Fractal Design Ion+ Platinum 860 and 560 Review

Voltage Ripple and Efficiency Testing

When reviewing new power supplies at OC3D, we use our dedicated SunMoon PSU Tester, one of the most expensive (if not the most expensive) tools in the company’s arsenal. Here we can see exactly how well a unit functions. We look at both a PSU’s efficiency and power stability. To do this, we utilise bespoke PSU testing equipment to give us an in-depth look at each power supply’s performance. This kind of data collection is not possible when using a PSU with standard PC components. 

(SunMoon PSU Tester with Corsair’s RM750 Power Supply)  

Efficiency Tests

And now for the meat of the review. Is the Fractal Design Ion+ as good as Fractal claims? The short answer, yes. Fractal’s Ion+ series offers similar efficiency levels to the ASUS ROG Thor series and Corsair’s 80+ Platinum HX1000i, as should be expected from another 80+ Platinum rated power supply. 

Both Fractal’s 560W and 860W units offered near-identical performance levels on our SunMoon PSU tester, showcasing how well the company’s Ion+ design scales across their product stack. 
 

  

Voltage Ripple Tests

Voltage ripple is something that is often underlooked by consumers, being best be described as the stability of specific voltages that the PSU delivers. A PSU with bad ripple will see voltages vary a lot more, which in extreme cases can damage components or shorten their lifespan. Voltage ripple stability is one of the many reasons why you should buy a high-quality power supply and avoid anything that isn’t 80+ certified.

An important thing to note here is that none of the PSUs in this graph is “bad”, even bottom of the chart units like the original Corsair RM1000 (2014) bring usable within your system without any issue. Even so, having low ripple is an important factor to consider when purchasing a new PSU. Cleaner power will help extend the lifespan of your PC’s components by placing each product’s power circuitry under less strain. Even if the RM1000 is usable in a modern system, though we would expect all new high-end power supplies to perform better than this unit in terms of ripple. A lot has changed since the days of the RM1000. 

Fractal’s Ion+ series units sit around the middle of our charts, offering impressively low levels of voltage fluctuation at 20% and 50% loads while 100% loads present ripple levels that are similar to the ASUS ROG Thor series. This is not a bad position to be in. Yes, this is not the best in the market, but it’s worth remembering that Fractal’s unit also isn’t the most expensive 80+ Platinum units on the market.