Test Setup

All measurements were performed using two Chroma 6314A mainframes equipped with the following electronic loads: six 63123A [350 W each], one 63102A [100 W x2], and one 63101A [200 W]. The aforementioned equipment is able to deliver 2500 W of load, and all loads are controlled by a custom-made software. We also used a Picoscope 3424 oscilloscope, a Picotech TC-08 thermocouple data logger, a Fluke 175 multimeter, and a Yokogawa WT210 power meter. We also included a wooden box, which, along with some heating elements, was used as a hot box. Finally, we had at our disposal four more oscilloscopes (Rigol 1052E and VS5042, Stingray DS1M12, a second Picoscope 3424), and a CEM DT-8852 sound level meter. In this article, you will find more details about our equipment and the review methodology we follow. Finally, we conduct all of our tests at 40°C-45°C ambient in order to simulate with higher accuracy the environment seen inside a typical system, with 40°C-45°C being derived from a standard ambient assumption of 23°C and 17°C-22°C being added for the typical temperature rise within a system.

Primary Rails Voltage Regulation

The following charts show the voltage values of the main rails, recorded over a range from 60 W to the maximum specified load, and the deviation (in percent) for the same load range.

5VSB Regulation

The following chart shows how the 5VSB rail deals with the load we throw at it.

Hold-up Time

Hold-up time is a very important PSU characteristic and represents the amount of time, usually measured in milliseconds, a PSU can maintain output regulations as defined by the ATX spec without input power. In other words, it is the amount of time the system can continue to run without shutting down or rebooting during a power interruption. The ATX spec sets the minimum hold-up time to 16 ms with the maximum continuous output load. In the following screenshot, the blue line is the mains signal and the yellow line is the "Power Good" signal. The latter is de-asserted to a low state when any of the +12V, 5V, or 3.3V output voltages fall below the undervoltage threshold, or after the mains power has been removed for a sufficiently long time to guarantee that the PSU cannot operate anymore.



The hold-up time was very low, so the unit scored a big fail in this test. The bulk cap is obviously very small for the task, and Sirtec should have used a larger one.

Inrush Current

Inrush current or switch-on surge refers to the maximum, instantaneous input-current drawn by an electrical device when first turned on. Because of the charging current of the APFC capacitor(s), PSUs produce large inrush-current right as they are turned on. Large inrush current can cause the tripping of circuit breakers and fuses and may also damage switches, relays, and bridge rectifiers; as a result, the lower the inrush current of a PSU right as they are turned on, the better.



The small hold-up cap leads to very low inrush current, which is the only positive of the whole APFC cap story.

Voltage Regulation and Efficiency Measurements

The first set of tests revealed the stability of the voltage rails and the efficiency of the HALE82 V2 700 W. The applied load was equal to (approximately) 20%, 40%, 50%, 60%, 80%, 100%, and 110% of the maximum load the PSU can handle. We conducted two additional tests. In the first test, we stressed the two minor rails (5V and 3.3V) with a high load while the load at +12V was only 0.10 A. This test reveals whether the PSU is Haswell ready or not. In the second test, we dialed the maximum load the +12V rail could handle while the load on the minor rails was minimal.


Voltage regulation isn't tight enough, especially on the 3.3V rail deviating by over 3%. Also, the 5VSB rail registered one of the largest deviations we have ever measured, reaching close to 5%. In terms of efficiency, the unit performed well at low-medium loads for a Bronze unit, but it took quite a hit and dropped close to the 84% efficiency mark at full load.

The NZXT HALE82 V2 performed horribly in our crossload tests, which clearly shows its ineptitude with highly unbalanced loads. It also failed the CL1 test based on the corresponding Intel test, making it incompatible with Haswell's new sleep states (C6 and C7). It has been quite some time since we reviewed a PSU with such a bad performance in these tests, and NZXT should know better. The performance gap between the HALE90 and HALE82 units is huge and unacceptable for a PSU that costs 100 bucks. Let's say the design didn't allow for better performance in the CL1 test because the +12V rail handles a low load while the secondary rails are pushed to their maximum: There is still no excuse for its lousy +12V performance indicative of a weak +12V rail that simply isn't up to the task. The only positive here is that the unit managed to deliver its full power at ambient temperatures that exceeded 45°C.

For those of you that noticed: The fan noise/speed ratio decreased slightly at full load and in overload and CL2 tests. This is because of the low +12V rail through which the fan circuit is fed. Voltage on the same rail actually went through the roof during the CL1 test, which made the fan spin at crazily high speeds.