Review of the PcCooler YN1000 power supply
A year or two ago, when choosing a power supply unit, we paid attention to the element base, manufacturers of capacitors and a fan, and as a weighty argument we looked at the warranty, which reaches a crazy 10 years. But trouble crept up from nowhere, and today the first question that a user should ask himself is whether a new power supply unit will burn down his apartment if you connect a video card with a new-fangled 12VHPWR connector, especially if the computer has an RTX4090 or something like that. Yes, even those who buzzed all our ears with their safety and their standards (albeit not always clear) also managed to get into a puddle, and as usually happens, here's the new ATX 3.1 standard, in which the old devilish 12VHPWR connector is replaced by a new faithful 12V-2x6, which looks the same but it differs in pinout and plug. In the old standard, the plug might not fully fit into the socket, resulting in a skew, increased resistance and heating, followed by the burning off of the conductor.
In the new version of the connector, the signal contacts have become slightly shorter, the power contacts are slightly longer, so if you do not fully plug in the plug, the video card will "not start". Ask me why it was not done from the very beginning, and my answer will seem indecent to you. OK, anyway, you can live on ATX 3.0, but you should already buy ATX 3.1, and we have a top kilowatt with an 80Plus Gold certificate from PcCooler - the YN1000 model. Among the distinctive features here are support for the ATX 3.1 itself and a hybrid mode that is more understandable to the masses (here it is called ECO), in which the fan of the power supply does not work up to a certain load or temperature.
PcCooler brand is a new name in the power supply market
The PcCooler brand itself is an old man in the CPU cooler market, and the fact that the company entered the power supply market is a natural expansion of the business. Do not worry that the company has no experience in developing such devices - all modern high-quality PSUs for PCs are ordered by OEM from one of the major developers - this is either the CWT platform or Seasonic, and the final manufacturer is generally a little-known but large Chinese factory, in this case Andyson. These are the realities of the era of globalization, and virtually any brand can fill the shelves with its BP today, and they will be of the same quality as Deepcool, NZXT, Seasonic or Zalman. It is more important that during the 10-year warranty, the service centers are not covered, and if anything, the power supply could be returned to the seller, but even in this case, the law is on the buyer's side.
Externally, the PcCooler YN1000 power supply does not stand out in any way, except for two points: the first is that this 12V-2x6 connector is painted bright red so that even in the dark, deep in the case, you can see, for example, that the plug is not plugged in. And secondly, the design of the rear grille, which the power supply "looks" outside, is somehow unusual and memorable here.
Cables included
The cables are black, without braid, of medium flexibility. Almost all cores have a cross section of 18AWG, and in the power cable of the video card, the signal conductors are 26AWG, and the current-carrying conductors are 16AWG.
All cables in this model are detachable, which facilitates installation in modern enclosures.
Length and number of cables:
- 1x ATX 20+4 - 560 mm
- 2x CPU 4+4 Pin - 650 mm
- 3x PCI-E 6+2 Pin - 500 mm
- 3x SATA (3 jacks) + Molex 4Pin (1 jack) - 450+120+120+120 mm
- 1x 12V-2X6 (1 jack, 600 Wt) - 650 mm
Processor and PCI-E cables can be plugged into the same connectors, and this is a significant advantage inherent in almost all such models. Unfortunately, the disadvantages are the same - only 3 Molex 4-Pin connectors and a total of only 9 SATA connectors, which is very little for a kilowatt. No, I understand that everyone has already switched to NVME SSD, and most hardcore gamers do not need all these SATA cables, but if you are building a file saver for 20-30 disks, then you will have to buy adapters.
Additionally, the manufacturer applies a plug for the ATX connector to the kit, which allows you to run the power supply without a computer.
Design features
Perhaps I'll start with an interesting feature: this power supply uses an unusual 135 mm HA13525H12F-Z fan, and quite powerful - as much as 6 watts and up to 2000 RPM. At a load of up to 400 watts, it does not work in hybrid mode, because in this case the power supply dissipates no more than 35 watts into the ambient air, and forced ventilation is not needed. The minimum noise level of the fan is 29 dB, the maximum is 43 dB with a total load of 1100 watts per power supply unit.
Fans from this Chinese manufacturer named Ong Hua are installed today in all 80Plus Gold standard power supplies from 700 watts and above. They do not cause much trouble to their owners.
RF interference filtering is implemented by four Y capacitors, two X capacitors, two CM chokes and one metal oxide varistor (MOV). The SCK205R0 thermistor and the HF46F-G relay are used for current protection.
The design uses Japanese capacitors of the most famous brand Nippon Chemi Con, as well as no less branded capacitors Rubycon, Nichicon and solid-state PolyCap, also made in Japan, are present on the board. In general, in the field of capacitors, the PcCooler power supply has assembled a complete deck of trumps by choosing the best suppliers. In an era when everyone saves money on everything, computer power supplies are probably the only niche where manufacturers continue to saw towards quality and famous brands.
But at the same time, with such thoroughbred components that any eminent manufacturer could be proud of, we see an influx of glue or resin on the board, which of course does not affect the performance characteristics, but spoils the overall impression.
The converter for +3.3V and +5V buses is placed on a separate board, as in most modern PSUs.
Test results
When testing, the first thing we do is check the tire voltage output beyond the nominal value at various loads.
Looking at the test results, you are surprised at the voltage stability under various loads, and the deviation from the nominal value is about 1-2%.
In terms of efficiency, we see a pronounced "hump" in the region of 200-500 Watts with a consistent slide to the nominal value. According to this indicator, the power supply, of course, there are not enough stars from the sky, like its relatives with 80Plus Platinum certificates, but it is quite suitable for those who leave workstations turned on around the clock.
Conclusions
We live in an era when globalization is on the march, and if you are a company selling computer components and you want to become like Deepcool, then it's not difficult - buy a platform like Deepcool, cables like Deepcool, put a warranty like Deepcool and sell on the same shelves as Deepcool: you everything will be assembled, packed in a Chinese factory, high-quality components will be supplied, and nothing is required of you except to pay for this whole banquet. It is quite natural that the new PcCooler brand, which had not previously produced power supplies, entered this market with a decent, competitive product. If you do not pay attention to such trifles as resin castings on the board or the absence of a cable bag in the kit, then everything else is the same as what we are used to when considering top-end power supplies from renowned manufacturers. And what those people took 5, 6, 7 or more years to produce, today other brands can release in less than a year.
For me, in such cases, the manufacturer of the components always comes first, and as practice shows, first of all, the capacitors. PSU manufacturers know that I am not the only one, and they choose the best capacitors that are on the market, which are recognizable from photos and videos in reviews, and which guarantee long-term reliable operation. To spoil something in a world where the NZXT layout goes to the left from the same pipeline, Deepcool goes to the right, and PcCooler goes between them, but most likely it is impossible: such processes have been debugged for a long time, and the similarity of each other here plays into the hands of the user, and any doubts are closed with a 10-year warranty.
Michael Degtjarev (aka LIKE OFF)
18/06.2024
