The Gigabyte UD1000GM PG5 1000W PSU Review: Prelude to ATX 3.0

Power Supply Quality

As part of our testing, we also check output parameters are within specifications, as well as voltage ripple and line noise.

The electrical performance of the GIGABYTE UD1000GM PG5 is admittedly better than we initially surmised. There is strong filtering on the primary voltage output, with the GIGABYTE UD1000GM PG5 displaying a maximum ripple of 32 mV on the 12V line under maximum load, which is around 25% of the recommended design limit. The voltage regulation of the 12V line is equally impressive, at less than 0.5%. GIGABYTE’s engineers neglected the 3.3V and 5V lines a little, as the regulation is at about 2.2% and the voltage ripple goes up to 45% of the design limit. These power quality figures are very good for a product of this tier.

Conclusion

The announcement of Intel’s new ATX v3.0 specifications was bound to start a race, as every company is looking to establish itself among the early adopters as a means of growing with the larger market. GIGABYTE took a little different approach here – instead of developing a whole new platform capable of fulfilling all of ATX v3.0 requirements, they simply upgraded one of their existing units and added one 600 Watt 12VHPWR connector to it.

It is the first time we have ever seen a platform from Xiamen Metrotec, the OEM of this unit. The OEM obviously needs to be following the design and guidance of the final developer, which is GIGABYTE in this case. Nevertheless, it appears that they are doing a very good job with their core topology designs and assembly process, both of which we found to be very clean. However, the quality of the components used by GIGABYTE for the production of the UD1000GM PG5 is wanting. The PSU comes with a very long warranty but most of the components, passive and active alike, are of middling quality. Taking into account the high internal temperatures that the UD1000GM PG5 reaches under stress, we feel that GIGABYTE’s engineers are being a little too confident.

When it comes to performance, the GIGABYTE UD1000GM PG5 will not be entering the hall of fame. However, all things considered, it is fairly well-balanced. The power quality of the unit is very good, with excellent regulation and filtering on the primary voltage line and adequate figures on the secondary lines. It is adequately efficient so as to achieve an 80Plus Gold certification with an input voltage of 115 VAC, yet only barely, so there is room for improvement. The only real disadvantage of the UD1000GM PG5 is its small size, which forced the engineers to use a smaller 120 mm fan, making the unit run both hotter and louder than most equally powerful units. This only becomes a true issue while the unit is heavily loaded though, and should not be bothering typical users while they simply want to do their work or browse. The performance of the GIGABYTE UD1000GM PG5 is unimpressive by today’s standards but, taking into account the retail price of the unit, it is good overall.

The true advantage that GIGABYTE’s UD1000GM PG5 currently has is simple – no competition. It is virtually the only unit with a 12VHPWR connector currently available. If someone needs to purchase a powerful PSU right now and expects to be upgrading their graphics card in the near future and/or often, the UD1000GM PG5 is  essentially the only choice with respect to forward-compatibility. That being said, one has to remember that this unit does not fully fulfill the ATX v3.0 requirements - it is unlikely but not unfathomable that the UD1000GM PG5 may not be able to handle future graphics card releases that could produce excessive transient loads.

Regardless, the current retail price of $160 is reasonable for an 80Plus Gold certified unit with that kind of output, so buyers are not paying a severe premium for the new 12VHPWR connector. However, if you are not in a rush to purchase a PSU right now, we err on the side of caution, and recommend waiting for actual ATX v3.0 compliant units to pop into the market.