Results
At 50 percent load the efficiency reached a very high 88.2 percent, but then dropped considerably as we continued to load the PSU - down to around 84 percent or slightly lower at 82.6 percent for the full load 3.3V and 5V weighting. This is extremely unlikely in a normal PC which is 12V dominant, however we test to see if the PSU can do what it says on the tin - and it can.
Hiper doesn't use the more recent DC-DC conversion technique, instead opting for the traditional and cheaper AC-DC option, and it shows in the efficiency. It's not uncommon - only premium parts currently use the newer DC-DC technology.
The PFC is consistently very high and the voltages constantly remained very good indeed, without a single one even close to being out of spec. In fact, if anything the 5V and 12Vs are a touch high but it's nothing to be concerned about. We also noted that the fan keeps spinning after the PSU has been turned off - in order to keep cooling off the hot components.
During the testing we found at 50 and 75 percent load the Hiper is really very quiet with only a slight fan airflow noise and no bearing noise noted. Cool air escaped mostly from the back and only slightly from the sides, and the sides and base were also cool to touch as well. At 100 percent load the unit remained very quiet for about five minutes under load, then suddenly the fan speed whipped up a few notches and became notably louder.
This was to compensate for the hotter air and base (yet cool sides), but the fan speed didn't drop again and remained consistent throughout the run from here on. As consumers will unlikely hit 100 percent load, they shouldn't ever hear this PSU being "loud" that is, unless your case runs hot because we could only run our tests in an open room at 25'C.
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