Introduction

We would like to thank EVGA for supplying the review sample.

EVGA is a company that tends targets the enthusiast user and, more specifically, those that like to highly overclock their systems, which made their enrollment into the PSU market a matter of time only as the power supply is a crucial overclocking component. Their first venture into this world was the SuperNOVA NEX1500 which, although with many good attributes, still requires some improvements in order to justify its huge price. That said, we found their first effort pretty good and were anxious to check on the new SuperNOVA G2 1000 W unit EVGA actually chose to work with Super Flower instead of ETASIS for. The G2-1000 is based on Super Flower’s fresh platform used in their Leadex series. Normally sporting a Platinum efficiency level, its efficiency has in this case been reduced to Gold to keep costs down.

The G2-1000 also includes a fully modular cabling design, which will apparently be the standard for most mid-level and high-end PSUs, a single and powerful +12V rail, quite large dimensions, a matte finish, and a whopping ten year warranty--the longest one currently available for a PSU product. The most interesting part of the G2-1000 is that it, unlike its big brother for twice as much, manages to offer a great set of features at a very good price. EVGA's careful OEM selection played a key role with the price. Super Flower, although currently amongst the best PSU manufacturers, is still affordable, so their products also register a very high price/performance ratio. Given the retail price of the G2-1000 is $200, we expect it to score pretty high in our performance-per-dollar graph.

Specifications

Efficiency is Gold and the unit is fully modular, as modern times demand. The design also allows for Haswell compliance, and the maximum operating temperature reaches 50°C, which is the ATX-specified limit.

The protection features equipping the PSU include all available ones, and the cooling fan's quality is good, but the unit doesn't feature a semi-fanless operation. Also, the PSU is quite long at 20 cm, so it won't fit into all cases. Finally, the warranty is extra long at ten years, exceeding those the competition offers, and the price looks good for what this product offers.


The single +12V rail is very strong and can deliver more than 80 A, so it will feed any system out there. The minor rails are strong enough for a modern system, but the 5VSB rail needs to become stronger. Only 2.5 A on this rail from a 1 kW unit looks weak. We would at least like to see 3 A on this rail.

Cables & Connectors, Power Distribution

The number of cables is adequate for the capacity of the unit. However, we think that they could safely make all PCIe connectors 6+2 pin ones. The PCIe connectors are strangely enough also very long, but we do prefer them to be long instead of too short. Users will also likely use a large case with this power supply and hiding them inside such a case shouldn't be a problem. The only problem is the stiff ATX cable, which will make having it follow the route a user prefers difficult. The distance amongst SATA connectors is good, but the peripheral connectors are too close to each other. A distance between 12-15 cm would be more appropriate for the above as the components they feed usually aren't close to one another. Finally, all gauges are of 18AWG size, which is the size the ATX spec recommends.

Since this PSU features a single +12V rail, we have nothing to comment on when it comes to its power distribution.

Packaging

The box is large and features a rather conservative design. The front has the series description in large fonts. The 80 Plus Gold badge is, on the other hand, very small, looking like EVGA meant to hide it.


One of the two sides lists some of the awards EVGA earned so far, with the most significant milestones they achieved. However, none of the milestones have anything to do with PSUs.


The box has a handle to make its transportation easier.


The rear of the box has a list of features and a description of all included cables. There is unfortunately no mention on their length. There are also three photos of the PSU. One of them shows the unit's internals with the APFC caps by Chemi-Con, and there is a specifications table with the 80 Plus Gold efficiency badge.

Contents

The contents of the box are neatly arranged and the PSU is well protected by two pieces of packing foam. it is also stored in a nice bag with EVGA's logo on it.


The bundle includes a bunch of modular cables, a pouch for their storage, a set of fixing bolts, several Velcro straps, the user's manual, and an AC power cord.