Specifications

The P1700-MA can deliver 1700 W at 40°C is 1700 W, making it the second strongest PSU available today, right behind Super Flower's 2kW beast, which we reviewed recently. LEPA says the unit to peak at 1.8 kW, and we will make a point of pushing the PSU no further this time around.

Strangely enough, the P1700-MA hasn't been certified by the 80 PLUS organization yet. Such wasn't possible before because 80 PLUS used to only test with 115 VAC, but this changed recently as they now also provide efficiency certifications with 230 VAC. As such, we have to wonder why LEPA didn't have the unit certified as they like to mention that the P1700-MA can offer more than 80 PLUS Platinum efficiency. Be that as it may, our tests we will figure out how efficient this unit really is, and every competing product we will compare it to has the 80 PLUS certification.

All protection features are present, and the table below details these.



LEPA set pretty high OCP triggering points for the rails, and the same applies to the OVP and UVP thresholds. As for the OTP, our tests failed to trigger it even though we cranked the heat inside the hotbox up to 48°C.

The unit uses a double ball-bearing fan that will last for a while, though it is noisy enough once pushed. There is also no semi-passive operation, which would have greatly reduced noise output with light loads. Given the PSU uses a high-speed fan, it'll require several volts to start spinning, and its minimum RPM isn't something to quaff at either. That said, users in need of a 1.7 kW PSU will most likely use it to power components that produce much more noise than the PSU. The unit is also priced well enough in the EU, offering a high price/performance ratio.

All six +12V rails combined can deliver up to 141 A. Hadn't we already seen the Super Flower Leadex 2 kW unit by now, we would have been very impressed, that's for sure. As we will see, the minor rails are pretty strong, and the 5VSB rail can deliver up to 4 A, which is enough in most cases.

Cables & Connectors, Power Distribution

The P1700-MA supports up to five high-end VGAs, and you have two EPS connectors and one ATX12V cable at your disposal, all at the same time. There are, moreover, fourteen SATA and ten 4-pin Molex connectors for peripheral devices. Only the PCIe cables aren't long enough; add an additional 50-100mm to the latter, and their length would have also been perfect for large cases.

The 24-pin ATX and PCIe/EPS connectors use thicker 16AWG wires for lower voltage drops with high loads, which makes them less flexibility; cable-routing tasks will be pretty tough with these cables. All other connectors use 18AWG gauges.

Another problem we spotted is the awkward position of sockets on the modular PCB, which makes attaching and detaching cables a daunting task. The sockets are very close to each other, and as if that wasn't enough, some connectors take a lot of force before snapping into place properly, with the main ATX one being a striking example.



Power distribution on the modular panel is identical to the LEPA G1600-MA, which isn't ideal. The 12V1 rail should at least power half of the peripheral/SATA sockets, not only the 24-pin ATX connector. The first EPS connector is also powered off the dedicated virtual 12V2 rail, which could feed all other peripheral/SATA sockets. Two rails on only two connectors is overkill as all other connectors have to share four rails.

Similar to the LEPA G1600, you will have to use the second EPS/ATX12V connector. You should connect the cable to the middle-top or top-right socket, which are, respectively, fed by the 12V4 and 12V6 rails. Those rails power a single 12-pin and the peripheral sockets, so you won't be mixing PCIe connectors with this EPS connector, which could trigger the unit's OCP.