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Xigmatek X-Calibre 400W Review

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Xigmatek X-Calibre 400W Review

Postby c_hegge » July 4th, 2013, 3:17 pm

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Re: Xigmatek X-Calibre 400W Review

Postby shovenose » July 4th, 2013, 7:04 pm

They make some good cases but wow, that's a crappy PSU.
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Re: Xigmatek X-Calibre 400W Review

Postby c_hegge » July 5th, 2013, 3:54 am

I just realised it's still the 4th of July in the US. What a fitting date for this review :mrgreen:
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Re: Xigmatek X-Calibre 400W Review

Postby Pentium » July 5th, 2013, 11:40 am

Nice review, thank you for posting it. I have the step up "500W" version that is actually quite a bit better. I thought mine could only do 350W but if that one did 350W with a 33 transformer, than I imagine mine could do 400W with a 35 transformer. I would have to double check the specs on the primary but it has the same exact silicon on the secondary

http://badcaps.net/forum/showpost.php?p ... count=1156
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Re: Xigmatek X-Calibre 400W Review

Postby Wester547 » July 5th, 2013, 9:14 pm

I understand that it's a 230V only power supply but the EI-33 transformer is abysmal for anything more powerful than 250W, IMO... though at least we know an EI-33 can do 350W on a 230V input voltage. The power supply as a whole seems less than stellar, but I disagree that the STPS30H100CT would be incapable of 35A... it is a full wave rectified output being a half bridge unit so both diodes in the schottky are fully conducting. It is rated at 30A @ 155*C and the surge non repetitive forward current is 250A for 10ms, in a sinusoidal waveform (at 25*C but still) - it can take some abuse. The maximum temperature rating is 175*C and the voltage drops in the datasheet (at 125*C) don't look too bad either... I think it's capable of the labeled rating. I agree that it's bad practice to use rectifiers rated at a lower current than the label, but still... also, the secondary rectifiers are not completely telling of the real current limits on each rail. The main transformer I think is much more the limiter with windings and transformer taps also having a current limit (as well as a voltage drop along with the rest of the coils) and more controlling of how power is distributed on each output. Also, the combined +12V rating is 28A, not 35A. :-)

I disagree about those 13009s... I think, at least on an 115V input, that TO-220 13009s max out at about 300W without the rest of the PSU being seriously overspec'd and extremely well cooled and ventilated. In TO-3P they may be capable of 350W. Since 230V is more efficient than 115V you managed to get 350W out of them but at 400W it exploded, so... I see a minimum load resistor next to one of those Teapos. That Teapo might get toasty and hatch...
Last edited by Wester547 on July 6th, 2013, 1:22 am, edited 3 times in total.
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Re: Xigmatek X-Calibre 400W Review

Postby c_hegge » July 5th, 2013, 9:23 pm

I've pulled 450W from 13009s before. It does take a good design, and good cooling, but it's not impossible.
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Re: Xigmatek X-Calibre 400W Review

Postby LongRunner » July 6th, 2013, 7:33 pm

Considering that it doesn't push the ripple out of spec, I'm surprised by how low the score is.

The label says this:

Tra- ined service people only.
Information is far more fragile than the HDDs it's stored on. Being an afterthought is no excuse for a bad product.

My PC: Core i3 4130 on GA‑H87M‑D3H with GT640 OC 2GiB and 2 * 8GiB Kingston HyperX 1600MHz, Kingston SA400S37120G and WD3003FZEX‑00Z4SA0, Pioneer BDR‑209DBKS and Optiarc AD‑7200S, Seasonic G‑360, Chenbro PC31031, Linux Mint Cinnamon 20.3.
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Re: Xigmatek X-Calibre 400W Review

Postby Pentium » July 9th, 2013, 7:35 pm

I think the score is a little low too. Some in the el cheapo roundup did worse and got a better rating.
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Re: Xigmatek X-Calibre 400W Review

Postby c_hegge » July 9th, 2013, 11:17 pm

Well, you saw what came off for what. What does everyone think I was too harsh on?

Is worth nothing that the cheap generic PSUs usually don't claim to have OPP and sleeved cables, and are usually a little cheaper than this. A lot of them will also outperform this one in terms of voltage regulation and ripple suppression, and use better caps.
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Re: Xigmatek X-Calibre 400W Review

Postby c_hegge » July 31st, 2013, 10:07 pm

Wester547 wrote:Also, the combined +12V rating is 28A, not 35A. :-)


Just noticed that now. I'm too used to the cheapies which don't mention the combined wattage. I fixed that in the review.
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