Super Flower Leadex Gold 650W Review

Equipped with 80 Plus Gold efficiency, the Leadex Gold power supply is fully modular and also comes with LED lighting and a handy fan disable switch.

Product on Review: Leadex GOLD
Manufacturer & Sponsor: SuperFlower
Street Price: £77 GBP

Fundamental to any computer system is the power supply. Without it, hardware simply has no juice but making a brash decision on such a device can be to the enthusiast’s folly. Investing in a quality power supply is a sensible choice when splashing out on a new system and today we will be taking a look at a unit from Super Flower – who, for many years have actually been an OEM to numerous well-known PSU brands.

In our hands today is the Leadex Gold which is an 80 Plus Gold efficient PSU series. Leadex Gold is available in a selection of different wattages – today we’ll be taking a look at the 650W variant. This PSU features a 140mm cooling fan and all the expected trimming such as Over Voltage Protection, Short Circuit Protection etc.

SuperFlower on their Leadex Gold Series

Leadex series PSU are 80+ Gold certified with 100% fully modular cable design, our R & D team’s latest innovation, a brilliant idea to maximize PSU cables & connectors management to have the best cable routing solution, also increase case chassis air flow to have best cooling for your system.

Ledex series PSU provides high efficiency & stable power output and come with a 14cm two-way thermal control intelligent cooling fan to ensure your professional PC system will work under heavy load, also capable of powering your PC system equipped with NVIDIA® SLI™ or ATI CrossFireX™ setup.

Features & Specifications

Features

• 100% Full Modular Cabling Design For Easy Cable Management
• 80 PLUS ® Gold Certified, 90% 92% 89% Efficiency At 20% 50% 100% Rated Load
• Full Range Auto Voltage Detection Design 100V~240V (Active PFC)
• Comply With ATX 12V. V2.2, EPS 12V. V2.91 & SSI EPS 12V. V2.92 Specification
• Comply With Energy Star Standard & EuP (Energy Using Products) Regulation
• Over Voltage Protection / Over Current Protection / Over Power Protection / Short Circuit Protection / Under Voltage Protection
• Support All Intel/AMD Multi-Core CPU & ATX/BTX Compatible Motherboards
• Support NVIDIA® SLI™ & ATI CrossFireX™ High Performance Graphic Card
• Patented Easy To Use & Install Crystal Clear Cube Connectors with LED
• More than 2,000 times On/Off test
• Unleaded Green Materials with RoHS/WEEE Compliance
• Perfect For Professional & High Performance Gaming System

Specifications

Model
SF-650F14MG
Type
ATX
Maximum Power
650W
Fans
1 x 14cm
PFC
Active
+12V Rails
1
Modular Cable
Yes 100% modular cable design
Input Voltage
Full Ranage – 100V~240V
Input Frequency Range
50 ± 3 Hz / 60 ± 3 Hz
Output
+3.3V@24A ; +5V@24.0A ; +12V@54.1A ; -12V@0.5A ; +5Vsb@3.0A
Protection
OVP、OCP、OPP、SCP、UVP
Dimension
200mm(L) x 150mm(W) x 86mm(H)
Safety Certification
BSMI R33529 / CE / FCC / CUL / cTUVus / CB
Connectors
Detachable Cables
One cable > 20+4pins MB power connector
One cable > 8pins (4+4pins) EPS/ATX 12V connector
One cable > 8pins EPS 12V connector
One cable > 2 x SATA + 2 x 4pins Molex
One cable > 3 x 4pins Molex + 1 x FDD
Two cables > 4 x SATA
One cable > 2 x 8pins (6+2pins) PCI express connector
Two cables > 8pins (6+2pins) PCI express

Packaging, Bundle & Cables

Packaging for Leadex

The Leadex PSU is presented in a large and lively cardboard box. The front specifies the capacity and efficiency rating which is of course Gold with the version we are reviewing today. Over on the reverse of the packaging there is a detailed list of the fundamental features of Leadex for those interested in learning more about the inner workings.

Inside this box Super Flower has included a number of items which are padded with polystyrene foam.

Accessories bundle

Included with the power supply are a number of items which include: a carry bag packed with modular cables, installation screws and documentation (instructions guide, warranty leaflet).

All cables are modular

Leadex is fully modular so there are a large selection of cables which can be interchanged. Included are:

• Motherboard ATX Connector x 1
• EPS Connector x 1 (2x 4-pin)
• EPS Connector x 1 (1x 8-pin)
• PCI-E Connector x 3 (2x 6+2-pin)
• SATA + Molex x 1 (2x SATA 2x Molex)
• SATA Connector x 3 (3 connectors)
• Molex + Floppy Connector x 1 (2 connectors)

Individual wires are insulated and braided

Super Flower has braided all of the cables except for the SATA/Molex types which use black insulated insulated wires to ensure cable management looks sleek and tidy. All of the connectors which plug into the PSU are clear in appearance and combined with the clear connectors on the unit and white LEDs; We get a nice glowing illumination when the unit it powered up.

Closer Look (External)

An overview of Leadex

The cooling fan grille on Leadex

Leadex is standard ATX PS/2 form factor, measuring 150mm x 86mm x 140mm and featuring a matt black outer shell. On either side of the PSU there is an engraving of the Super Flower logo and the model branding can be found on the top side above and beneath the fan grille.

The cooling fan inside Leadex is 140mm. The screws for keeping the PSU intact use the torx (star) configuration – removing them and the panels will void warranty.

The modular panel for connecting cables

Since Leadex has no cables hardwired to the unit unlike most PSUs, there is a large panel for attaching the modular cables to the unit. There are a total of eleven sockets for connecting cables.

ECO switch on the back of the unit

At the back of Leadex there is an ECO/Auto rocket switch which allows the user to make use of two different options. In ECO mode, the fan will switch off when not required operate passively. Using the AUTO mode turns the cooling fan on.

The specifications label, detailing power delivery

Lastly, as is customary for PSUs, the Leadex has a specifications label which details the ampage and load values along with the standards and certifications. Leadex features a single +12v rail which delivers 54.1A and 649W.

Closer Look (Internal)

The internal components in Leadex

Leadex uses a large selection of hi-grade components and has numerous built-in protection features. This unit includes: Over Voltage Protection, Over Current Protection, Over Power Protection, Short Circuit Protection and Under Voltage Protection.

Opening the unit up (which should be done so at the user’s own risk – warranty is void once performed). We can observe some of the component decisions. The Leadex 650W model features a single hold-up capacitor which his rated at 105C and is branded Nippon Chemi-Con. Leadex uses a full-bridge topology with an LLC resonant converter.

140mm cooling fan

Leadex makes use of a Globe Fan RL4Z S1402512EH cooling fan which is 140mm in specification and operates at 12 V, 0.6 A. This fan is able to operate up to 2000RPM and guarantees up to 70K hours of life.

Testing Methodologies & Results

Our testing methodology for testing Power Supply Units is limited to the multi-meter to show each rail’s performance due to us not having access to an ATE load tester.

Although this does constrain us slightly we can still monitor fluctuations on the rails and give the unit a good assessment when we feature it in one of our builds. The way the testing will run is simple, voltages will be observed at idle wattage and then a single GPU will be installed within the system and a combination of OCCT and MSI Kombustor will be executed to provide simulation with just 1 GPU. This will be run for 10 minutes. The CPU will also be overclocked to maximise power consumption and strain. This should give us a good indication of how Leadex will perform under gaming stresses and beyond.

NOTE: AC power draw is recorded.

System Components

CPU: Intel Core i7-4790K
Cooling Corsair Hydro Series H105
Motherboard MSI Z97 XPOWER AC
Memory 16GB Corsair Vengeance Pro 2800MHz CL12 DDR3
Graphics XFX R7970 Black Edition
Storage Corsair Neutron GTX 480GB

As mentioned, there is no ATE load tester available so generating as much power as possible is key to observing the fluctuations on the rails.

For voltage tolerance levels, ATX specify that a 5% variable fluctuation is acceptable. (Form Factors – ATX Specification PDF – Page 10). So what this means is:

3.3V Rail – 3.135V – 3.465V acceptable
5V Rail – 4.75V – 5.25V acceptable
12V Rail – 11.4V – 12.6V acceptable

Idle test – The system settles in windows without any applications or stressing. 1 GPU (155W)
Single GPU – OCCT/MSI Kombustor run for 10 minutes (397W)

Conclusion

The power supply is the most overlooked component for first-time system builders. Scrimping on such a device can leave you with short or even long-term problems, opting for a no-frills brand can result in component fail too, should the PSU fry. Always invest in a quality, reputable brand for power supplies.

Although Super Flower are relatively unheard of (Especially in the UK) – Since Overclockers UK began stocking them, their presence has been significantly boosted. Super Flower has been known to be the OEM behind other branded PSUs on the market, so end users can remain confident in their reputation.

Leadex Gold is available in a black or white version and also in a selection of different wattage ratings. The build quality inside and out is exceptional and since the unit is fully modular, the option to detach unwanted cables is especially useful – allowing you to maintain good cable management inside the computer case. The added bonus of having LED lighting on the modular panel is a nice touch but we appreciate that not everyone favours a flash interior – having a button or switch to control this would have been useful but it’s by no means a major flaw.

Having the unit operating at just over the 60% AC load mark we found Leadex quiet. Though if you do feel that noise is an issue, Super Flower has included a ECO/AUTO switch to disable the cooling fan. But even with the fan spinning on AUTO we found it to be one of quietest PSUs we have had the pleasure of testing.

The 650W version we have tested today sits at the £77 GBP mark which translates to great value for money and a superb option for enthusiasts and system builders who want a reliable solution for a system which uses a single graphics card configuration which also allows for a significant overclock and support for extra devices.

Leadex Gold is backed by a generous 5 years warranty which is testament to Super Flower’s confidence in the product. We’re thoroughly pleased by this unit’s performance and can recommend it to users who need reliability at a low-cost.

Pros
+ Nicely designed unit
+ Easy to maintain cable management
+ Plenty of cables included
+ Fully modular
+ LED lighting
+ Quiet under load
+ Option to disable fan
+ 5 year warranty
+ Great value for money

Cons
– No option to disable LED lighting