Introduction

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

LEPA was inaugurated into the PSU market with Enermax's help some time ago, as the company offered Enermax platforms at much lower prices. LEPA is currently also working with CWT and Yue-Lin Electrical Technology to offer a pretty rich product portfolio that includes PSUs, cases, CPU coolers, fans, bluetooth speakers, and peripheral devices. The company's top PSU series is the MaxPlatinum one consisting of three members with capacities of 1050 W, 1375 W and 1700 W. In this review, we will evaluate the strongest member of the line. Its huge capacity only makes it compatible with 230 VAC input because 115 VAC can't provide enough juice.



The P1700-MA, contrary to most high-capacity units nowadays, has six +12V rails. Many will argue that this is the proper way to build a strong PSU, but there are also those who prefer single +12V rail PSUs. We believe that multiple +12V rails are safest, but the power distribution among them must be implemented properly or it could spell trouble. All PSUs should ideally have two modes of operation, one in multi- and another in single-rail mode, which would let users pick whichever mode suits their needs best.

This unit can put out an amazing 141 A on its +12V rails and is fully modular, all while compact enough for a PSU with such a high capacity. It is based on the same platform Enermax uses in their Platimax units, so we expect good performance levels, and the Japanese capacitors LEPA equipped it with won't degrade as quickly as other capacitors.

Specifications

The P1700-MA can deliver 1700 W at 40°C is 1700 W, making it the second strongest PSU available today, right behind Super Flower's 2kW beast, which we reviewed recently. LEPA says the unit to peak at 1.8 kW, and we will make a point of pushing the PSU no further this time around.

Strangely enough, the P1700-MA hasn't been certified by the 80 PLUS organization yet. Such wasn't possible before because 80 PLUS used to only test with 115 VAC, but this changed recently as they now also provide efficiency certifications with 230 VAC. As such, we have to wonder why LEPA didn't have the unit certified as they like to mention that the P1700-MA can offer more than 80 PLUS Platinum efficiency. Be that as it may, our tests we will figure out how efficient this unit really is, and every competing product we will compare it to has the 80 PLUS certification.

All protection features are present, and the table below details these.



LEPA set pretty high OCP triggering points for the rails, and the same applies to the OVP and UVP thresholds. As for the OTP, our tests failed to trigger it even though we cranked the heat inside the hotbox up to 48°C.

The unit uses a double ball-bearing fan that will last for a while, though it is noisy enough once pushed. There is also no semi-passive operation, which would have greatly reduced noise output with light loads. Given the PSU uses a high-speed fan, it'll require several volts to start spinning, and its minimum RPM isn't something to quaff at either. That said, users in need of a 1.7 kW PSU will most likely use it to power components that produce much more noise than the PSU. The unit is also priced well enough in the EU, offering a high price/performance ratio.

All six +12V rails combined can deliver up to 141 A. Hadn't we already seen the Super Flower Leadex 2 kW unit by now, we would have been very impressed, that's for sure. As we will see, the minor rails are pretty strong, and the 5VSB rail can deliver up to 4 A, which is enough in most cases.

Cables & Connectors, Power Distribution

The P1700-MA supports up to five high-end VGAs, and you have two EPS connectors and one ATX12V cable at your disposal, all at the same time. There are, moreover, fourteen SATA and ten 4-pin Molex connectors for peripheral devices. Only the PCIe cables aren't long enough; add an additional 50-100mm to the latter, and their length would have also been perfect for large cases.

The 24-pin ATX and PCIe/EPS connectors use thicker 16AWG wires for lower voltage drops with high loads, which makes them less flexibility; cable-routing tasks will be pretty tough with these cables. All other connectors use 18AWG gauges.

Another problem we spotted is the awkward position of sockets on the modular PCB, which makes attaching and detaching cables a daunting task. The sockets are very close to each other, and as if that wasn't enough, some connectors take a lot of force before snapping into place properly, with the main ATX one being a striking example.



Power distribution on the modular panel is identical to the LEPA G1600-MA, which isn't ideal. The 12V1 rail should at least power half of the peripheral/SATA sockets, not only the 24-pin ATX connector. The first EPS connector is also powered off the dedicated virtual 12V2 rail, which could feed all other peripheral/SATA sockets. Two rails on only two connectors is overkill as all other connectors have to share four rails.

Similar to the LEPA G1600, you will have to use the second EPS/ATX12V connector. You should connect the cable to the middle-top or top-right socket, which are, respectively, fed by the 12V4 and 12V6 rails. Those rails power a single 12-pin and the peripheral sockets, so you won't be mixing PCIe connectors with this EPS connector, which could trigger the unit's OCP.

Packaging

The unit comes in a nice box with a closeup of the fan grill on a black backdrop as its front. On the front-right and inside a silver frame are a propriety 90 PLUS badge, and some text right below it tells us that this makes the unit more efficient than an 80 PLUS Platinum certified unit. LEPA is obviously referring to the 115V VAC certification, not the more recent 230V certification since they would have had to send a sample to ECOVA to obtain the official Platinum badge.


The most interesting part on this side are a series icons for the unit's Haswell compatibility, its ErP Lot 6 2013 compliance, the flat modular cables, its fully modular design, and the Japanese electrolytic capacitors.


LEPA put the three model numbers of this line on this side. As far as we figure, these imply that the P1375-MA is identical to the P1700-MA-EU; however, its capacity is lower because it supports a wider input voltage range. Yet we can't be completely sure unless we, say, take the P1375-MA apart to compare it to its bigger brother in some detail.


The back of the box comes with a description of all cables and connectors and the power specifications tables for all three members of the series. LEPA also provides some interesting photos of the unit's protection circuit, the DC-DC converters, and its bulk caps.