Voltage Regulation

+3.3V Regulation/Ripple and Noise
Load Voltage
5% 3.34V (9mV)
10% 3.33V (14mV)
20% 3.31V (17mV)
50% 3,31V (22mV)
80% 3.29V (24mV)
100% 3.27V (27mV)
110% 3.27V (30mV)
Crossload +12V max. -0.30%
Crossload +3.3V/+5V max. +1.52%

 

+5V Regulation/Ripple and Noise
Load Voltage
5% 5.10V (7mV)
10% 5.10V (11mV)
20% 5.10V (16mV)
50% 5.08V (19mV)
80% 5.02V (23mV)
100% 4.99V (27mV)
110% 4.97V (29mV)
Crossload +12V max. +1.00%
Crossload +3.3V/+5V max. -0.80%

 

+12V Regulation (Worst Ouput)/Ripple and Noise (Worst Output)
Load Voltage
5% 12.14V (20mV)
10% 12.10V (24mV)
20% 12.10V (29mV)
50% 12.08V (33mV)
80% 12.06V (37mV)
100% 12.00V (42mV)
110% 11.99V (44mV)
Crossload +12V max. -0.16%
Crossload +3.3V/+5V max. -0.42%

Noise Levels

Sound Pressure Level (Ambient: 16dBA, 1m distance) and Temperatures (Δϑ to 23.4 °C ambient temperature)
Load Opinion
5% 18 dBA (0.9°C)
10% 18 dBA (2.0 °C)
20% 18 dBA (5.1 °C)
50% 22 dBA (6.2 °C)
80% 27 dBA (8.6 °C)
100% 27 dBA (9.5 °C)
110% 27 dBA (11.2 °C)

Efficiency and PFC

Efficiency and Power Factor 115 VAC
Load Efficiency PFC
5% 71.25% 0.812
10% 84.97% 0.842
20% 91.03% 0.939
50% 91.64% 0.945
80% 91.22% 0.972
100% 90.79% 0.989
110% 90.38% 0.990

 

Efficiency and Power Factor 230 VAC
Load Efficiency PFC
5% 73.29% 0.735
10% 86.85% 0.829
20% 91.84% 0.877
50% 92.42% 0.925
80% 91.85% 0.956
100% 91.08% 0.972
110% 90.72% 0.983

Looking at the tables, all rails are within specification and acceptable for an expensive power supply. In fact, 12V didn't even drop below 12.00V at full load. However, ripple is much more important. Here the Fortress 450W can keep up with most other brands, even if Seasonic is still the best. Even at 10% load Rosewill delivers 85% to 87% efficiency. 115VAC reaches up to 91.64% efficiency, while 230VAC delivers slightly better results. From 0% to 50% load the Fortress remains silent, but once the load goes beyond this level the fan RPMs increase rapidly. The good news is that the bearing is absolutely inaudible and we didn't hear the chokes singing.

Internal Design Conclusion
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  • Jerman - Saturday, September 15, 2012 - link

    Minor gramattical error on the final page:
    but the Rosewill Fortress 450W is currently one the most advanced consumer power supply available.

    Forgot an "of" after one... Thanks for the great article though!
  • jigglywiggly - Monday, September 17, 2012 - link

    you guys are such fagets
    i read this just fine
    if you get pissed off over gramatical errors on the internet
    you're going to have a bad time
  • pattycake0147 - Monday, September 17, 2012 - link

    That's because you're reading it after the editing. I'm reading it again now, and I agree that it does read fine now. Thanks for the improvements AT.
  • KenRico - Monday, September 17, 2012 - link

    Was challenged to find a good PS under $100 and shopped for single 12v rail unit.

    More challenging than I anticipated, but much easier to wade through than the benenfits of bronze vs platinum vs gold ect. Customer loves Seasonic and usually buys their Platinum 850W .

    Ended up with another Seasonic : SeaSonic M12II 650 SS-650AM 650W BRONZE Semi-modular . Good quaility and happy client.

    Got lucky was on sale, and dropped pretty close to disty price without a min or freight .

    In my tired Core i5 750 running a Rosewill 600W $40 special - with no big video to drive and no other PS below $70 really standing out has been a budget driven decision that has held up.

    Kenny
  • hasseb64 - Tuesday, September 18, 2012 - link

    "In short, Bronze gets you 95% of the efficiency of Gold for about 2/3 the cost, and 92% of the efficiency of Platinum for about half the price. A typical system that draws around 75W at idle would save 8W going from Bronze to Platinum. At that rate and paying $0.10 per kWh, you save $7 per year when running the PC 24/7. For servers and other PCs that are on 24/7 already and consume a lot more power, efficiency can make a lot of sense (e.g. power savings of around $40 per year for a 500W server using the same $0.10 per kWh), but for home users there needs to be something more than just pure efficiency to make the increased cost worthwhile"

    Why ON earth must a PSU treated from a economical viewpoint? Just because there is a saving dosent mean that that have to be compared to the investment? Are PRIVATEs now all bound to corporate investment rules? A PSU is one of few products you can buy were it is possible to save energy / money, still it is a PRODUCT and should be treated as a iPHONE or a any other product. Do you private buyer have any other source were you can do savings/investments at a higher rate / lower risk than a PSU? Therefor leave all discussions of pure savings OUT of the reviews of PSUs.

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