Raidmax Monster RX-700AT Power Supply Review

[turkey3_scratch]

Jonnyguru gave this a "Recommended" award.
While I think the PWR_OK not dropping before the rails do is an issue, it isn't a destructive one, and can be mitigated entirely with a decent (~4ms transfer time) UPS. The lack of OTP and the two-year warranty are the red flag items to me, and high inrush current can be destructive.
Even at a much lower price, I don't think I'd buy one.

You'd need a 13.1ms transfer time to avoid the voltages going out of spec.

 

[Onus]

True, but since they go out of spec down, I'm not worried about equipment damage, even without a UPS.

PSUs aren't known for having a lot of empty space in them; how difficult would it be to add another 300uF-400uF capacitor in parallel with the bulk cap in there?

 

[turkey3_scratch]

What do you mean out of spec "down"?

 

[Onus]

The voltage is under the spec. That's not going to fry things. Contrast that with the out-of-spec "high" +5VSB turn-on spikes on some of the Bestec units that were killing motherboards.

 

[nem3sis]

its actually an very very nice psu. i think Raidmax its not an garantie but since the true OEM be Andyson that be an great garantie .. =D

 

[nem3sis]

You can see the level of faith Raidmax has on the quality by having a 2 years warranty.

its not about Raidmax level , its about Andyson level.. ;b

 

[Onus]

And, if Raidmax has so little confidence in Andyson that it only offers a two year warranty, why should we have any confidence in Andyson?

 

[turkey3_scratch]

There's nothing that seems to indicate it'd only last 2 years.

 

[Onus]

No, but if Raidmax wants to repair its reputation for offering fire hazards, short warranties are not the way to go. I wonder if they (or Andyson) suspect a level of degradation that would drop efficiency enough during the third year to make people want to return them. While they may not be ready to step up to the seven and ten year warranties offered by known top-tier models, a mere two years is just not going to cut it.

 

[Martell1977]

Whether or not the PSU will fail in two years, having a warranty that short in a market where 5 years is fairly common, tells me there is a lack of confidence in the quality of the product.

Plus, as mentioned, they have a long way to climb out of the pit they dug selling garbage, and a 2 year warranty does not strengthen their position.

 

[Sakkura]

Maybe they're just used to warranties being a quick way to lose a ton of money, because they've sold so much junk. But yeah it doesn't help them repair their reputation.

 

[turkey3_scratch]

Frankly going with a Titanium unit like this is a poor choice for digging themselves out of their hole. The market for these Titanium units is so slim that I don't expect this unit to sell well - let alone any Titanium units currently. They should have made nice gold efficiency units in the $50-100 price ranges to compete well, or fulfill out ever-longing desire for a quality 300W $35 PSU.

@Onus: How many people are honestly checking the efficiency of their units? Requires quite some equipment.

 

[Onus]

Well, they'd know just from the readouts of their Kill-a-Watt meters and UPS units. Sakkura could be right too; Raidmax could well have developed a reflex about warranties since they've sold so many PSU-shaped objects.

 

[iam2thecrowe]

Jonnyguru gave this a "Recommended" award.
While I think the PWR_OK not dropping before the rails do is an issue, it isn't a destructive one, and can be mitigated entirely with a decent (~4ms transfer time) UPS. The lack of OTP and the two-year warranty are the red flag items to me, and high inrush current can be destructive.
Even at a much lower price, I don't think I'd buy one.

When i think about "recommended" awards, i think it should be comparative. eg. can you get a better unit for the same price? In this case I think there is a bunch of psu's i would chose in the same price bracket before this one, therefore to me it should only get "passes our tests, but better units are available for the money" award.

 

[MasterMace]

Still would never put one in a build as Raidmax has a long history of disaster.

 

[Martell1977]

I do find it interesting that after all these years of being a bottom feeder, now they seem to want to drag down the bar for higher end PSU's.

 

[powernod]

There's nothing that seems to indicate it'd only last 2 years.

With such a high inrush current that this PSU produces (*100Amps is the ATX limits for 230VAC - while 50Amps is the limit for 115VAC), i'm not sure that the rest of the hardware will survive for more than 2 years as well as the PSU itself !!!

 

[turkey3_scratch]

There's nothing that seems to indicate it'd only last 2 years.

With such a high inrush current that this PSU produces (*100Amps is the ATX limits for 230VAC - while 50Amps is the limit for 115VAC), i'm not sure that the rest of the hardware will survive for more than 2 years as well as the PSU itself !!!

You got a pretty good point, though I'm not so sure on exactly the specifications of high inrush current's effects.

 

[basroil]

You got a pretty good point, though I'm not so sure on exactly the specifications of high inrush current's effects.

For one, it can definitely trip more sensitive breakers and destroy UPS systems. If the house wiring isn't done right you might even see momentary voltage drops elsewhere. As long as it's milliseconds there's usually few side effects outside possible degradation of the primary side.