Enermax Infiniti 650W

Results and Conclusions

Instead of a single +12V rail—something that is quite favourable these days—Enermax opts to split it between three rails, with each quite evenly balanced and pretty hefty at 28/28/30Amps respectively. In fact, this is exactly the same rating as the 720W?! The maximum output is only rated at just 52A versus 56A, which reduces the overall +12V output from 672W to 624W. However, that’s only a 48W difference, not the 70W between 720 and 650?

Using our revised testing technique of stressing the 3.3V and 5V rails separate to the 12Vs at 100 percent, we see that even though Enermax states “160W” for 3.3V and 5V it can hardly fulfil it. Even at 75 percent load the 3.3V and 5Vsb voltages fall to within one percent of the ATX specifications – this is not very good. The 12Vs are all pretty solid, which is what you need in a modern PSU anyway, and the efficiency and PFC are all very high indeed at 75 percent load.

At 100 percent load with a 3.3V and 5V weighting, the Enermax doesn’t do what it says on the tin, as both the 3.3V and 5Vsb rails failed to meet ATX specifications and the 5V rail came to within one percent. Why state 25A on the 3.3V rails when the unit can’t even manage 70 percent of that?

Despite this, the unit remained cool to touch throughout and was at most a mere 27˚C at the base. The single fan certainly keeps it cool, and while it wasn’t overly noisy it was most definitely audible at 75 and 100 percent load. It was a rushing of air rather than whiney fan noise, but we’ve still heard quieter models from the likes of Ultra and Gigabyte for example.

Value and Conclusions

The included three-year warranty actually puts it behind a few other manufacturers now, as some have moved to five years in a bid to make their units look more attractive against the competition. That said, it’s still on par with many other PSU manufacturers that also offer a three-year warranty.

Like the 720W, the Enermax is one of the most expensive 650W units available. It is only a little more expensive than the massively popular Corsair HX-620 PSU however, which retails for around £90, and the Enermax does also offer 30W more and extra features like CoolGuard and PowerGuard. In fact, most of the better 650W PSUs hover between the £80-90 from well known brands like Seasonic, Tagan, Silverstone, Cooler Master, etc.

It depends where you shop though, because for £95 the Infiniti 650W is pretty good value, even if it is a bit of a premium, but there are quite a few places selling it for £100+. Once you get to this price, you’re into 700W territory and the value drops off very fast – unfortunately 650W is a mainstream power rating that’s hotly contested over. As much as a manufacturer would like to try to position its product as “so good you’ll pay this much for it”, I don’t feel there can still be a price premium here, like you can with ~750-800W models. £10 is a make it or break it difference to people on a budget. As it is now anyway, £10 is almost enough for another gigabyte of DDR2!

Final Thoughts

Enermax ticks me off with its poor maths and occasionally iffy modular plugs and to be honest I expected a little better from this unit. You may never use the 3.3V and 5V much at all in a modern PC—not near the levels that we’ve tested at and the 12Vs work perfectly fine—but if a product claims it can do something, it should be able to stand by that claim. In this case, Enermax unfortunately hasn’t stood by that claim.

The unit looks fantastic and still supports all sorts of PC setups, however, the extra cost and tough market might easily give enough ammunition for all the Corsair HX-series fans out there to play it down.

• Performance
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• 6/10

• Features
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• 9/10

• Value
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• 7/10

• Overall
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• 7/10

What do these scores mean?