeknix, we take our PSU reviews very seriously! I have always considered the power supply to be the most important part of a PC, although it does not have a very glamorous job like a graphics card or CPU- it has an extremely important one. As you know, the power supply has to provide power to your components; however you may not know just how precise and accurate the power being supplied has to be. In short, if you start feeding components with poor quality power, the results will be either devastating or silent- as a bad power supply reduces the longevity of sensitive components. The results can also be dangerous to the user, which is something I hadn’t believed until a few days ago where I managed to give myself an electric shock by touching the chassis of a PC fitted with an ‘X-branded’ PSU, but that is a story for another time! We have also seen the explosive results of the infamous Hiper Type-R Power Supplies which were notorious for going pop and taking many components with them.

Unfortunately, many consider their choice of PSU as an afterthought which is determined by the remainder of the budget after choosing their main components. However, what is more unfortunate is when people are misled into purchasing PSUs based on false facts such as when I built my first PC from a PSU I bought from a major highstreet electronics retailer which, after testing recently, I found to be outside of ATX voltage specifications and 80+ specs which is, put simply, very dangerous. This is why we are committed to providing you with accurate and reliable information on which you can safely base your product choice.

I have been working at eTeknix for a little while now and have reviewed many types of products; I also used to run the review site Gundog Reviews so I have reviewed just about every type of PC component on offer. Recently however, our glorious leader- Don Andy decided that, instead of reviewing odd bits and pieces, the reviewers should specialise on a certain type of product. I volunteered to do PSUs as I have a great interest in electronics and immediately saw the opportunity to take things apart and poke around inside of them. Not only that, but eTeknix has recently invested in a vast array of PSU testing equipment which I was even more interested to try- which is what this article is all about.