Contents
Aywun A1-1000
Those of you who read my review on the Aywun Megapower Elite 550W may recall that in the beginning of the review, I mentioned that I have come across some of their lower end power supplies, and that they were the kind of power supply which would appear in this roundup. The unit we have here, the A1-1000 is one of the ones I was referring to. This is Aywun’s absolute cheapest, bottom of the range unit, and is rated at 320W.
Unlike the Elite 550W, this one looks to be another 5V-heavy unit, which would be better suited to an older PC with no 12V CPU connector
Load Testing
Test 1 (116.84W Load – Cold)
Rail | Load | Voltage | Ripple |
12V | 4.87A | 12.17V | 52.0mV |
5V | 4.98A | 4.98V | 64.0mV |
3.3V | 9.97A | 3.29V | 87.6mV |
−12V | 0A | −12.24V | 20.0mV |
5Vsb | 0A | 4.97V | 23.0mV |
AC Power | 147.08W | ||
Efficiency | 79.44% | ||
Power Factor | 0.61 |
Test 2 (207.98W Load – Cold)
Rail | Load | Voltage | Ripple |
12V | 9.8A | 12.25V | 89.2mV |
5V | 9.9A | 4.95V | 69.8mV |
3.3V | 9.97A | 3.29V | 94.6mV |
−12V | 0.1A | −12.39V | 56.8mV |
5Vsb | 0.98A | 4.92V | 81.2mV |
AC Power | 255.03W | ||
Efficiency | 81.55% | ||
Power Factor | 0.59 |
Test 3 (265.13W Load – Cold)
Rail | Load | Voltage | Ripple |
12V | 14.56A | 12.13V | 103.6mV |
5V | 9.96A | 4.98V | 81.4mV |
3.3V | 9.97A | 3.29V | 93.4mV |
−12V | 0.11A | −12.69V | 77.4mV |
5Vsb | 0.98A | 4.91V | 81.8mV |
AC Power | 323.94W | ||
Efficiency | 81.85% | ||
Power Factor | 0.59 |
Test 4 (316.41W Load – Cold)
Rail | Load | Voltage | Ripple |
12V | 19.06A | 11.91V | 123.0mV |
5V | 10.06A | 5.03V | 88.2mV |
3.3V | 9.94A | 3.28V | 89.4mV |
−12V | 0.11A | −13.19V | 109.8mV |
5Vsb | 0.98A | 4.9V | 77.8mV |
AC Power | 404.79W | ||
Efficiency | 78.17% | ||
Power Factor | 0.59 |
This is the only power supply in this roundup which didn’t blow up or shut down below its labelled rating. It delivered 320W without blowing up, and it shut down when I asked for more, but it didn’t deliver a clean 320W. The ripple was always too high, and was even approaching the 100mV mark at times on the 3.3V rail – double the maximum allowable 50mV. So, like the Excel, all 10 points will be coming off the final score. The 5V rail was slightly better, but not by much. The efficiency was also very average. At least the voltage regulation was OK.
Rail | Test 3 (265.13W) | Test 4 (316.41W) |
12V | ||
5V | ||
3.3V | ||
−12V | ||
5Vsb |
A Look Inside
If I could sum up the A1-1000’s internals in one word, it would be gutless. The input filtering is missing entirely. There’s not an X cap, choke, or Y cap to be seen. Instead of a bridge rectifier, it uses four individual diodes. The ones used are only rated for 2A, which is about as low as manufacturers go. The primary capacitors are only 330µF parts made by LW, a brand I’ve never heard of before. The switching transistors are the same JD 13007s as the switchers in the Besta PT-550.
The Secondary rectifiers are all made by JD Semiconductors. The 12V rail uses a 16F020C Fast recovery rectifier rated at 16A, the 5V rail uses a 20S45 20A Schottky rectifier, and the 3.3V rail uses a 16S45 16A Schottky rectifier. They are all just good enough to deliver the maximum labelled current. All of the capacitors are made by BH. Each of the rails only has a single capacitor to filter the ripple, and there are no PI filter coils, which is why the ripple was too high.
The fan is branded BaoDiKai. I’ve only ever seen one or two other fans from this brand before, and both were in cheap junk power supplies. The label does tell us that this fan runs at 2500RPM. The power supply lacks a fan controller, so the fan is wired directly to the 12V output, and was easily audible throughout the testing. The heat sinks are insanely thin – less than 1mm thick. I was able to bend the tops of them upwards with nothing but my bare fingers – something which I don’t get to do very often, even with cheap and nasty power supplies. Heat sinks this thin don’t conduct heat away from the rectifiers and transistors and up to the fins very well.
Specifications and Conclusions
Real Wattage | 0W |
OEM | Leadway Electronics/Meiji Power |
PFC | None |
Price | Unknown |
ATX Connector type | 20+4 pin |
Worst-case voltage regulation (12v, 5v, 3.3v) | 2.1%, 1%, 0.6% |
Worst-case ripple (12v, 5v, 3.3v) | 123.0mV, 88.2mV, 94.6mV |
Worst-case efficiency | 79.44% |
Input filtering | None |
CPU Connector | ATX12v (4 pin) |
PCI-E Connectors | 1x 6 pin |
Molex (Peripheral) Connectors | 4 |
FDD Power connectors | 1 |
SATA Power connectors | 2 |
Pros: Working OPP
Cons: Can’t deliver anything with the ripple in spec, No input filtering, Inefficient, Noisy/No fan controller, Low quality fan and capacitors, Extremely thin heat sinks
Score: 0/10