Introduction

We would like to thank 1st Player for supplying the review sample.


Thus far, the 1st Player brand has left quite the impression with its well-performing, affordable products. Thanks to its mother company, Helly Technology, a PSU manufacturer, 1st Player can push pricing of its product lower than competing offerings, which is a tremendous advantage.

The brand has two SFX offerings with 650 W and 750 W maximum power output respectively. The first is 80 PLUS Gold certified, and the latter has the Platinum certification from both 80 PLUS and Cybenetics. As it's also Cybenetics Standard+ rated in noise output, it is not a quiet PSU. Keeping noise output low in high-capacity SFX PSUs is challenging because of the size of the fan and over-populated PCB. The largest fan an SFX unit can accommodate measures 92 mm across, but 1st Player went with an 80 mm fan, which will have to spin at higher speeds to achieve the required airflow. Hence, noise output will be higher than from a unit with a larger fan. I'm not too fond of the fact that a sleeve bearing fan was used. A fluid dynamic bearing fan would offer increased reliability, but also increase production costs. Finally, with 750 W maximum power output, this 1st Player PSU is among the strongest SFX PSUs available on the market. Only Cooler Master offers an even stronger SFX unit, with 850 W capacity.

Specifications

Photos

The small box has appealing artwork. Several icons describe the stand-out features, and its maximum power output figure has been put in the bottom-right corner.


The bundle is rich, including Velcro straps, zip ties, an SFX to ATX adapter, and all necessary fixing bolts and modular cables. There is also the user's manual, and a piece of paper showing the fan-speed profile.


The fan grille has a unique, nonrestrictive design. The front exhaust grille follows the typical honeycomb design. Finally, the usual C14 AC receptacle is used, and there is a power switch.


The unit's model number and efficiency badge are on the sides.


The modular panel has nine sockets.


Compact dimensions and an appealing exterior design.

Cables and Connectors

All cables are short because this PSU is meant for small chassis. It does come with an SFX to ATX adapter; however, it may be rendered useless by the short cables if this PSU is installed into a standard-sized chassis.

This SFX PSU having two EPS connectors is great, but they should be on dedicated cables instead of the same one since these connectors can draw lots of power. The three PCIe connectors also look weird, but four wouldn't make much sense for an SFX PSU.


The peripheral connectors are adequately far apart for an SFX unit.

Component Analysis

Before reading this page, we strongly suggest looking at this article, which will help you better understand the insides of a PSU.



This platform is by Helly, and 1st Player is its retail brand. This is the same platform as in the Lian Li SP750, which I reviewed a while ago. The heatsinks are small on both the primary and secondary sides, and both VRMs and the fan-control circuit are installed on a daughter-board to save space. There are no cables to disrupt airflow, but the comparatively smaller fan than on the SP750 will have to keep RPM high to push enough air. Helly should also use a better fan than this Yate Loon specimen of low quality. Thankfully, all other parts are of good quality, but the fan's quality is still of immense importance.


The transient/EMI filter stages have all the necessary parts.


I found a TRX NB210108 SMD-Y-CAP on the business side of the main PCB.


The MOV should be covered in heat shrink to be kept in place if it blows up. There is no inrush current protection, which can lead to high start-up currents.


The bridge rectifier is bolted to a dedicated, small heatsink.


The APFC converter uses two Oriental Semiconductor FETs and a Global Power Technology boost diode. The bulk cap is by Chemi-Con and doesn't have enough capacity to provide a hold-up time of over 17 ms.


The APFC controller is a Champion CM6502UHH.


The two main switching FETs are installed in a half-bridge topology, and an LLC resonant converter is used for higher efficiency. The LLC resonant controller is a Champion CU6901T2X.


The unit's main transformer is partly surrounded by a metallic shield acting as a heatsink.


The FETs regulating the +12 V rail are installed on the solder side of the main PCB.


There aren't many electrolytic caps, but those Helly used are of high quality. Lots of polymer caps are also used for filtering purposes.


Two DC-DC converters generate the minor rails. They are installed on a daughterboard that also hosts the fan's header.



The 5VSB circuit uses an EM8569C PWM controller.


The supervisor IC is a Grenergy GR8313, which only provides the essential protection features.


Several polymer caps are installed on the face of the modular PCB.


Soldering quality is decent.


The cooling fan is by Yate Loon and uses a sleeve bearing. A better and larger fan should be used.