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Enermax Pro 82+ EPR525 AWT II Review

Manufacturer: Enermax
UK price (as reviewed): £76.74 (inc VAT)
US price (as reviewed): $99.95 (ex tax)

Enermax classes its 82+ PSUs as mid-level products and aims them at those who want stability and efficiency without all the bells and whistles that accompany premium PSUs. The range is available in two flavours – the Modu82+, which has modular cables, and the Pro82+ that we’re reviewing here, which has captive cables.

The case of the Pro82+ is a simple, black, no-nonsense affair with nothing more than a brand name on one side and an information sticker on the other. The cables too, have a utilitarian rather than luxury feel to them. While they’re covered, the braiding stops well short of the sockets, meaning that you’ll be left with conspicuous, ugly wires inside your PC.



The PSU, which is manufactured by Enermax, is well connected, though, with six Molex, seven SATA and one floppy in the way of connectors. The Pro82+ also sports three 6+2-pin PCI-E connectors, which is a slightly strange arrangement given that the majority of mid-range graphics cards require a pair of PCI-E power cables these days.

The 480W of 12V power that the PSU can supply is split over three 12V rails, each of which can output 25A. The first of these supplies power to the 24-pin ATX connector and the 8-pin EPS12V, while the second supplies the SATA ports and two of the 6+2-pin PCI-E connectors. This leaves the third rail powering the last 6+2-pin PCI-E connection and the Molex plugs. This is a reasonably sensible arrangement, but it places a large burden on the 12V1 rail.

Testing the Pro82+ proved to be a simple affair, as the PSU remained completely stable during all of our tests. It only achieved this by a whisker, however, as its output of 3.18V on its 3.3V rail when at 100 per cent load was only 0.04V above the lower limit of the ATX specification. At least its ripple test result was well within the spec; its result of 9.1mV was only bettered by the incredibly tranquil Seasonic X-560.

As with many of the PSUs on test, holdup times were variable. The Pro82+ provided ample coverage on its 5V rail but only managed 13ms of holdup time on its 12V rail, which is below the recommended 17ms.

The PSU proved to be relatively efficient throughout our testing, peaking at 87 per cent efficiency at 50 per cent load and dropping to 84 per cent efficiency when asked to deliver its full rated power. In a nice premium touch, the Pro82+ also has post-shutdown cooling, which keeps the fan running for around 30 seconds after the PC has shut down to make sure the PSU cools down properly.

The Pro82+ does a decent job for a mid-range PSU, although it has few stand-out features beyond its post-shutdown cooling. As a result, it loses out to PSUs that distinguish themselves more such as the Cougar SX550 and the Seasonic X-560.