Introduction

We would like to thank EVGA for supplying the review sample.

EVGA is widely known for their overclocking-oriented mainboards and VGAs, but EVGA also yearned to join the PSU market, and their debut, the SuperNOVA NEX 1500 W unit, although very expensive, making it for a select few, managed to put the company on the PSU map. After the Trojan horse had effectively fulfilled its purpose, it was high time to secure a position among the more experienced competition dominating this difficult market, so EVGA teamed up with Super Flower, one of the best OEMs today, to collaboratively create the SuperNOVA G2 units promising exceptionally good performance at very good prices.

A while ago, we tested the SuperNOVA G2 1000 W, which impressed us with its performance. This unit’s most vicious competitor doesn’t come from another company but directly from EVGA and is its bigger brother, the G2-1300. Based on the same platform and with 300 W more power, it actually only costs a tiny bit more which has us wonder why anyone would go with the smaller SuperNOVA instead. One of the largest online stores in the US, Newegg, even had both listed for exactly the same price, making the purchase of the G2-1300 a no-brainer! But this review will compare the two meticulously to show you where one excels over the other.

Today's test subject, the G2-1300, features Gold efficiency, a fully modular cabling design, and a single +12V rail that can deliver more than 100 A of current, and its price is highly competitive, making it the ideal candidate for a power-hungry system with multiple VGAs; but we have a review to do, so let’s get on with it.

Specifications

Efficiency is Gold, but judging by the G2-1000's results, its efficiency is most likely closer to Platinum than Gold. Since it is based on a cutting-edge platform exploiting DC-DC converters, the unit is also fully modular and Haswell ready. It is equipped with all available protection features and the maximum operating temperature at which the unit can deliver its full power can reach 50°C, which is the temperature the ATX spec sets.

The 140 mm fan uses ball-bearings, which will have it last a long time. Contrary to the original Leadex platform, this one doesn't feature a semi-passive mode—the fan is constantly engaged.

With a length of 20 cm, the SuperNOVA G2-1300's dimensions are pretty large, but we do not expect a 1300 W monster to be housed inside a compact case. With ten years, the warranty is currently the longest among all competitors, and the price tag looks too good to be true! EVGA deserves praise for delivering such a richly featured product with a whopping ten year warranty at $200. Similar products by the competition come close to or exceed $300.

This unit's single +12V rail can easily start your truck if your battery dies. The lack of multiple +12V rails and the single rail's ability to deliver over 100 A max current will trouble some, but we prefer units with one +12V rail, even those with a monstrous capacity, though we should stress that PSUs with multiple rails are safer should something go really wrong.

The minor rails have enough capacity for a high-end system, and while 3 A will still suffice in most cases, a stronger 5VSB rail would be more appropriate for this unit.

Cables & Connectors, Power Distribution

The unit comes with an ideal number of connectors for its capacity, although a few more PCIe connectors would provide an edge over the G2-1000. This PSU is for the extreme user and system after all. We would also like to see all PCIe connectors have 8 pins. All cables are very long, and the PCIe ones are even unnecessarily long, which may cause voltage drops at higher loads. 10 cm between each 4-pin Molex connector is too little, though 15 cm would be ideal. Most of the gauges on the 24-pin ATX cable are of 16AWG size, and all the other connectors utilize the standard 18AWG wires.

Since this PSU features a single +12V rail, we have nothing to comment on about its power distribution.