LEPA G1000-MA 1000 Watt Power Supply Review

Details

Published on Monday, 28 January 2013 00:00

Written by Wade Arenberg -funkindrago-

Thinking about power usage, it is important to remember how power is generated. In the United States, more than 50% of the power is generated by coal fired plants. What this means is that most of the energy Americans use is very dirty, compared to wind and hydroelectric turbines. Continuing down a path of using excessive amounts of energy will cause prices to skyrocket and the environment to deteriorate. This has caused many of us to think about efficiency, especially with regards to our precious electronic devices. Electronic devices tend to sip power even when not in use and some can draw a large amount of power when they are being used.

Desktop computers are one of those devices that, at times, can use massive amounts of power. This is especially true considering how common overclocking and multiple GPU systems are becoming. One of the ways this energy usage can be combated is by producing efficient power supply units. The efficiency is rated using the 80 plus system. Power supplies are given a certification based on how well they work. To qualify, a PSU must meet the 80 Plus standard by being 80% efficient at 100% load. Some PSUs do an even better job and a higher certification is given, up to the 80 Plus Platinum rating, which means that the PSU is 89% efficient at a 100% load using the system.

The LEPA G1000-MA 1000W power supply is 80 Plus Gold rated, meeting the strict standards for efficiency. The cooling system of the LEPA G1000 features a honeycomb mesh and a 135mm variable speed ball bearing fan to keep the PSU cool while maintaining low noise levels. Four independent 12V rails are provided, each with a max of 30A load, for compatibility with high end CPUs and GPUs. The G1000 has a semi modular cabling design. Hard wired cabling is present for the motherboard, CPU, and (2) 6+2 pin PCI-E cables. Modular cables are available to be used for additional PCI-E connections and storage/accessory connections. LEPA has designed modern protection circuits into the PSU as well, with Over Power, Over Current, Over Voltage, Under Voltage, Over Temperature, and short-circuit protection.

Specifications

Features:

• Surpassing 80 Plus Gold level
• Hybrid Modular Cabling Design makes system upgrade and replacement easy
• 135mm ball bearing fan with thermal programmed speed controller delivers silent, cool operation
• Honeycomb-shaped ventilation design increases airflow and keeps power supply cool
• Solid State Capacitors and 100% 105oC Japanese Grade A Electrolytic Capacitors provide great reliability
• Solid State Capacitors and 105°C Japanese Grade A Capacitors provide great reliability
• DC-to-DC Converter Design ensures system stability
• LLC Resonant Converter Topology achieves high efficiency
• Zero Voltage Switch (ZVS) topology provides superior performance and reliability
• Dual Sided PCB design synergizes PCB layout
• Four powerful +12V rails with high maximum loads offer great compatibility with heavy-duty graphics cards
• Compliance with EU ErP Lot 6 2013 standards (lower than 0.5W power consumption at standby mode)
• Over Power, Over Current, Over Voltage, Under Voltage, Over Temperature, Short-circuit protection provide great safety to your system
• ATX12V version 2.3 and EPS12V version 2.92 compliant

In the absence of high end load testing equipment, HTL will conduct a real world test and load the power supply using components that can often be found in a recent gaming system and try to produce a ~80-100% load when under OCCT. Some components might be overclocked to achieve a ~80-100% load. All components are tested inside a case and room temperature was kept at 25C for the duration of the tests. The +12V, +5V and +3.3V will be measured using a digital multimeter and the total system load will be measured in Watts using a digital power meter. For additional heavy gaming system loading scenarios, 3DMark 11 will also be used as a benchmark.

Test System:

Benchmarks

• OCCT x 30 Minutes
• 3DMark 11
• Readings taken with motherboard sensors and a digital multimeter

OCCT (489W)

Note: OCCT software readings for the +12V are not showing up correctly due to OCCT's incompatibility with the motherboard's voltage sensor. The multi-meter readings below show the physical measurements.

Multimeter Readings

Provided by: Lepa
No Compensation was received for review of this product.

Price Point

Price: MSRP $219.99 / $174.99 (Newegg.com)

Class: Mainstream Gaming

The Lepa G1000 Power Supply is in the mainstream gaming category of power supplies.

Reviewer's Opinion

Efficiency and quality are major ingredients in a successful system build. When you think about electronics, nothing runs without the electrical infrastructure. This is one of the biggest reasons why spending a little more on a PSU is important to have a long lasting system build. The LEPA G1000-MA PSU is an 80 Plus Gold rated power supply meaning that its efficiency is 87 percent or higher when placed under 100% load. Along with the efficiency, the best quality Japanese capacitors are used in the PCB and industry standard power protection circuits.

The test system that was used would be considered a high end enthusiast system, consisting of an i7-3930K at 4.6GHz and 2 GPUs consisting of an older inefficient GTX 590 and a more efficient GTX 670. With this system, we were able to pull close to 100% load on the PSU for 30 minutes. However, the LEPA G1000-MA is a true 1000 Watt PSU with a peak power of 1100 Watts, rather than some PSUs, which are advertised for their peak power. It was clear that even with this high end system a 1000W PSU was more than needed and only with a major overclock and using an older GTX 590 plus GTX 670 was it possible to pull close to 1000 Watts.

Oversizing the PSU in certain situations is a positive thing, the highest efficiency 80 Plus rated PSUs can provide is achieved between 50% and 60% load. So, in theory, while using a 1000 Watt PSU and a system that can produce a max load between 500 and 600 Watts, you will have the most efficient system while placed under load. However, while at idle the efficiency does drop some, so it is important to strike a balance with the PSU wattage rating versus the draw of the system.

It was obvious by the feel of the quality cables and finish on this power supply that it was designed to be placed in a high end system. However, just like we don’t just a book by its cover, you don’t judge a PSU by how it looks. It's about how it performs. In testing, the PSU had a low level of voltage drop when placed under higher loads, the 12 Volt rail only dipped .1 volts and is well with specifications. The 5.5 Volt rail was steady and did not budge, while the 3.3 Volt rail only dipped .02 volts. This proves that the four 12 Volt rails are well balanced and the PSU is more than capable of powering a high end system.

The LEPA G1000-MA 1000 Watt power supply easily meets the requirements of any gaming system, as well as enthusiast level machines. The quality of the external finish and modular cables match up with the internal PCB and Japanese capacitors to provide a steady stream of power to the system at an 80 Plus Gold level. The LEPA G1000-MA earns the HiTechLegion Gold award for its quality cables/finish, low voltage variation, and price point.

Likes

• Semi-Modular Design
• Braided Cables
• Quality Matte Finish
• Quiet Variable Speed Fan
• 80 Plus Gold Rating
• Well Balanced 12V Rails
• Cable Length
• 3 Year Warranty
• Protection Circuitry
• 100% Continuous Load at 50 Degrees Celsius
• Heavy Power Cord
• 1100W Peak Power

Dislikes

• No Cable Storage Bag

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