A Look Inside & Component Analysis

Before reading this page, we strongly suggest a look at this article, which will help you understand the internal components of a PSU much better. Our main tool for the disassembly of the PSU is a Thermaltronics TMT-9000S soldering and rework station. It is of extreme quality and is equipped with a matching de-soldering gun. With such equipment in hand, breaking apart every PSU is like a walk in the park!


This unit's OEM is Andyson, and the design is modern since an LLC resonant converter is used in the primary side for increased efficiency. Active components in the secondary side rectify the +12V rail, and a couple DC-DC converters generate the minor rails. We also noticed that the unit is equipped with pretty large heatsinks despite its high efficiency rating. Platinum units usually use much smaller heatsinks because they generate very little heat; however, the larger the heatsinks, the less work for the fan, which decreases noise output.


The first part of the transient filter is located at the AC receptacle and only includes a couple Y caps. It continues on the main PCB with two CM chokes, three X caps (we desoldered one to identify the rectifying bridges), two Y caps, and an MOV. We also found the NTC thermistor responsible for protecting against large inrush currents and the associate relay that bypasses it once the startup phase finishes here.


The two parallel bridge rectifiers are bolted together. Installing each to touch the sides of the heatsink would cool these more effectively, but Andyson apparently meant to increase operating temperatures since less energy is lost on the bridge diodes if temperatures are high.


The APFC converter uses a pair of P24N65E fets and a CREE C3D10060 boost diode.



The two parallel bulk caps are of very high quality since both are provided by Hitachi (400 V, 330 µF each or 660 µF combined, 105°C).


The APFC controller is a Champion CM6502TX IC, while the standby PWM controller is an STR-A6069H.


Two STP28NM50N fets act as main switchers.


Four IRFB7437 fets rectify the +12V rails.


A mix of Teapo and Junfu electrolytic caps and several Teapo polymer caps filter the ripple in the secondary side. Xigmatek speaks for Japanese caps inside this PSU, but they forgot to mention that their statement only applies to those used by the APFC circuit, which aren't as important as the caps of the secondary side since those actually rid the voltage rails of ripple.


Two small DC-DC converters generate the minor rails. Each uses an APW7073 PWM controller and a single fet.


This small PCB provides the reverse thrust to the fan during startup.


A shame since we found out that there is room for improvement in ripple suppression, the modular board only holds two polymer caps for some extra filtering, although there is space for three more.


Soldering quality isn't that great, with many sloppy solder joints, and the solder side of the PCB doesn't look very clean, though we didn't find any of the long component leads that can cause problems. The LLC resonant controller is installed on this side and is most likely a Champion CM6901 IC. We also noticed three current sense resistors under each +12V islands, but two are shorted, so the +12V rails actually only use two.


The supervisor IC is a SITI PS223 and is installed directly on the main PCB. This IC is one of the very few to support OTP (Over Temperature Protection) out of the box.


The cooling fan carries Xigmatek's badge, but its true manufacturer is Young Lin Tech, and its model number is DFS132512H. It uses a Hysint bearing, which is essentially an upgraded sleeve bearing or, in other words, another type of patented Fluid Dynamic Bearing (FDB). The fan's maximum speed reaches 1700 RPM. Capable of pushing 91.16 CFM, its manufacturer says maximum noise output to be 36.28 dBA, but we know that to be a very optimistic estimate.