Bitfenix formula gold review in Spanish (complete analysis)

Bitfenix is ​​a brand of Hardware known for its modding boxes and accessories, but few people know that they are also fully involved in the power supply market. Today, we will take a look at its most recent launch, the Bitfenix Formula Gold range, specifically the 550W model, although we also have 450, 650 and 750W versions available.

For its manufacture, Bitfenix has relied on the well-known Taiwanese company CWT, which will have to excel at the high bar they leave us: the brand mentions no less than 17 points in the characteristics of this font. With slogans such as "ultra efficient", "industrial quality fan", "industrial level protections"… it is clear its commitment to promise the best of the best, but… Will they fulfill what was promised? Let's see it!

We are grateful to the German Caseking dealer and store for trusting this source for analysis:

Technical specifications Bitfenix Formula Gold

External analysis

As seen on the front of the box, in addition to the 80 Plus Gold certification, we find that Bitfenix has also had the Cybenetics certifier, an emerging company that has been on the market for less than a year and that includes, in addition to the efficiency measurements, loudness data from the power supply. The Cybenetics medals were recently updated, so unlike what the box indicates, we are facing ETA A and LAMBDA A ++ certificates .

The 80 Plus Gold certification serves to give us an idea that we are facing an efficient source, but be careful, not necessarily of quality, since it is something that we will have to evaluate throughout the review. If you want to delve into the concept of efficiency visit this article in our forum.

On Cybenetics' part, the groundbreaking element is their LAMBDA loudness medal. This Formula has obtained the highest distinction of the company, so we can undoubtedly expect silent operation, as advertised.

We are backed by a 5-year guarantee, that is, at the height of the competition.

On the back, we have indications on the number of connectors and their length, the dimensions of the PSU and the power table.

The number of cables is expected for an affordable 550W source. With two PCIe connectors, 6 SATA and 2 Molex, the needs of almost any user are covered. And on the other hand, the length of the cables is more than decent, plenty for almost any ATX box, and according to any quality source.

What can sting the connectors the most, apart from the lack of modularity, is that the two 4-pin Molex connectors are on the SATA cable strips. In many cases, both Molex will be left over.

Regarding the distribution of the different rails, mention that this is a multi- rail source . That is, the main 12V rail is divided into several, and each of them is assigned a specific group of components. In this case, three rails for the motherboard, CPU and graphics card, respectively. Each has a current limit of 25 or 30A. With 300W for each of the first two rails and 360W for the graphics card, we are more than served. The limit of the three combined is 550W.

The good thing about this system is that each rail has dedicated overcurrent protection, like a home circuit breaker. Without a doubt, one more contribution to safety. We will be somewhat limited for Multi-GPU configurations, but for almost any single graphics card PC the 550W is more than enough.

Of all the announced specifications, the following should be anticipated:

• Industrial level protections: The number of announced protections is overwhelming (against over power, over current, over voltage, under voltage, short circuit, overheat, no load operation). DC-DC Circuit with LLC: This is a rather difficult feature of power supplies to understand. Basically DC-DC and LLC are a kind of internal design. The LLC, corresponding to the primary circuit, is an efficient system, but the one that interests us most is the DC-DC, corresponding to the secondary circuit. This is based on that the 5V and 3.3V rails are generated from the 12V, and independently by means of voltage regulator plates or VRMs.

Every high quality power supply must have this DC-DC system, since the most used alternative is the cheap and old group regulation design, where the generation of one rail depends on the other. So when we apply a lot of load at 12V and very little at 5V and 3.3V, the voltages in a group regulated source shoot up while in DC-DC sources they hardly change.

Many sources that are not exactly cheap include this old system, so we are happy to see that Bitfenix has chosen not to reduce costs in this regard.

The packaging comes with enough protection, but can be improved.

We find the source, the user manual, a power cable, screws and, fortunately, some cable ties for organizing cables.

We find ourselves with a sober and elegant external appearance. The chassis has an expected size for a 550W source, that is, quite compact and will fit in any ATX box. Interestingly, with the font mounted down, the label is seen upside down, which is nothing more than a failure of some manufacturing lots that should already be solved.

What stands out most about its exterior is the lack of modularity. For many users, a sign of panic. Will this cause a problem? We believe that a good wiring organization will be mainly determined by the PC case. If a box is poorly designed, a modular font does nothing. However, that the cables were modular would be a great help in the assembly.

The good thing is that for this 550W version there is not a massive amount of wiring so in most cases there will be hardly one or two cables left over so, as we say, they could easily be hidden in a decent box.

Internal analisis

Opening a power supply carries physical risks and voids the warranty. It is unlikely to harm you, but for security we do not recommend opening it.

By opening the font, we confirm that it is made by CWT. Specifically, it is based on a modified design of the "GPS" platform, with the LLC and DC-DC circuit discussed above. There are sources based on this same platform that are of improvable quality, but here we will see how not a euro has been spared and they have made the most of their potential.

The cleanliness of the design is notable (except for the fixed cables, of course), which will very positively affect the interior air flow.

We begin by commenting on the primary filtering, the task of which is to reduce noise and possible interference from our electrical installation. For this, coils are used, and the so-called X and Y capacitors. This source brings two coils to serve this purpose, 2 X capacitors and 4 Y capacitors, which is all we could hope for.

In addition, this part houses some protections. CWT has implemented practically all the possible ones: an NTC thermistor, in charge of suppressing the dangerous current peaks that occur when starting the equipment, with a relay that acts as a switch to allow the NTC to cool down when it does not need to work; and a varistor or MOV, which reduces surges.

We can summarize all this in that the filtering stage is more than complete, and according to sources of higher ranges.

The primary capacitor is a 450 volt Rubycon MXH (great) with a 470µF (correct) capacity that supports up to 105ºC. It is a Japanese condenser with all the quality we can ask for.

For the secondary side, the choice of capacitors could not be better. We find that most of them are polymer capacitors, or also called solid capacitors. That is, the most expensive and much more durable than any traditional capacitor. All, again, are from Japanese companies: the electrolytics are Nippon Chemi-Con (KZE and KY series) and the solids are from FPCAP, a brand owned by Nichicon.

For protections, Sitronix ST9S429-PG14 and Weltrend WT7518D supervisory chips are used. We have more ICs dedicated to under-the-board protection systems, which unfortunately we won't check on power supplies until future reviews.

A look at DC-DC modules.

We finish the internal analysis with the fan. This is a 120mm Martech DF1202512SELN. According to Bitfenix, it is a fan with dynamic fluid bearings or FDB. However, thanks to the information from Cybenetics we can see that it is not a "real" one but a lower variant, the Rifle bearing.

Technically, the Rifle can also be named after an FDB since they both follow the same physical principles in order to function, but it is important to mention that real dynamic fluid bearings are patented by Panasonic, so expensive licenses have to be paid for their manufacture., then it is almost impossible to find it in a low cost source…

Considering this Formula's 5-year warranty, and its sister Whisper M's 7-year warranty (which also uses a Martech fan), can we trust decent fan durability?

Test bench and performance tests

We have carried out tests to regulate the voltages, consumption and speed of the fan. To do this, we have used the following equipment, which charges the source to approximately half its capacity:

TESTING BENCH
Processor:	Intel Core i5-4690K
Base plate:	Asus Maximus VII HERO.
Memory:	8GB DDR4
Heatsink	Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO
HDD	Samsung 850 EVO SSD. Seagate Barracuda HDD
Graphic card	Sapphire R9 380X
Power supply	Bitfenix Formula 550W

The measurement of voltages is real, since it is not extracted from Software but from a UNI-T UT210E multimeter. For consumption we have a Brennenstuhl meter and a laser tachometer for fan speed.

Test scenarios

The tests are divided into several scenarios, in order from lowest to highest consumption.

	CPU load	GPU charging	Actual consumption (approx)
Scenario 1	None (at rest)	70W
Scenario 2	Prime95	None	120W
Scenario 3	None	FurMark	285W
Scenario 4	Prime95	FurMark	340W

12V voltage regulation

CWT has done a very good job. As we have mentioned before, DC-DC converters allow to reduce to the maximum the variation of voltages regardless of the load that we apply to the source.

Regulation of minor rail voltages

The 5V and 3.3V rails also leave us excellent results, with minimal variations.

Consumption

Consumption is in line with what we would like to see in an 80 Plus Gold font. At rest, the values ​​are very tight.

Loudness: fan speed

With this test, we will not only be able to confirm if the fan works under the profile announced by Bitfenix, but we can also check if it is a good option for computers where silence is important.

In all of our tests, the fan was kept at around 490 revolutions per minute. We are facing one of the quietest sources on the market in this price range, with a well-deserved Cybenetics LAMBDA A ++ certificate. Furthermore, Bitfenix achieves all this without a semi-passive mode, that is, without negatively affecting the cooling of the components. In long sessions of use, the speed does not exceed 510rpm.

The bearing / motor, despite not being a real top quality 'FDB', does not make any noise. Absolutely any PC fan or ambient noise will sound louder than this source…

You must bear in mind that, when turning the equipment on and off, a "click" will sound from the source, which may frighten and appear to be a defect. Actually, it's about the relay doing its job, so don't worry!

Final words and conclusion about Bitfenix Formula Gold

Bitfenix has decided to set a very high bar on a low cost font. We can say with all certainty that they have more than fulfilled their purpose, and that the alliance with the manufacturer CWT has been more than fruitful.

From just € 65, we find an excellent interior based on the most modern and efficient technologies, such as LLC and DC-DC circuits, without forgetting the highest quality Japanese capacitors, complete filtering and an enviable protection system. At the same time, certain competing brands sell appalling quality products at the same price, with false promise in their power and specifications. Therefore this is a launch to take into account as a priority option.

For those looking for quiet operation, who knows that they are not wrong in choosing a Formula. As we have seen, its fan is kept at a very low speed, which makes it inaudible to all loads.

The Achilles heel of this product is the lack of modular wiring. We insist that, with a good box, this 550W version, ideal for MonoGPU devices allowing overclock, will not cause problems to organize the cables since there will be only a few left. Still, Bitfenix itself offers its fully modular Whisper M range for around € 90.

We highly recommend reading our updated guide on the best sources on the market.

The availability of this Formula is somewhat limited, but we can find it in online stores at only 66 euros for this 550W model. For its price it remains a great option for high performance teams, with the peace of mind of the 5-year warranty and knowing that you are buying a quality product.

Let us summarize the main advantages and disadvantages of this Formula:

ADVANTAGE	DISADVANTAGES
- MODERN AND OUTSTANDING INTERNAL COMPONENTS. MADE TO LAST	- FIXED CABLES, COULD ANNOY SOME USERS
- EXTREMELY SILENT	- WE EXPECTED A FAN WITH BETTER BEARING
- COMPLETE PROTECTION SYSTEM
- CASH PRICE IN MANY CASES
- 5 YEAR WARRANTY

The Professional Review team awards you the gold medal and recommended product:

Bitfenix Formula Gold

Internal quality - 90%

Loudness - 95%

Cable management - 70%

Efficiency - 92%

Protection systems - 95%

Price - 90%

89%

At a low price, this range offers the latest internal technologies, a protection system that lacks nothing, and quiet performance for the most demanding. It is clear that Bitfenix has the "formula" for success.