Test Setup

All measurements are performed utilizing ten electronic loads (seven Array 3711A, 300W each, and three Array 3710A, 150W each), which are able to deliver over 2500W of load and are controlled by a custom made software. We also use a DS1M12 (Stingray) oscilloscope, a CHY 502 thermometer, a Fluke 175 multimeter and an Instek GPM-8212 power meter. Furthermore, in our setup we have included a wooden box, which along with a heating element is used as a Hot Box. Finally, we have at our disposal two more oscilloscopes (Rigol 1052E and VS5042) 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.

Voltage Regulation Charts

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

5VSB Regulation Chart

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

Efficiency Chart

In this chart you will find the efficiency of SF-500P14FG at low loads and at loads equal to 20-120% of PSU’s maximum rated load.

Voltage Regulation and Efficiency Measurements

The first set of tests reveals the stability of voltage rails and the efficiency of SF-500P14FG . The applied load equals to (approximately) 20%, 40%, 50%, 60%, 80% and 100%, of the maximum load that the PSU can handle. In addition, we conduct two more tests. In the first we stress the two minor rails (5V & 3.3V) with a high load, while the load at +12V is only 2A and in the second test we dial the maximum load that +12V can handle while load at minor rails is minimal.


Efficiency is super high but still cannot dethrone the Kingwin STR-500, which as we already stated is exactly the same PSU but in different packaging. Judging from the efficiency differences between the two identical PSUs we can easily figure that even two units that are manufactured by the same product line can have notable differences in performance between them. Nevertheless the voltage regulation on all rails between the STR-500 and the Super Flower unit remains at the same levels, with +12V a little above 1%, 5V around 3.3% and 3.3V over 4%. We would like to see tighter voltage regulation on the minor rails but +12V, the most significant rail, performed excellent here and along with the sky high efficiency made us almost forget the average performance of 5V & 3.3V.

Efficiency at Low Loads

In the next tests, we measure the efficiency of SF-500P14FG at loads much lower than 20% of its maximum rated load (the lowest load that the 80 Plus Standard measures). The loads that we dial are 40, 60, 80 and 100W (for PSUs with over 500W capacity). This is important for scenarios in which a typical office PC is in idle with power saving turned on.


This PSU doesn't care about the load you pull. It will simply give you the highest efficiency money can buy today, in all cases. With only 80W load, efficiency surpasses 90%, this is simply amazing!

5VSB Efficiency

ATX spec states that the 5VSB standby supply's efficiency should be as high as possible and recommends 50% or higher efficiency with 100mA load, 60% or higher with 250mA load and 70% or higher with 1A or more load.
We will take four measurements, three at 100 / 250 / 1000 mA and one with the full load that 5VSB rail can handle.


Although with 100 mA load, efficiency is a little lower than 50%, in all other cases it is higher than the recommended ATX thresholds. With full load at 5VSB, efficiency passes 80%, a fairly good result although not the best we have seen so far.

Power Consumption in Idle & Standby

In the table below you will find the power consumption and the voltage values of all rails (except -12V), when the PSU is in idle mode (On but without any load at its rails) and the power consumption when the PSU is in standby (without any load at 5VSB).


In standby the PSU consumes only 0.48W, so it needs less than half of the limit that ErP Lot 6 defines.