80 PLUS Bronze Certification

The 80 PLUS certification is a voluntary certification program managed by Ecova Plug Load Solutions. While promoted as a technical certification program, it is more useful as a marketing tool by allowing companies to better convey to their potential customers the energy efficiency of their power supplies.

Under this program, such non-redundant power supplies are tested at 115 V at an ambient temperature of 23 °C, and graded according to their energy efficiency and power factor using the following table :

The COUGAR PowerX 550W power supply is rated as 80 PLUS Bronze because it is up to 87% efficient, presumably at 50% load, which puts it just under the 80 PLUS Silver level, even though it also has a power factor of up to 99%.

Although this certification program allows consumers to easily decide which power supply is more efficient, this isn't a guarantee since the test is only done once throughout the production lifetime of the model. Even then, the test is only conducted on a single sample, which opens the process to abuse as the test sample could very likely be cherry-picked. So we recommend you do not rely solely on this certification when you are deciding on a power supply.

Power Output Distribution

Although the power output of a PSU is a key indicator of how much power a system can draw from it, it is also important to consider how it distributes all that power. This table (which can be seen on one side of the PSU) shows the COUGAR PowerX 550W PSU's power output distribution. Do note that there is a typo - the maximum current on the +5V rail is only 15A, not 20A as printed.

As the table above shows, the COUGAR PowerX 550W PSU has two +12V voltage rails. These are rated for a peak output of 516 W, which is 93.8% of the peak power output. Of course, the real world +12V power output will be lower because the PSU will still need to deliver +3.3V and +5V power to the motherboard and storage devices.

The second +12V rail (12V₂) supplies power to the motherboard through the 4-pin ATX power connector, and is rated for 22 A of current. The first +12V rail (12V₁) supplies all other components that require 12 V power, and can handle up to 28 A of current. The COUGAR PowerX PSU dynamically distributes the load on these two +12V rails so that if one of them is pulling less current, the other rail can pull more. This is more of a convenience factor - the user does not need to balance the load between the two rails.

Safety Features

Although most users focus on the PSU's power output, seasoned hardware enthusiasts pay attention to the PSU's safety features. It is important that if something happens to the PSU, it must be able to protect the devices connected to it. Let's take a look at the COUGAR PowerX 550W power supply's safety features :

Undervoltage Protection (UVP)
- If the voltages fall below a certain tolerance value on the single lines, the PSU automatically switches off.

Overvoltage Protection (OVP)
- If the voltages increase above a certain tolerance value on the single lines, the PSU automatically switches off. This includes the 5 Vsb line which powers USB devices on standby.

Short-Circuit Protection (SCP)
- In the case of a short-circuit, this feature prevents damage to the core components of the PSU and its system components.

Overload Protection (OPP)
- If the system is oversized and requires more power from the PSU than it can deliver, this protection function is activated.

Overcurrent Protection (OCP)
- If the load on a single line is higher than indicated, the PSU automatically switches off.

Over-Temperature Protection (OTP)
- If the temperature is too high, the PSU automatically switches off.

Support Tech ARP!

If you like our work, you can help support out work by visiting our sponsors, participate in the Tech ARP Forums, or even donate to our fund. Any help you can render is greatly appreciated!