Mushkin XP-800AP 800W Review

Testing:

How will I know if this power supply delivers the watts? I need to test how it performs under load, verifying the voltages. With that being said, I can finally start testing the unit. To put this power supply through its paces, I will run a series of tests to load the Mushkin XP-800AP to simulate heavy gaming usage. The testing procedure will include running Stressprime 2004 Orthos Edition to stress the CPU and memory, HDtune to load the hard drives, and 3DMark06 Professional to stress the video card. The test system includes four high-CFM 120mm Antec blue LED fans and one 80mm Ultra blue LED fan to add additional load to the 12-volt line. Additionally, a custom Danger Den water cooling setup will be connected to add more load to the XP-800AP. Voltage measurements will be taken with my trusty voltmeter.

Testing Tools:

• Sperry Pocket Pro DM-2A Digital Multimeter

Testing Setup:

• Processor: Intel Core 2 Duo E8500 333 x 9.5
• Motherboard: Gigabyte X38-DS4 w/ Bios version F3
• Memory: Mushkin Redline XP2-8000 2x2GB 5-5-5-12
• Video Card: ASUS EN8800GT 512MB w/Forceware 169.25
• Power Supply: Mushkin XP-800AP 800 watt
• Hard Drive: 1 x Seagate 750GB SATA
• Opticals: Lite-On 8x DVD+/-RW
• O/S: Windows Vista Ultimate Edition
• Comparison Power Supply: Mushkin 650watt Modular Power supply
• Comparison Power Supply: OCZ GameXstream 700watt
• Comparison Power Supply: Ultra X3 600 watt
• Comparison Power Supply: Bgears Tarantula 550watt modular power supply

The Mushkin XP-800AP ran strong during the testing, but evened out even closer to true values under load, never dipping below the specified voltage. Even switching between the single and quad rails did not affect the performance.