Value and Conclusion
- The MSRP (Manufacturer's Suggested Retail Price) for BW-B430JL is $94.
- Outstanding ripple/noise suppression
- Delivered 30W more than its rated capacity at 53.6°C ambient
- Quiet operation
- Multi link feature to easily increase the Watts capacity, also improves efficiency
- High voltage drops on the 3.3V rail in Advanced Transient Tests
- High price for a non modular 430W PSU
- Short distance between Molex and SATA connectors
- Single rail design, even though manufacturer claims two +12V rails
- Multi link operation has negative impact on efficiency for loads lower than 100W
Jou Jye made a wise choice by picking Seasonic as the OEM of the new BITWIN series. The BW-B430JL, similar to its bigger brother BW-B520JL, is a solid performer with good efficiency, excellent ripple/noise suppression and satisfactory voltage regulation. The only let down is the stiff price and the performance of the 3.3V rail in transient loads. Users with large cases may face difficulties with the small distance between Molex and SATA connectors.
Regarding the performance when we linked two BITWINs, it left us very satisfied since efficiency (at 20%-100% loads) was improved and voltage regulation at 5V went up by about 1%. The only downside was the lower efficiency at loads below 100W. Here we must repeat again, mostly for those who jump directly to the conclusions page and do not read the rest of the review, that Jou Jye suggests you must use the PSU with the higher capacity as "Master PSU" and the one(s) with lower as "Slave(s)". Also since BITWIN PSUs use group regulation you must apply some load on the 5V & 3.3V rails of the Slave PSU, else the +12V rail won't work properly (meaning it will show significant voltage drops when you push it). So you must not only utilize the PCIe connectors of the Slave PSU, but use also its peripheral connectors to draw some power from 5V and 3.3V. Finally you must not mix the PCIe power outputs of Master and Slave to power the same VGA card, assuming that the later has two PCIe inputs. The PCIe connectors of each PSU must be connected to different cards, in other words do not mix the +12V rails of the PSUs together because you will have increased ripple that will shorten the life of your systems components (and their stability too).
Now let's answer the question we set at the beginning of the review. "Is it worth it to run two BITWINs in parallel or is it better to buy a single higher Wattage PSU ?". Well, lets say that you own a single VGA system and for the time being you are covered with a PSU from the BITWIN series. If sometime in the future you decide to buy an extra VGA card then you do not have to change/remove your current PSU. You only have to buy and install an additional BITWIN. However the latter requires a case with enough space to accommodate two PSUs and enough patience to arrange their cables. If you meet the above criteria and you don't run your system at idle for large periods and assuming that the price of BITWINs will drop till the time you will buy the second one, then it is worth it at some degree.
However, personally I would buy a higher Wattage PSU without second though, not because of the performance characteristics, but because I hate the idea to do cable management of two non modular PSUs.