Internals

The PSUs we test are only taken apart after we test them. However, each time we need to at least get access to the fan, in order to stick a small piece of reflective tape so that we're able to measure the fan spinning speed while the PSU goes through its load cycle. While getting access to just the fan for me as a reviewer is fantastic (just four screws removes the fan grille and allows accessing the fan completely), to pull it outside the case we need to remove 18 additional screws in total.


And as expected opening up the PSU reveals a neat and tightly integrated set of components.


When looking at the primary filtering, we find a separate PCB to host the AC inlet and the power button. On the same board we find one X cap and two Y caps. One additional X caps and two Y caps can be seen on the main PCB, along two chokes and a MOV. Further away we find a dual diode bridge setup with the heatsink in between them.


One side of the PSU is dominated by quite a sizeable daughterboard which hosts two UCD3138A digital voltage controllers.


The DC-DC converter board features two ON3107 and two EMB04N03R MOSFET chips. They are being controlled by a uP3861P.


For the bulk capacitors the C1500 uses not one, not two, but three 820 uF / 420 V electrolytic capacitors from Rubycon. Other electrolytic caps are also either from Rubycon or Nippon Chemi-Con.


On the other side of the PCB we find a few additional components. Namely, two NSi6602BD drivers and a IN1S3151 IC.


The build quality and soldering of the unit is great. Any potentially loose internal cables or noise-prone components have been generously covered in white rubber.


NZXT includes a 140 mm SUNON MFE0251VX-1Q010-S99 fan in the C1500. It uses a magnetic levitation (or maglev) bearing which is considered a step up from even the renowned FDB bearing type in terms of noise and longevity. Like in most cases the fan is partially covered to direct the airflow to the components that need it the most.