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.

Auriga-Label Auriga

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 auriga-test6-12v auriga-ol-12v
5V auriga-test6-5v auriga-ol-5v
3.3V auriga-test6-3.3v auriga-ol-3.3v
−12V auriga-test6--12v auriga-ol--12v
5Vsb auriga-test6-5vsb auriga-ol-5vsb

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

Disassembly

Auriga-Primary Auriga-Secondary

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.

Auriga-Fan Auriga-Internals

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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