Enermax Gold: Modu87+ and Pro87+
by Christoph Katzer on January 19, 2010 1:00 PM EST- Posted in
- Cases/Cooling/PSUs
Pricing and Availability
The prices in Europe are at first sight unbelievably high: 120/150€ for a 500W power supply? Yes, we are not kidding. These prices are MSRPs, so bear in mind that street prices are frequently lower, especially with better availability and more competition. We should see drops of up to 30€ within a few months since several other manufacturers will be introducing efficient 80 Plus Gold certified power supplies at CeBIT in March.
In case of direct competition, you won't find any at the moment since there are no other manufacturers with a really high efficiency 500W power supply. The next ones are certified with 80 Plus Bronze and go for around 70€. If you calculate how many years you would need to run your system to justify the 50€ to 80€ price premium, you will recognize that even your kids might have to use this power supply in their lifetime. If the prices really fall 20€ to 30€ within the near future, you might want to consider one of those units.
In the 600W region you will have the same thing. 146/175€ is simply too much and Enermax shows clearly that they are taking advantage of the market exclusivity they currently enjoy. You can get 80 Plus Bronze certified units from several other manufacturers for 90€ or less. That's half of what Enermax wants to have for their Modu87+. Seasonic's X-Series with 650W is also available for around 145€ and comes with the 80 Plus Gold certification.
The suggested price of 185/210€ for the 700W units is at least getting close to other units. Other manufacturers have similar products with 80 Plus Silver certification for around 130€ (e.g. the Cougar S700 and the Silverstone Element). If you look again at the Seasonic X-Series you can get the 750W units for 170€. These two units from Enermax will need to get down to similar price levels to compete, and if they do you definitely want to consider the new Enermax models with their very compelling features.
The prices in the U.S. will be similar to what we see in Europe. $130/$150 for a 500W power supply is simply too much and we hope that Enermax will bring in some really good MIRs (mail-in rebates) or other incentives to make these units affordable. Since the 500W models don't actually have a real 80 Plus Gold competitor right now, we need to go down to the Silver level where we can find PSUs like the OCZ 550W Z-Series for around $86 at Newegg (after rebate), or right now we even see a stellar price of just $50 after MIR at Zipzoomfly. You get similar performance and it will cost you $80 less, since it doesn't have any cable management. If you take another step down to 80 Plus Bronze you will have several more choices priced around $100 (sans MIR).
The MSRP of the 600W units is $155 and $175. The main competition is the Seasonic X-Series, just like in Europe, since it comes with similar technology and offerings. The 650W X-Series currently goes for $170 on Newegg, which is the same price as the Modu87+. Dropping to a Silver certification we have again an OCZ Z-Series as a direct competition; it goes for around $90 after $20 MIR, and again Zipzoomfly has a $30 MIR for a final price of $60 - it's also available at TigerDirect for $80 after rebates. With a Bronze certification you will have tons of other manufacturers and all kinds of flavors for you to choose from. There are units from Antec, Thermaltake, Silverstone, Seasonic, Corsair, OCZ, and Cooler Master to name just a few companies. Prices range from $70 to $180 so it seems Enermax wasn't completely unreasonable when they set the MSRP at $130 and $175. If we see the 600W Modu87+ at around $140 it might be worth considering.
The 700W units are priced at $155 and $210 respectively. You can already get the Seasonic 750W X-Series for around $190 and it comes with a similar overall package and technology. Alternately, you can get the Seasonic S12D 750W for around $115 if you are okay with an 80 Plus Silver certification instead of going for the Gold (and you don't care about cable management). Again, there are tons of manufacturers with lower 80 Plus Bronze certification and if you do not care about getting the latest technology you can likely find a better product at a reasonable price among those.
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nubie - Wednesday, January 20, 2010 - link
The only thing I learn from these reviews is to put in a 220v socket (USA) for the PC. It shouldn't cost much and would save on the power.I wonder what kind of efficiency you get from OEM PSU's (gateway, hp, dell) in the 250watt to 350watt range, because that is what I use to build PC's and I figure it puts them right in the middle of their power range with a 35-65watt CPU, as is common these days.
7Enigma - Thursday, January 21, 2010 - link
You sure the 220v US and the 230v Euro are compatible? I didn't think so but I'm not an electrician.As for the OEM PSU's I'd LOVE to see some tested. I'm banking on them being completely crap. More importantly than the efficiency would be the stability of these PSU's. Typically OEM's look for the least common denominator for all components, without normally sacrificing reliability when used as intended (ie not OC'd, extra devices).
But sounds like a great mini-review. Take a typical Dell, HP, Gateway (they still exist?) PSU and put them through the ringer and see who squeals first.
JonnyDough - Wednesday, January 20, 2010 - link
"we hope that Enermax will bring in some really good MIRs (mail-in rebates)"There is no such thing.
bigboxes - Wednesday, January 20, 2010 - link
I suppose it depends on the company. I got my Seasonic rebate in two months.JonnyDough - Thursday, January 21, 2010 - link
You're missing my point. What if you didn't get it? What if you had to cut off a UPC code, and a leg, and mail them in and then it took five months? Why can't they just give instant rebate at the checkout counter at Best Buy? Because they make money screwing people over. The discount only applies to those willing to mess around with the silliness of it all. Those who can't do it properly, lose out on it. Rebates are dumb.7Enigma - Thursday, January 21, 2010 - link
No, they make money by the majority of people not participating or participating improperly (forgot the UPC, sent in the wrong one, expired, etc.) Yes there are companies that are out to completely avoid paying rebates. They are the ones that have rediculously short windows for expiration, or just look for reasons not to pay (Tiger Direct....cough....cough). I've done a number of rebates my last 2 computer builds and have yet to not have one honored (most builds I give myself a 1 month window to accumulate all of the parts and heavily bank on the rebates to get better parts than I would otherwise purchase). One or two took significantly longer than stated, but in the end I received all of them WITHOUT having to contact the rebate company.Maybe I was just lucky, but maybe, just maybe I read the forms properly and sent in what was required within the allotted time.
Just one piece of advice if building a computer system. BUILD THE SYSTEM FIRST, THEN SEND IN THE REBATE. :)
cfaalm - Wednesday, January 20, 2010 - link
It can also be the Euro/Dollar rate (at 1.41 now) at work here. When this thing is manufactured in Germany the Dollar price is going to be outrageous compared to the Euro price.Then again, when I bought my MODU82+ 525 late december 2008 it cost me 100,00 Euro. They remain amongst the most expensive apparantly still.
JonnyDough - Wednesday, January 20, 2010 - link
I have an Enermax Liberty 500w and a Liberty 620w and they're both still going strong after several years.I'm really loving this Modu if there isn't anything better in a year or two when I finally upgrade my Opty 185 I may have to opt for this. It looks like its a bit easier to add/remove cables than my Liberty.
The gold fan is schweeeeet! At 140cm and with that blade design its gotta be darn near completely silent. Really great job Enermax. You're still my fave. :)
JonnyDough - Wednesday, January 20, 2010 - link
"Enermax will be modifying all of their PSUs to include the CordGuard function going forward, but we really don't think this is necessary."I do. Stupid cats.
Shadowmaster625 - Wednesday, January 20, 2010 - link
$150 for a power supply? Does it come with a glass pipe? Sheesh. What I'd like to see is a cheaper power supply that has a big fan like these, but only 300W. Only goofballs need more than 300 watts. I have a Q6600 system overclocked to 3.3 and it doesnt even pull 200 watts fully loaded. If I upgraded to a 5770 it should go to about 230 watts. So what is the deal with these 700W supplies?What I'd really like to see is a supply that outputs 50W at near 90% efficiency. Most new computers idle at 50 watts or less, and yet all these power supplies have atrocious efficiencies at that level. Not once have I ever read a review of a power supply that is actually specifically built & specced for 90% of the pc's that actually exist, ie those that idle around 50-75 watts and pull 120-150 fully loaded.