INTRODUCTION
If you happen to be one of those people who like spending a small fortune to build a gaming rig then the two hardware components on top of your to buy list are (or at least should be) the best graphics cards available for dual/tri/quad configurations (the NVIDIA Titan X was just released by the way) and an power supply unit powerful enough to support them. Up to 10 years ago you'd really have a hard time to find models capable of outputting even 800W but things were quite different since tri/quad-card configurations were not really available back then. Today however in order to build a gaming rig with 3 or 4 graphics cards you need at least a 1200W PSU although that depends a lot on what cards you decide to use. Titanium and Platinum 80 Plus certified PSU models may have the spotlight on them since they offer the best electrical efficiency money can buy currently but that also means you can find 80 Plus Gold certified models for much less. The Aurum Pro 1200W by FSP is not amongst the newest models in the market since it has been around for roughly 3 years now but because we recently gave one away and many of you asked for it today we're going to take a closer look and see how it performs.
FSP Group is the 5th largest power supply vendor in the world. Since the company was established in 1993, our outstanding management team has drawn together our R&D expertise, our sizeable production capacity, outstanding product quality to consistently excel in this competitive marketplace. FSP group is a publicly traded company listed in the Taiwan stock exchange, symbol: 30.15.TW, with revenues exceeding over 600 million USD. FSP group provides OEM/ODM power conversion products and services to the majority of well-established manufacturers and is the leading volume supplier of desktop PC ATX power supplies. In recent years, FSP group has expanded its R&D and manufacturing capabilities to become one of the major power conversion supplier of power adapters, industrial PCs, servers, LCD/LED monitors, LCD/LED TVs, heavy duty industrial products (UPS), portable battery chargers, Uninterrupted Power Supply as well as providing off-the-shelf consumer products, partnering with many strategic manufacturers.
Just like the Aurum PT 1200W the Aurum Pro 1200W features a powerful single +12v rail capable of dishing out the entire output of the unit (all 1200W) making it ideal for gaming rigs (after all you can't overload single rails). As mentioned numerous times in the past this was known to cause overheating with older and far lower quality models but we are well past that point especially when this is found in a model by one of the leading manufacturers in the market. Unfortunately unlike the Aurum PT the Aurum Pro is not 100% modular since it comes with the mainboard power cables hardwired into its main body but since these are two cables which you'll be using after all we don't see it as a drawback. Certainly you may not "enjoy" the future-proof feature offered by 100% modular models but the truth of the matter is that you may not even need it in the long run (we don't have the slightest clue about when and if the standard will change). Other features include the 80 Plus Gold certification, 135mm hydro-dynamic bearing fan, low-profile cables, Japanese capacitors, active PFC and the usual Over-Current/Over-Voltage/Short-Circuit protections. So how does it perform?
SPECIFICATIONS AND FEATURES
PACKAGING AND CONTENTS
The box used for the Aurum Pro 1200W is redesigned compared to that used when launched so at the front of this one we see a product image, some product features and the 5 years warranty, 5 Million USD warranty and the 80 Plus Gold logos.
At the bottom FSP forwards people to their page in 25 different languages.
Moving at the rear of the box you can find the features list, some of the features explained in detail, the electrical table, efficiency and noise level graphs and a list with all the available modular cables.
Excellent packaging as you can all see thanks to the several foam and cardboard spacers.
Along with the Aurum Pro 1200W you're also getting the modular cables, power cable, 3 cable straps, 4 mounting thumbscrews, case badge and the user manual.
THE AURUM PRO 1200W EXTERIOR
For the Aurum Pro 1200W FSP has used flat 18 AWG modular cables.
Although larger compared to sub-1KW models the housing of the Aurum Pro 1200W follows the typical ATX form factor and features a very nice scratch-proof paint.
The 135mm hydro-dynamic bearing fan sits beneath a nice black metal grille.
FSP has placed their logo on both sides of the housing (although not very easy to spot).
The electrical table is located on a sticker at the belly of the unit.
All the modular connectors are different in shape and tagged (you can also plug two fans directly on the housing).
Cable sleeving extends all the way to the interior of the enclosure as expected.
The rear is perforated with holes in the shape of arrows (unique airflow technology FSP calls it).
THE AURUM PRO 1200W INTERIOR
The 135mm hydro-dynamic bearing fan is manufactured by Power Logic and can spin up to 2400RPM with noise levels beneath 32dBA.
Once you open the box you will immediately notice that for the Aurum Pro 1200W FSP has used just two small black aluminum heatsinks for passive cooling. However this is done because the entire enclosure is part of this passive cooling system (touches the base of the PCB with the help of a thermal pad).
The primary electrolytic capacitors are manufactured by the Japanese Nippon Chemi-Con and are rated for use up to 105 degrees Celsius.
Secondary capacitors are also Japanese and are manufactured by United Chemi-Con (again rated for 105 degrees).
TEST BED
TESTING METHODOLOGY
Using a dedicated measurement instrument such as a Chroma or a SunMoon to test power supply units is without doubt the most ideal and accurate way (not to mention the fastest) to do that currently. However it's certainly not the only way there is and so pretty much anyone can test a power supply unit just by using a computer. Certainly limitations do apply and so you can't really test a 1000W power supply if your system only uses 500W at peak loads and that's why during the past 5 years i have saved certain hardware components for the purpose of building a dedicated PSU test rig. True it may not be as accurate as the above mentioned solutions but it comes really close and is in fact closer to real world usage. So as always we ran several games with maximum graphic options enabled at a resolution of 2560x1600 in order to stress every hardware component and increase the overall power demands of the system. The Passmark BurnIn Test was also used to overstress the components in an effort to provide the most accurate results possible. As a final test we also used the latest OCCT 4.4 software and its dedicated PSU testing suite since it can really bring a power supply to its knees after inside a few minutes.
Rail stability was checked/measured with the CPUID Hardware monitor and a Metex multimeter which also recorded the system load in idle and in load. As always try to remember that the power consumption numbers listed in the graph are the highest (Peak) ones recorded during the entire duration of the tests and not the average ones. Noise levels coming from the fan were recorded using the high precision HD600 ExTech Sound dBA Meter from the rear of the unit and at a range of no more than 5-10cm. Readings under load are recorded the exact moment we manually switch the fans of all graphics cards from full speed to almost zero, that way the fan of the power supply does not have enough time to slow its RPM and so by doing this we get very accurate noise level readings. Needless to say in order to get 100% accurate readings you need to have a noise isolated room for that exact purpose, something which is quite impossible unless you are working inside a real lab (some people use very small noise insulated boxes but due to their size both heat and noise exceed normal levels and so the results can't really be considered to be 100% accurate). Also do take into account that since all noise measurements take place from just 5-10cm away the final noise levels to reach your ears will be considerably less.
TEST RESULTS
RAIL STABILITY
Near excellent rail stability, did you expect anything less from an 1200W PSU? We didn’t.
POWER CONSUMPTION
We weren’t able to max the unit with our specialized test rig but even 1046W at load is not bad.
NOISE LEVELS (SPL)
Noise levels are not the best we’ve seen but 46.3dBA at full load is good and certainly not audible if you’re running multiple graphics cards.
CONCLUSION
After quite a while since our last cooperation with FSP a few months ago we received and published our review of the Aurum PT 1200W 80 Plus Platinum Certified PSU something which was more than enough to remind all of us here that they are not amongst the 5 top PSU manufacturers in the world out of pure luck. Now we do realize that the Aurum Pro 1200W with its 80 Plus Gold Certification and the semi-modular body is not as appealing/exciting as the 80 Plus Platinum Certified 100% modular Aurum PT 1200W model but their performance differences are very small and that should be the very first and last thing potential buyers should care about. Personally i also like the Gold/Black color combination a lot more than the Grey/Black one but that's certainly not something very important (at least it's not to most people). Also let's not forget the 5 year warranty and the 5 million USD product insurance FSP offers with the Aurum Pro 1200W since although you may never need them it's very good to have them just in case.
With a current price tag set at USD189.99 inside the USA (Amazon.com) and for 211.99Euros inside the EU (Amazon.de) the Aurum Pro 1200W PSU by FSP is certainly not the cheapest 80 Plus Gold 1200W model in the market currently and that's the only real issue. We don't really have a problem with its price inside the USA since we find it very attractive but we can't say the same for its current price inside the EU especially since it costs just slightly less than the Aurum PT 1200W. That being said we really don't think you can go wrong by picking the Aurum Pro 1200W by FSP and that's why it deserves our Golden Award.
PROS
- Build Quality
- Design
- Near-Excellent Solid Rail Stability
- 5 Years Warranty (Plus 5 Million USD Product Insurance)
- 80 Plus Gold Certified
- Electrical Protections (OCP/OVP/SSP)
- Price (USA)
CONS
- Price (EU)
- 3 Years In The Market Already