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- Date:
- Monday , December 13, 2010
- Author:
- Paul Johnson
- Editor:
- Kyle Bennett
- Google +1
NZXT HALE90 750W Power Supply Review
Today we look at our first NZXT power supply. Many of you might be familiar with the brand name due to its reach into the computer chassis space. Does NZXT bring to market a computer power supply worthy of your hard earned dollars?
Conclusions
The NZXT HALE90 750W is the first offering we have seen from NZXT when it comes to power supplies and as such we have no real expectations for this unit based on previous NZXT offerings. However, we have seen this particular design before, albeit in a higher powered unit, and previously it has been a solid performer which leads us to believe that this unit should be perfectly serviceable. Perfectly serviceable, however, is unlikely to really set NZXT apart in a very crowded field of entrenched players. Does the NZXT HALE90 750W build on previous units based on this SuperFlower design and posses that something extra that sets it apart? Or is it just another face among the masses?
HardOCP’s testing methodology is intended to very much push power supplies to their advertised wattage rating in temperatures that will represent some of the hottest computer enthusiast cases. So if a unit passes all our testing it is definitely not something to take lightly. In fact we expect more power supplies to fail our testing than make it through unscathed.
Build Quality
We have previously seen the design used in the NZXT HALE90 750W when we reviewed the Kingwin LZG-1000, and as with that unit the overall build quality of the NZXT HALE90 750W is very good. Indeed, they are almost identical with the NZXT HALE90 750W getting a slight edge over the Kingwin from better component selection (all Nippon Chemi-con capacitors). What really sets this unit apart however, is the exterior. The exterior build quality is also very similar to the LZG-1000 as well, but the snow white finish on this unit makes it standout in a crowd. The finish is well done and seems fairly resilient, but what steals the show is the look of an all white housing base coat and a white fan. Certainly this motif won’t work for everyone, but it is very striking, very well done, and definitely one way to make an impression. Coupled with its striking good looks, this unit comes backed by a 5 year warranty from NZXT which is a very good way to start things off.
Load Testing
The Load Test results for the NZXT HALE90 750W are very much as we saw from this platform previously and represent some very good passes in our testing. At both 120v and 100v, we saw good voltage regulation with the 12v rail dropping by 0.18v over the entirety of the loads we placed upon it and the minor rails dropping by a maximum of 0.07v. The one part of the voltage regulation that did stand out here was the fact that the +5vsb dropped by 0.13v even though the load on it never changed. It remained in specification at all times, but the change was a bit out of the ordinary. The efficiency for the unit was generally excellent at both 120v and 100v with values ranging from 86.63% to 89.07% at 120v and 85.45% to 88.26% at 100v. The NZXT HALE90 750W is 80Plus Gold rated but it did fall a bit short of that in our more demanding testing environment. This does not mean that the unit is not 80Plus Gold worthy as our testing methods differ, and really this unit did do very well even in our testing. On top of all of this, the NZXT HALE90 750W easily passed the Torture Test.
While the regular load test results were really nice passing marks, the Transient Load Test results for the NZXT HALE90 750W are much less impressive. The HALE90 750W posted loaded 12v changes of up to ~380mV and loaded 5v rail changes of up to ~180mV. These results were significantly larger than what we have seen from recent ~750W units such as the XFX Black Edition 750W and Thermaltake Toughpower XT 775W. In addition to this, due to this units high 5v set point it almost failed testing when the 5v load switched off and the output voltage rose to the edge of the ATX12v specification limit. The change that precipitated this was only ~100mV and as such a unit with a lower set point (say at the nominal value) would not be anywhere near the limit. In the end, these results are a pass and are also similar to what we have seen from a number of other LLC Resonant designs with DC-DC VRM’s, but not all.
DC Output Quality
The DC Output Quality of the NZXT HALE90 750W is very good overall. With peak values of ~40mV on the 12v rail and ~25mV on the minor rails this unit was well within the ATX12v specification limits. Sure we have seen some units that do better in the last year or so in this output range, but these results are very good overall and easily outpace many of the other designs that flood this market segment such as those based on the old CWT PSH design. All in all, NZXT looks to have a good unit on its hands in this regards, and one that can at least hang with most of the big boys they are going to run into.
Noise
Typically in our testing we have found SuperFlower based power supplies to be on the quieter end of the spectrum. This has largely been due to SuperFlower's use of large overhead fans (one of the first to use 140mm fans) and fan controllers that were set for quiet over cooling at times. However, with the addition of their new 80Plus Gold designs SuperFlower based units such as the NZXT HALE90 750W now also have excellent efficiency going for them in their quest for silence. In this regard, the NZXT HALE90 750W is seemingly a great success as it was extremely quiet throughout our testing, really never becoming audible in our background, and it even kept its exhaust temperature in check. Sure there have been quieter 750W power supplies, such as the Seasonic X-750, but there are also a lot of louder units out there that are still what many people consider quiet. As such, the NZXT HALE90 750W easily makes a decent choice for users looking for a quiet 750W unit.
Paul's Thoughts:
Before reviewing the NZXT HALE90 750W the only thing that really stood out to me about the NZXT brand of products were its horrible Transformer-esque chassis. Thankfully, the HALE90 750W washed a lot of that memory out of my mind by providing what is a very good product from one of the last places it would seem likely to emerge from. With its chassis designs NZXT goes tremendously overboard in both form and color. With the HALE90 and power supplies in general there isn't much they can do to the form (though that did not stop XFX from trying) so we are left with color. Color is subjective, but the white finish and white fan on this unit were the icing on the cake, a cake of deliciously good SuperFlower built power supply. Everything that was good about the Kingwin LZG-1000 repeats here today, and that is not a bad thing for NZXT if they are going to make a serious push into the enthusiast power supply market. Now all they have to do is price it right, and support it well.
The Bottom Line
The NZXT HALE90 750W is the first NZXT power supply we have reviewed and it certainly made a very good first impression. With its very good build quality being accented by a unique, striking, bold, and well done cosmetic treatment the HALE90 750W set out from the get go as a product we would not soon forget. This intriguing, but not over the top, exterior was coupled with very good voltage regulation, excellent efficiency, and very good DC Output Quality. The NZXT HALE90 750W really does hold its own on almost every front with other top power supplies in the ~750W realm. This combination of striking good looks and solid performance numbers the NZXT HALE90 750W gives us as potent a one two punch combination as we have seen since Mike Tyson took the boxing world by storm. Couple all of this with a price coming in at $139 with Free Super Saver Shipping and the NZXT HALE90 750W is right in line with other premium offerings while giving users cosmetic options we have not seen out of quality power supplies since the days of the PC Power & Cooling Silencer 750.
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