Enermax Platimax 1000w Super Overclock Edition PSU Review

Internals & Cables

PSU's have progressed a lot over the last few years, and it certainly shows in their internal designs. For example, if we take a look at the images below of the Enermax Revolution 950w released in 2009 (Right) against the Platimax 1000w (Left) it's clear to see that improvements in efficiency have resulted in a much cleaner PCB layout with a smaller number of components required for generating roughly the same output. Additionally the need for heavy duty heatsinks has also been reduced with much less energy being wasted as heat.

Pictured below-left are the two main transformers for the Platimax. As many of you will already know from previous reviews, the larger of the two is used to step down mains voltage to +12vDC, which is then converted by the two daughter-boards in the image on the right for producing the +3.3v and +5v outputs. As I mentioned in the introduction, these two rails are only capable of delivering a total of 100w combined which is reflected by the small PCB sizes. The smaller of the two transformers is uses solely for delivery +5v stand-by voltage when the PSU is effectively switched off.

Japanese is the dish of the day when it comes to the capacitors with both the primary and the secondary side of the unit sporting some nice Nippon Chemicon KZE/KMR components. As promised in the specs, all caps are rated to 105c which should ensure longevity - but in all seriousness this specification is becoming more a case of keeping up with the jones' rather than an actual requirement.

The fan used inside the Platimax is labelled up as an Enermax EA142512M-0A. Unfortunately the actual specs of this fan are quite elusive, and other than the fact that it employs a 'twister bearing' to reduce noise and improve performance, there's very little else I can say. I will however let you into a secret though (which is normally saved for the conclusion), it was VERY quiet during my testing, even with the PSU running at full output.

Finally I need to say something about the Platimax's modular cables. They are ugly. Seriously though, as I mentioned in the MAXREVO review, it really is about time that Enermax switched to a less vulgar sleeving and made more of an effort to run the sleeving right up to the base of the connector. It may seem like I'm nit picking here, but with a plethora of good quality PSU's on the market these days, a consumers purchasing decision can often be swayed by appearance alone.

In terms of what you actually get though, the Platimax is quite well equipped. Twelve SATA connectors for those monster RAID arrays, 8 Molex connectors for the cathodes and fan controllers, Six PCI-E connectors for that SLI/Crossfire fix and finally a hard-wired ATX connector and two motherboard connectors for that power thirsty dual-CPU server board.

Now on to the fun stuff...