Value and Conclusion
- The In Win Commander III 600 W has an MSRP of $109
- Delivered full power (and even more) at 45°C
- Efficient
- Tight voltage-regulation
- Good amount of connectors for its capacity
- 5-year warranty
- Unique looks
- Ripple at +12V
- Hold-up time lower than the ATX spec threshold
- Not an optimal fan profile above 40°C ambient
- Noisy fan at high RPM
In general, the new In Win Commander III 600 W performed very well by excelling in voltage regulation and efficiency for its category and by showing a good overall response to dynamic loads. However, the high ripple on the +12V rail was enough to spoil the picture somewhat, and the PSU lost a lot of performance points in this area. The small Commander would easily earn a much higher place in our performance charts if ripple suppression on the +12V rail, the most important rail of all, were better and lower than 50 mV. I think In Win should take a closer look at this matter to conduct appropriate changes that would provide a cleaner +12V output. Another thing that annoyed me was the fan's profile, which made the fan ramp up completely once temperatures encroached and eclipsed 40°C. The unit is very efficient, and I am pretty sure that there is no need for the fan to operate at such high speeds, and a more relaxed fan profile would be a better match for this PSU.
To wind up, although the MSRP exceeds 100 bucks, which brings the Commander III 600 W to the high-end class of mid-capacity PSUs, its retail price will most likely be much lower, making it an ideal choice for someone that needs a highly efficient, medium-capacity PSU that can support up to two VGAs with two PCIe sockets each. If your chassis has good airflow and the ambient is kept close to 30°C, the fan's noise won't annoy you unless you have incredible hearing. To conclude, the Commander III 600 W is a good PSU that would surely earn a recommendation award with a better ripple suppression at +12V.