14 DAY TRIAL // Usually, power supply units with an efficiency high enough to warrant the 80 Plus Gold rating are high-end models. DeepCool wanted to expand the benefits of that specification to everyone else, however, so it created the Quanta DQ650 EVO.
Today, efficiency is the most important asset of a power supply, or at least the one most emphasized in press releases and media reports.
The wattage is easy enough to raise or lower, and the components used to ensure stability and endurance are usually the same.
That means that the price-efficiency balance, in addition to the output, has the greatest bearing on the market level that a PSU qualifies for.
However, by that logic, the new DeepCool DQ650 EVO would be a high-end power supply. After all, it has 80 Plus rating and a single +12V rail design.
Nevertheless, DeepCool insists that it is a mid-range PSU. It's a shame we don't know the price, because then we'd be able to tell for sure.
The DeepCool Quanta DQ650 EVO
As the name implies, the power output is of 650W, this being one of the assets which, one might argue, allow the PSU to qualify as a mid-range supply.
In comparison, 80 Plus Gold PSUs usually offer 800W, 900W or more. Sometimes well in excess of 1000W, or even 2000W.
The use of a semi-modular cabling system (four 6+2 pin PCIe, eight SATA, and four Molex connectors are detachable) rather than a fully modular one is the second qualificator, although we've seen enough PSUs of this kind that nonetheless qualified as high-end.
We suppose that we won't believe the newcomer really is a mid-range PSU until the price is revealed. On that note, availability is unknown as well.
Considering all the above, the use of a 140 mm fan and the presence of all standard PSU protections, the PSU will still be among the most expensive of the mainstream segment even if it does qualify for it.
What 80 Plus Gold means
The 80 Plus scale classifies power supplies according to how much energy they waste at 20%, 50% and 100% load. In the case of 80 Plus, the efficiency is of 87%, 90% and 87%, respectively (115V internal non-redundant), and 88%, 92% and 89% (230V internal redundant).
That means that only 13% or 10% of the power delivered through those 24-pin ATX and 4+4 pin EPS cables (the only ones permanently attached) is wasted.
