Introduction

We would like to thank SAMA for supplying the review sample.



Many of you most likely never heard of SAMA before. We actually have evaluated some affordable offerings by SAMA in the past, and although quality wasn't up to the standards of other well-known OEMs, prices were very low, while their PSUs featured a modern design you wouldn't have come across in other mainstream units; finding Gold-certified units with an LLC resonant topology for 40 bucks is admittedly also almost impossible.

SAMA has been on our radar for quite some time now, and we believe the company to be capable of putting some pressure on other OEMs if it decides to expand into other regions around the globe so long as it has the proper facilities in place to keep up with demand.

Only recently did we notice the release of a high-end SAMA unit that features 80 PLUS Titanium efficiency. Belonging to the 24K series, this unit's model number is FTX-800-2. A quick look at Ecova Plug Load Solution's site, the 80 PLUS organization, reveals two things: Firstly, the FTX-800-2 has an official 80 PLUS Titanium badge, and there is, secondly, an even more impressive SAMA unit, the FTX-800-1 with a Platinum certification but much higher efficiency levels than its Titanium sibling as it actually meets the efficiency requirements of the 80 PLUS Titanium certification! Why is the FTX-800-1 only Platinum certified? Well, a Titanium certification also tasks the unit with over 0.95 PF at 20% load, and the FTX-800-1 only scores 0.92 PF at 20% of its maximum-rated-capacity load. SAMA probably used a less efficient APFC converter with the FTX-800-1 to increase efficiency. Residential consumers, though, only pay for real (active) power, not apparent power, so we believe the FTX-800-1 to be even more interesting than the FTX-800-2 since it is more efficient. As you will have figured by now, we already know which unit we will ask to review next.

The FTX-800-2 not only looks impressive as it also has some nice features. For starters, it is fully modular, only uses Japanese capacitors to handle ripple filtering, and has a top-quality Sanyo Denki fan. The modular cables are also of high quality and are individually sleeved. This model clearly is for enthusiast users, and its capacity puts in the highly popular 750-850 W category, which should help SAMA make a name for itself by attracting the interest of large companies if it performs well.