EVGA Shows Off SuperNOVA PSU-Tweaking Software

[btarunr]

EVGA's NEX 1500W PSU has been in the news for some time now, and we've known all through, that EVGA is giving it some software features, such as direct monitoring and fan-control. The first screenshots of the said software, called SuperNOVA, were released over the weekend, and they can blow you away.

The NEX 1500W ships with complex monitoring circuitry that interface with your PC over USB. The first two screenshots below reveal the real-time monitoring features of SuperNOVA, covering intricate details such as current output power (power drawn by the system), voltage and current readings for the +12V, +5V rails, efficiency measurement, temperatures, and fan-speeds. The measurements can be plotted on line-graphs to study patterns/history. The third screenshot shows couple of tweakable features, such as +12V rail voltage, fan-speed, fan-speed curve (vs. load and vs. temperature), and binding/splitting the +12V rails. The software can also be used to enable an "OC mode," which pushes maximum power output to 1650W, provided the input is 230V AC, and not 120V AC.

[Wrigleyvillain]

Wow. Nice.

[natr0n]

seems neat . I'm sure this will be the latest gimmick now.

[TheMailMan78]

Yeahhhhhh something more to screw up stability.

[Dj-ElectriC]

Protip, Leave PSU tuning to the experts. Why do users even need this crap.

[Frick]

Originally Posted by TheMailMan78

Yeahhhhhh something more to screw up stability.

Naaaah not really no.

If the reading are accurate it's actually kinda cool. The tweaking is nothing to worry about, I doubt you can set the 12V line to 20V. But yeah gimmicks but hey at that level why not?

My worry is how the single rail thing is supposed to work. Because that would be motherload of amps. At a certain point it gets retarded and potentially dangerous.

[okidna]

Dear EVGA, please fix your voltage regulation (from picture, +12v, "Record Low" = 11.4v LOL, I hope that's not the actual performance of this PSU) first before releasing useless gimmick like this.

Tagan did that split/combined +12v rail in the past (they used hardware switch though) with their 2Force series.

Originally Posted by Frick

Naaaah not really no.

If the reading are accurate it's actually kinda cool. The tweaking is nothing to worry about, I doubt you can set the 12V line to 20V. But yeah gimmicks but hey at that level why not?

My worry is how the single rail thing is supposed to work. Because that would be motherload of amps. At a certain point it gets retarded and potentially dangerous.

I'm sorry Frick, but you just remind me of one PSU manufacturer with their "single rail is dangerous" propaganda/FUD

No offense, J/K.

About single vs multi rail, I think this post/thread will explain better : http://www.jonnyguru.com/forums/showthread.php?t=3990

[phanbuey]

That PSU is the size of my whole PC.

[Beertintedgoggles]

While it would be nice to change the fan-speed curve, the PSU is one of the components that I'd rather have "just work". Unless this interface can tell me about the life expentancy of the caps, etc. I won't be paying extra for this "feature".

[AsRock]

Originally Posted by okidna

Dear EVGA, please fix your voltage regulation (from picture, +12v, "Record Low" = 11.4v LOL, I hope that's not the actual performance of this PSU) first before releasing useless gimmick like this.

Tagan did that split/combined +12v rail in the past (they used hardware switch though) with their 2Force series.



I'm sorry Frick, but you just remind me of one PSU manufacturer with their "single rail is dangerous" propaganda/FUD

No offense, J/K.

About single vs multi rail, I think this post/thread will explain better : http://www.jonnyguru.com/forums/showthread.php?t=3990

11.40v is the alarm setting ..


I kinda like the idea i hope more make their psu's more interesting. Would of liked to see more readings at lower usages though and hope they make smaller watt versions of it.

[Wrigleyvillain]

Well my "nice" comment was mostly about the interface, tbh. I wouldn't go so far at this point to comment about stability but it's possible with any new piece of software, at least in some configs.

[Jurassic1024]

Originally Posted by okidna --- About single vs multi rail, I think this post/thread will explain better : http://www.jonnyguru.com/forums/showthread.php?t=3990

I remember reading that back in 2008, and I just now spent 30mins reading through the comments there, and it's just an 18 page cluster**** involving people that are knowledgeable trying to explain to confused people that aren't, when it comes to multi rail PSU's... over and over... AND OVER.

The bottom line actually is, single rail PSU's are better than multi rail PSU's. Johnny said in the OP, "The bottom line is, for 99% of the folks out there single vs. multiple +12V rails is a NON ISSUE", but if you read the OP, and the comments thereafter, you would quickly realize that picking a proper multi rail PSU was confusing and very time consuming, and for what?

Back then (and maybe even now), you had to wonder if the manufacturer of the multi rail PSU you were considering put the PCIe connectors on the same rail as the CPU. You had to know if the PSU really was multi rail. You had to know why using molex to PCIe adapters was a bad idea. You had to know EPS12V specifications were for server PSU's, and not gaming PSU's. You had to know what to look for in a multi rail PSU to properly supply stable power to your SLi setup, and all your other hardware. You had to know how to tell if a manufacturer was being totally truthful. etc etc etc...

The only information from that OP that carries over to buying a single rail PSU, is the criteria at the very end of it, and that's just common sense.

Correct me if I'm wrong.

[Dj-ElectriC]

Why does it really matter? consider the PSU by its actually quality and ability, not the rail setup, there are a lot of great multi-rail PSUs and and a lot of great single-rail PSUs.
For most users, this should be the least thing to consider when searching for a proper PSU. way after ripple, noise, power delivery and such.
My psu is a quad-12v rail 750w PSU, ask johnnyguru what he thinks of it...

[Sasqui]

Hope they eventually work on the application to monitor wattage too (all rails), historical data, etc. How cool to compare the results of this to a plug monitor like kill-a-watt.

I like it.

[mauriek]

hmm..most user does not even know the difference between volt and watt. if the reading are accurate it will be interesting and save money for integrated power meter, say goodbye to PSU calculator..but first let the expert review and torture it.

[azzonie]

Originally Posted by natr0n

gimmick

This is the key word. The output voltages can already be monitored by the motherboard. Gimmick collectors will love it.

[okidna]

Originally Posted by AsRock

11.40v is the alarm setting ..

No, if you're looking at the middle graph from this picture : http://www.techpowerup.com/img/12-07-23/132b.jpg you can see that the voltage did dropped to 11.4v (which is minimum ATX spec regulation, +12v + 5%).

[Bjorn_Of_Iceland]

Gigabyte had the same gimmick before with the Odin PSU.. After that, they stopped making that line. I expect this one will follow the same trend as well.

[Xenturion]

I only hope they outfit it with a USB header style connection as opposed to an actual USB plug that'll need to be routed out of the case and to the back panel. Interesting feature, though.

[eidairaman1]

Originally Posted by Bjorn_Of_Iceland

Gigabyte had the same gimmick before with the Odin PSU.. After that, they stopped making that line. I expect this one will follow the same trend as well.

Watch as Your PSU becomes a Super Nova

Stability is the name of the game for every PSU, not tweakability