The 2014 El-Cheapo Power Supply Roundup

Auriga Power MPT-301

Auriga is a brand I’ve only occasionally come across in the past, and the few I have seen have all been from this same model. The MPT in the model number gives away the OEM as being Casing Macron. I haven’t thus far been able to review a power supply from this company as every single last one I’ve seen has failed due to bad capacitors. This unit, however, seems to be an exception.

It looks like we are dealing with another 5V-heavy unit here. The good news is, though, I really wouldn’t be surprised if, for once, we have an honestly rated unit here. 300W is not a lot to ask from a power supply, and we have already had plenty of cheaper units which are capable of that.

Test Results

Test 1 (73.87W Load)

Rail	Load	Voltage	Ripple
12V	2.37A	12.0V	15.8mV
5V	5.06A	5.06V	10.6mV
3.3V	4.88A	3.32V	6.0mV
−12V	0.09A	−11.37V	4.2mV
5Vsb	0.5A	5.04V	9.0mV
AC Power	96.0W
Efficiency	76.95%
Power Factor	0.62
Intake Temp	25°C
Exhaust Temp	29°C

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Test 2 (101.2W Load)

Rail	Load	Voltage	Ripple
12V	4.68A	11.89V	19.8mV
5V	5.08A	5.08V	11.6mV
3.3V	4.87A	3.31V	6.0mV
−12V	0.1A	−11.44V	5.0mV
5Vsb	0.51A	5.05V	10mV
AC Power	127.6W
Efficiency	79.31%
Power Factor	0.66
Intake Temp	25°C
Exhaust Temp	31°C

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Test 3 (152.66W Load)

Rail	Load	Voltage	Ripple
12V	9.12A	11.72V	28.2mV
5V	5.1A	5.1V	13.4mV
3.3V	4.87A	3.31V	7.4mV
−12V	0.1A	−11.54V	7.2mV
5Vsb	0.5A	5.04V	12.0mV
AC Power	189.7W
Efficiency	80.47%
Power Factor	0.66
Intake Temp	25°C
Exhaust Temp	33°C

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Test 4 (198.95W Load)

Rail	Load	Voltage	Ripple
12V	9.21A	11.83V	31.4mV
5V	10.08A	5.04V	14.2mV
3.3V	10.0A	3.30V	9.4mV
−12V	0.1A	−11.76V	9.4mV
5Vsb	1.0A	5.02V	14.2mV
AC Power	243.3W
Efficiency	81.77%
Power Factor	0.66
Intake Temp	25°C
Exhaust Temp	37°C

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Test 5 (253.06W Load)

Rail	Load	Voltage	Ripple
12V	13.46A	11.63V	41.2mV
5V	10.12A	5.06V	16mV
3.3V	10A	3.30V	11.2mV
−12V	0.2A	−11.77V	12.8mV
5Vsb	2.0A	5.0V	17.4mV
AC Power	313.0W
Efficiency	80.85%
Power Factor	0.66
Intake Temp	26°C
Exhaust Temp	41°C

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Test 6 (309.13W Load)

Rail	Load	Voltage	Ripple
12V	15.61A	11.61V	50.4mV
5V	15.06A	5.02V	19.2mV
3.3V	9.97A	3.29V	13.2mV
−12V	0.4A	−11.85V	17.2mV
5Vsb	2.98A	4.97V	20.8mV
AC Power	389.1W
Efficiency	79.45%
Power Factor	0.65
Intake Temp	26°C
Exhaust Temp	43°C

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Overload Test (351.32W Load)

Rail	Load	Voltage	Ripple
12V	19.5A	11.43V	52.4mV
5V	15.12A	5.04V	20.2mV
3.3V	9.94A	3.28V	17.6mV
−12V	0.4A	−12.01V	24.2mV
5Vsb	2.98A	4.97V	27.4mV
AC Power	464.1W
Efficiency	75.70%
Power Factor	0.63
Intake Temp	30°C
Exhaust Temp	54°C

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Yes, this unit is indeed honestly rated. Not only can it deliver the rated 300W, but it can do so with everything in spec. Unfortunately, however, it doesn’t appear to like being loaded too heavily on the 12V rail. In my more 12V heavy load test pattern, the 12V rail started at 12V on the dot in Test 1 and dropped to 11.61V in Test 6, which gives us 0.39V, or 3.25% regulation. The 5V rail had maximum and minimum values of 5.1V and 5.02V respectively, giving us 0.1V, or 2% worst-case regulation and 0.08V, or 1.6% variation. The 3.3V rail started at 3.32V and dropped to 3.29V in Test 6, which gives us 0.02V, or 0.6% worst-case regulation, and 0.03V, or 0.9% variation. It’s an excellent result on the 5V and 3.3V rails, but a very average result on the 12V rail.

The efficiency wasn’t too bad either – it did actually stay above 80% when loaded between 150 and 250W. The exhaust temperature was 4°C warmer than the intake to start with and was 17°C Warmer in test 6.  This is kind of warm, but at least this unit has an excuse for getting warm – unlike the A-Power, it has a fan controller, and was fairly quiet throughout the testing. I was able to overload the power supply to 350W; it survived, but the 12V rail voltage was very close to the minimum allowable, the efficiency had dropped to just under 76%, and the exhaust temperature was a whole 24°C warmer than the intake (which itself was a few degrees higher than the other tests, as I performed it a later date than the other tests, and the weather was considerably warmer).

Rail	Test 6 (309.13W)	Test 6 (309.13W)
12V
5V
3.3V
−12V
5Vsb

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The ripple was kept well in check – staying below half the maximum allowable levels at all times.

Disassembly

The input filtering consists of two X caps, two common-mode chokes, four Y caps (plus a fifth after the rectifier) and one MOV, which is plenty of components. The bridge rectifier is a 6A part and the primary capacitors are 680µF parts from G-Luxon. The Switching Transistors are Fuji Electric 2SC2625 parts rated at 10A. These parts are all good enough for a 300W unit.

The 12V rail uses a MOSPEC U16C20C ultra-fast recovery rectifier, which is rated at 16A – just good enough for the claimed 15A of 12V capacity. The other two rails use SBL3040PT Schottky rectifiers, which are rated at 30A. Two are used on the 5V rail, and one on the 3.3V. These rectifiers are good for double the rated current on these rails. The capacitors on the secondary side are mostly from G-Luxon, with the exception of a few GoldLink and some small Fuhjyyu parts. These days G-Luxon caps are made by Teapo, but this unit uses the older G-Luxons, which are of extremely poor quality – almost down there with Fuhjyyu. As I have stated earlier, it’s a rare event that I see a Macron-built power supply that doesn’t have failed caps. This unit is the exception, not the rule.

The fan is made by Superred and uses a sleeve bearing. It is temperature controlled, and was only really noticeable during the overload test. The heatsinks are small and not particularly thick – especially the primary heatsink. This might just explain why the unit ran a little warm. I would much prefer to see some larger heatsinks used.

Specifications and Conclusions

Real Wattage	350W
OEM	Casing Macron
PFC	None
Price	Unknown
ATX Connector type	20 pin
Worst-case voltage regulation (12v, 5v, 3.3v)	3.25%, 2.0%, 0.6%
Worst-case ripple (12v, 5v, 3.3v)	50.4mV, 19.2mV, 13.2mV
Worst-case efficiency	76.95%
Input filtering	Adequate
CPU Connector	ATX12V (4 pin)
PCIe Connectors	None
Molex (Peripheral) Connectors	6
FDD Power connectors	2
SATA Power connectors	None

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Pros: Can deliver more than 300W, Good ripple suppression, Quiet, Reasonably efficient for a half-bridge design

Cons: Low quality capacitors (−2), Mediocre 12V regulation (−1), 5V-heavy (−1), Dated connector configuration (−1), Fan could be better (−1)

Score: 4/10

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