Lepa B-Series 850W — The Leopard Attacks
Lepa is a new brand in the computer components industry, currently
selling power supplies and peripheral equipment such as external storage
(HDD/SSD) cases. For our first look at the company, we'll be torture
testing their B850-MA power supply, one of the best products Lepa sells.
Enermax has close ties with the company, and the idea behind Lepa is to
offer inexpensive solutions and leave Enermax products to focus on the
high-end (and higher cost) markets. Let's see what the B850 has to offer
and if it can meet our expectations.
The package includes a power cord, four screws to mount the power
supply in the case, a user guide, and a 15cm long FDD adapter. A plastic
bag protects the power supply from dust and dirt.
Noteworthy features
include the already mentioned 80 Plus Bronze certification and the
separate +12V outputs for the CPU connectors. In addition Lepa offers a
3-year warranty on their PSUs (two years less than Enermax, which is one
more area where they can work to reduce the price).
The PSU has four +12V outputs with a maximum current of 20A or 30A.
Together these outputs can provide 750W. The combined 180W of the +5V
and +3.3V output is quite powerful; most current power supplies use a
DC-to-DC converter that can't deliver more than 150 watts. Whether this
is good or bad depends on the PC system. +5VSB can handle up to 3A.
The 135mm fan is an RL4Z B1352512H from Globe Fan. This model is used
in many power supplies that are manufactured by Sirtec (High Power).
With a maximum of 1500RPM it has a moderate speed within the RLXX
series, and it can reach a sound pressure level of approximately 29 dBA.
However, since the fan output starts at 6V the noise levels are usually
not that high. The fan uses 0.33A and consists of 11 fan blades with
rough edges.
Appearance, Cables and Connectors
The whole housing is coated with a shiny black finish. The fan grille
with a Lepa logo in the middle is silver, and both sides of the case
bear Lepa logo. Apart from the 24-pin cable the cable sleeving is
unimpressive. As usual the ventilation holes are honeycombed and a large
power switch is located next to the AC input. On the front are modular
cable connectors, color coded for PCIe (red) and peripherals (black). In
addition there is a chart for all the pin allocations. The depth of the
device is 16cm, which is normal for a power supply with modular cables.
| Cables and Connectors | ||
|
|
Main | 24-pin 50cm fixed |
| ATX12V/EPS12V | 4+4-pin 60cm fixed, 8-pin 60cm fixed | |
| PCIe | 2x 6/8-pin (50, 65cm), 2x 6/8-pin (50, 65cm), 2x 6/8-pin (50, 65cm) all modular | |
| Peripheral | 3x SATA, 1x HDD (45, 60, 75, 80cm), 3x SATA, 1x HDD (45, 60, 75, 90cm) all modular | |
| 2x SATA, 1x HDD ( 45, 60, 75 cm), 2x SATA, 1x HDD ( 45, 60, 75 cm) all modular | ||
Both CPU cables along with the large motherboard connector are fixed,
and the 60cm ATX12V/EPS12V cables are reasonably long. Lepa includes six
6/8-pin PCIe connectors, two on each cable. The FDD connector is a
separate adapter that splits off a Molex connector if needed; there are
only four Molex connectors available, so if you need an FDD connector in
addition to several Molex connectors you'll have to purchase a
splitter. There are four SATA/Molex cable harnesses, each with one Molex
connector on the end. The total number of SATA connectors on the other
hand is a satisfying 10, which should be more than enough for most
users.
Like the exterior, the internal design shows some interesting
details. They tell us Sirtec (High Power) is the manufacturer of the
B-series. There are three thin heatsinks and one large yellow capacitor,
which are typical components for Sirtec power supplies. The PCB for the
modular ports is isolated by a thin plastic sheet since it's very close
to the main PCB. Generally, the power supply case is well filled out.
The multi-layer mainboard consists of fiberglass mats and epoxy resin.
This also applies to the small PCB with the fan control.
Sirtec uses capacitors from Rubycon (main cap) and Teapo. In addition
every output voltage has its own regulation circuit and storage coils. A
safety IC from SITI offers OVP, UVP, and 4-channel OCP. The EMI
filtering includes all the important components. The X capacitor behind
the entrance is isolated as well; note that older Sirtec products didn't
have shrink tubings there.
Voltage Regulation
Noise Levels
Efficiency and PFC
Unsurprisingly the power supply has no problems with both crossload
tests. The measured values are not as good as the results from power
supplies with DC-to-DC, but the results are great for a PSU in this
price class. With a small load the voltages are relatively high while
power factor is low. At 20% load both the efficiency and the PF are
satisfying. At peak load Lepa reaches more than 86% efficiency, which is
quite good for 80 Plus Bronze. It seems that the customer gets
everything promised in the product description.
The ripple voltage and noise are moderate; even so, the results could
be better. During 100% load the +3.3V ripple was close to the upper
limit of the ATX specification. The subjective loudness corresponds to
what one would expect from a power supply like this. Under light load
the fan rotates as slowly as possible. With 80% load the fan is clearly
audible, but since most 850W PSUs are used in high-end PCs the graphics
cards needed to hit 80% load (680W output) will in all likelihood be
making the lion's share of the system noise.
Conclusion
The Lepa B850-MA offers great quality and performance for its price.
The ripple and noise results on each output are moderate, and the same
applies to the acoustic noise levels. This PSU had no problem with our
crossload tests. The connector configuration is outstanding since Lepa
installed six PCIe plugs. Only those who need a large number of Molex
connectors are likely to find the connections insufficient.
Inside of the PSU the input filtering and the safety functions are
satisfying—just as expected. Lepa (Sirtec) uses a high-quality material
for all printed circuit boards. Often the ICs are soldered on PCBs that
are made out of laminated paper. The choice of the capacitors and
semiconductors is not significantly different from what other
manufacturers use. A striking feature is the regulation of all output
voltages, as they get raised or lowered separately; +5V and 3.3V are
controlled via magnetic amplifiers. The output wires in the power supply
are secured with cable ties, and internally there's a lot of space for
cooling the output chokes. This is not (only) relevant for the choke as
the surrounding components, such as capacitors and rectifier diodes, get
warmed up.
During the load test, the efficiency isn't the highest we've seen (not
even the highest 80 Plus Bronze), but it meets the requirements for the
certification and is high enough for mainstream users . At 10% load
efficiency reaches nearly 80%, but the power factor is about 0.700,
which is a poor result.
Things improve once loads get above 20% and
particularly at 50% and higher. In addition we have to criticize the
relatively high ripple and noise at +3.3V during full load;
nevertheless, all output voltages work within specification. The fan is
relatively quiet at first and no electronic interference can be heard.
At high load the RPMs are much higher so we wouldn't call it silent or
even quiet, but most computers won't reach sucn a load without
generating noise from GPU and CPU fans, so the overall noise should be
passable for most users.
As mentioned already, the six PCIe connectors are a noteworthy
addition, even if there are two per harness. The number of CPU and SATA
connectors is also beneficial. However, only one Molex plug per
peripheral cable (four pieces all in all) may create some difficulties
with wiring in some scenarios. In addition the Molex connectors are all
at the end of the harnesses; two or three connectors on a single harness
would be more flexible in many PCs, especially if you have to sacrifice
one for the FDD adapter. The package contents are similar to what other
manufacturers offer, but the cable sleeving could be better. However,
this is a matter of taste and has nothing to do with the qualitative
assessment of the power supply itself.
In summary, Lepa makes a fair impression. We didn't find any significant issues during testing, and the current price of $110 for the B850 (with free shipping) is very impressive—or if you prefer, Newegg has it for $120 with a $40 MIR. The Corsair TX850 V2 with its 5-year warranty and the XFX Black Edition
Series are noteworthy competitors, though both require a mail-in rebate
to get the pricing close to that of the Lepa and the Lepa still has a
large MIR if you're willing to go that route. Most good quality
800W-900W power supplies are even more expensive and offer fewer
connectors than the B850, though we have to mention the PC Power and Cooling 80
Plus Silver PSU (also manufactured by Sirtec) as one option with a
similarly low price (after rebate)—but it lacks the modular cabling.
Overall, we're impressed with what Lepa offers for a very reasonable
price; it's not the best performing power supply, but for $110 it
definitely provides a good price/performance ratio for a moderately high
output PSU.
source:www.anandtech.com
