Phanteks amp 550w review in Spanish (full review)

Phanteks, a well-known brand in the world of boxes and refrigeration, recently entered a new market: power supplies. Until now, its sources were high-end and belonged to very specific niches (Revolt X and Revolt Pro), but the brand has decided to launch a more 'mainstream' product with which to conquer the mid-high-end market. This is the new Phanteks AMP that we are going to analyze in detail.

As in its two previous releases, the brand shows chest indicating that these are sources made by Seasonic, a company with which they maintain close collaboration.

In terms of its characteristics, this is an 80 Plus Gold font, 100% modular and with a 10-year warranty, so it is in a segment where competition is fierce, so there are only two options for a launch to be competitive: have a reduced price or offer something new. What will the new Phanteks AMP offer us? Let's see it.

Phanteks AMP 550W Technical Specifications

External analysis

The box shows us the most relevant product information, with great emphasis on its " Revolt Pro Link Certification" , which we will talk about later.

The packaging comes well protected, with the fountain covered in foam and the cables stored in a sleeve.

The "accessories" included with the Phanteks AMP are (in addition to the screws and the power cord) a user manual, custom velcro strips and a few cable ties, certainly useful for managing the wiring.

The appearance of the font is simple, with some decorations that try to give it a personal touch, but valid for any setup. As expected, we have a fairly compact design, the hallmark of most modern fonts, with a length of only 15cm.

On the back of the source we see that we are informed of the benefits of the " Revolt Pro Link Certification ", which simply informs us that this source is suitable to be combined with a Phanteks Revolt PRO, a source capable of "linking" with another, either to achieve redundant operation or to get more power with which to power extreme configurations.

In any case, it seems that this "certification" is nothing more than a marketing seal, although it is true that Phanteks guarantees that the source has " quality wiring, terminals that withstand a lot of amperage and stability to operate at high loads during a long term “, characteristics undoubtedly necessary in a system like the Revolt Pro Link.

As for the modular panel, the organization is good and leaves no room for doubt, everything fits exclusively where it should fit so we will never have a wrong connection, as long as we use the cables included with the source.

Cabling management

All cables are flat in this Phanteks AMP, except for the ATX, which is meshed. As always, we will not go into what type of wiring is better, since both have their advantages and disadvantages: while the meshes give a greater appearance of robustness, the plans take up less and therefore should be easier to order in box.

Moving to the number of connectors, the truth is that we have been very impressed to see that 2 8-pin EPS connectors are included in the 550W model, since it is something that is usually only found in sources from 750W upwards. We also like to see the huge number of SATA connectors, since we have ten, that sacrificing 2 Molex can be converted to 14 thanks to the included adapters.

Phanteks follows the most beneficial practices for users, one of them being to focus on offering more SATA and leaving a reduced amount of Molex, as they are less and less necessary. Bravo!

Another aspect that has surprised us is that two very common trends in the market have been left behind in this font, which also characterized all the fonts manufactured by Seasonic in this range. This is the elimination of the capacitors in the cables (except for the ATX cable, yes), resulting in a significant benefit when assembling the equipment.

In addition to this, fortunately the 2 PCIe connectors are distributed on two different cables, something that was not seen in almost any source and that is especially beneficial when we are going to use high-performance graphics, as is the case with the AMD Vega.

Moving to the length of the cabling, we see very good values ​​compared to the other PSUs, since the Phanteks AMP stays at the average or above, surprising in the great length of its PCIe cables.

Regarding the length of the SATA cables, which we see 2 photographs above, the truth is that they are very well distributed and will cover the needs of almost any user, even those who have several hard drives in large towers.

Internal analisis

The maker of the Phanteks AMP is, as we expected, Seasonic. Being a source of this manufacturer and features, what is expected is that we are facing one more rebrand of the Focus Plus platform, but in this case we are facing the new Focus GX platform , essentially similar but with a series of important changes.

The biggest change is optimization of the design to completely eradicate the problems with graphics cards with high consumption peaks (such as AMD Vega 56/64). Basically, the first models based on the Focus Plus platform (those that were manufactured before 2018) did not support the consumption peaks of these graphics, something that was "patched" by softening the source protections, and finally it is solved properly. with this new platform.

The primary filtering is composed, in addition to the expected combo of 2 X capacitors, 4 Y capacitors and 2 coils, by an NTC thermistor supported by a relay (these two for the current peaks that occur when the source is turned on) and an MOV (to protect against small surges).

There are also no surprises in using a Japanese capacitor on the primary side, in this case a Hitachi with an apparently low capacity of 390uF. This capability suggests that this source would not be able to pass the hold-up time tests within the recommended standards, but luckily we have a well-optimized interior and they do.

On the secondary side we see, as we expected, more Japanese capacitors from Nippon Chemi-Con and Nichicon.

As always Seasonic does a good job and we have good weld quality. Here is the chip in charge of the protections, which has not changed compared to the normal Focus platform, and it is the Weltrend WT7527V. What has surely changed is its settings to ensure proper operation.

The fan is the Hong Hua HA1225H12F-Z, this model has been Seasonic's star choice for almost all the 120mm fan sources it makes for years. It is a reliable and quality fan, thanks to its dynamic fluid bearings. It is generally quite quiet at low revs, but at mid revs it produces an audible and somewhat annoying clicking sound.

Cybenetics performance tests

Cybenetics is a company born in 2017 to offer an alternative to the 80 Plus certifying tests. The company seeks to offer more stringent and demanding certifications, with a greater number of tests, covering more loading scenarios and, in short, with a more complete methodology than that of 80 Plus (which, in fact, is quite simple). In addition to the ETA efficiency certification, they offer LAMBDA loudness certification, something that 80 Plus does not offer.

In addition to all this, for all the sources that test they offer a public report and accessible to everyone with the results of a large number of performance tests that have nothing to do with certification and efficiency but are useful to know the quality and performance of the power supply.

For this reason, for several months we have included Cybenetics tests in all our reviews whenever we can, due to three reasons:

1. Cybenetics equipment, valued at tens of thousands of euros (perhaps close to € 100, 000), is light years away from the humble and too basic performance tests we can do with the web team. use the data from your performance tests as long as they are given the proper attribution. Using this data allows us to give a much better view of the quality of the source, in addition to having the didactic purpose that users understand the tests and analyze for yourself the quality of a source's performance.

Having said that, let's go with a small explanation of the meaning of the different tests that we are going to show.

Cybenetics testing explained

As the tests carried out by Cybenetics have some complexity, we explain in these tabs what is measured and what is its importance.

This is information that we will include in all our reviews with data from Cybenetics so, if you already know how the test structure works, you can continue reading. If not, we recommend you take a look at all the tabs to find out what each test is about. ?

• Glossary of terms Voltage regulation Ripple Efficiency Loudness Hold-up time

Let's go with a small glossary of some terms that could be somewhat confusing:

• Rail: PC sources that follow the ATX standard (like this one) do not have a single outlet, but several, which are distributed in " rails ". Each of those rails outputs a specific voltage, and can supply a specific maximum current. We show you the rails of this Thor in the image below. The most important is 12V.

  

  Crossload: When testing a power supply, the most common is that the loads made on each rail are proportional to their "weight" in the power distribution table of the source. However, it is known that the actual loads of the equipment are not like this, but are usually very unbalanced. Therefore, there are two tests called "crossload" in which a single group of rails is loaded.

  On the one hand, we have the CL1 that leaves the 12V rail unloaded and gives 100% at 5V and 3.3V. On the other, the CL2 that 100% loads the 12V rail leaving the rest unloaded. This type of testing, of limit situations, truly shows if the source has a good regulation of voltages or not.

The voltage regulation test consists of measuring the voltage of each source rail (12V, 5V, 3.3V, 5VSB) in the different load scenarios, in this case from 10 to 110% load. The importance of this test lies in how stable all voltages are maintained during testing. Ideally, we like to see a maximum deviation of 2 or 3% for the 12V rail, and 5% for the rest of the rails.

What does not matter so much is 'what voltage is it based on', although it is a fairly widespread myth, it should not matter to us that the 11.8V or the 12.3V are around for example. What we do demand is that they be kept within the limits of the ATX standard that governs the correct operation rules of a PSU. The dashed red lines indicate where those limits are.

Vulgarly, it can be defined as the "residuals" of alternating current that remain after the transformation and rectification of the household AC into low-voltage DC.

These are variations of some millivolts (mV) that, if they are very high (being able to say that there is a "dirty" energy output) can affect the behavior of the equipment components and in some cases damage fundamental components.

A very guiding description of what a source's ripple would look like on an oscilloscope. In the graphs below what we show is the variation between peaks like the ones seen here, depending on the source load.

The ATX standard defines limits of up to 120mV on the 12V rail, and up to 50mV on the other rails we show. We (and the community of PSU specialists in general) consider that the 12V limit is quite high, so we give a "recommended limit" of just half, 60mV. In any case you will see how the majority of sources that we test give excellent values.

In the transformation and rectification processes from household alternating current to the low voltage direct current required by the components, there are various energy losses. The efficiency concept allows quantifying these losses by comparing the power consumed (INPUT) with that delivered to the components (OUTPUT). Dividing the second by the first, we get a percentage. This is precisely what 80 Plus proves. Despite the conception that many people have, 80 Plus only measures the efficiency of the source and does not do any quality testing, protections, etc. Cybenetics tests efficiency and sound, although it altruistically includes the results of many other tests such as the ones we showed you in the review.

Another very serious misconception about efficiency is believing that this determines what percentage of your "promised" power the source can deliver. The truth is that the "real" power sources announce what they can give at the START. In other words, if a 650W source has 80% efficiency at this load level, it means that if the components demand 650W, it will consume 650 / 0.8 = 812.5W from the wall.

Last relevant aspect: the efficiency varies depending on whether we are connecting the source to a 230V electrical network (Europe and most of the world), or to 115V (mainly the US). In the latter case it is less. We publish Cybenetics data for 230V (if they have it), and since the overwhelming majority of sources are certified for 115V, it is normal for 230V to fail to meet the 80 Plus requirements advertised by each source.

For this test, Cybenetics tests the PSUs in an extremely sophisticated anechoic chamber with equipment worth tens of thousands of euros.

It is a room isolated from outside noise almost entirely, suffice it to say that it has a 300kg reinforced door to illustrate the great isolation it has.

Within it, an extremely accurate sound level meter capable of measuring below 6dbA (most have at least 30-40dBa, much more) determines the loudness of the power supply in different load scenarios. The speed the fan reaches in rpm is also measured.

This test basically measures how long the source is able to hold on once it is disconnected from the current while at full load. It will be a few crucial milliseconds to enable a safer shutdown.

The ATX standard defines 16 / 17ms (according to test) as a minimum, although in practice this will be more (we will not always be charging the PSU at 100% so it will be greater), and there are usually no problems with lower values.

We recommend you take a look at the test report published by Cybenetics:

Link to full Cybenetics report Cybenetics official website

Voltage regulation

On the smaller rails, the voltage regulation data is excellent, while on the 12V rail it is overwhelming, with a maximum deviation of just 0.10%, which is a far cry from the 5% maximum set by Intel.

Curly

Curling is an especially important and interesting point, since this source does not make use of capacitors in the PCIe and CPU cables (which serve precisely to filter it). Achieving good results without using these troublesome capacitors for source mounting is a good milestone.

On minor rails the results are very good and far from the limits established by the ATX standard.

On the other hand, in the 12V rail (the one that interests us the most) we see a maximum of 32.1mV, which, again, is far from the limits and is a pretty good result considering what was previously mentioned.

Efficiency

Efficiency is quite good, adjusting to expected levels on an 80 Plus Gold source, approaching 92% at medium loads.

If we 'zoom' and closely compare the results of this Phanteks with those of the last 80 Plus Gold sources that we analyzed, we see that its efficiency results are located between the two, reinforcing the idea that the measured values ​​are good.

Sonority

The semi-passive mode of this Phanteks AMP is not very aggressive, since it lasts up to 30% of load, but fortunately when the fan starts operating it does so at very low revolutions, it is not up to 70-80% when we see a slightly elevated speed.

This control allows you to take the Cybenetics LAMBDA A ++ certification, the highest that the company grants.

Experience with semi-passive mode and active mode

As is normal with Seasonic (and with most sources), the semi-passive mode of the Phanteks AMP is not digital and therefore lacks hysteresis control, we explain this concept here:

Explanation of the concept of hysteresis

Hysteresis is a scientific concept that is very important, for example, to study magnetism. In this case we are going to move away from that world and make a simple explanation applicable to the control of a fan in a power supply.

These graphics are entirely invented number and interval dramatizations for illustrative purposes.

When there is no hysteresis setting on a semi-passive source, the temperature required to turn on your fan is the same as to turn it off. Therefore, if we are (for example) in a game session and the source reaches the necessary temperature point, its fan will turn on. If the load is maintained or reduced slightly, the source is expected to drop below this point in temperature, causing the fan to turn off. It is also foreseeable that soon afterwards the temperature will reach the ignition point again.

This behavior we describe very easily causes fan on and off loops that are harmful to the fan , reducing the durability benefits of the fan that a semi-passive mode should offer, while the source is “half-cooled” and the loudness is “reduced to half” too.

When the semi-passive mode is controlled more intelligently and a hysteresis setting is entered (especially if there is a digital microcontroller in charge of regulating this mode), the point at which the fan is turned on is not the same as it takes to Turn off. That is, an example with the graph above: we force the source to turn on the fan at 60ºC, but it will not turn off until the source reduces its temperature to 55ºC. In this way, we achieve several things:

1. Getting the source fan to continuously keep the fan on for as long as necessary, which is much more positive in every way than the loops described above. Avoid loud spikes in these ignition loops, versus continuous operation at acceptable revs. Offer much better cooling to the power supply.

Unfortunately, the majority of power supplies on the market with semi-passive modes include a simple one, basically due to its low production cost, ease of implementation, and the little that most reviewers seem to care about this aspect. In any case, with sources that offer long warranty periods and good efficiency, the semi-passive mode type should not be a big concern.

However, Seasonic's semi-passive modes are not usually disastrous and in the case of this Phanteks AMP it has not been either. In other words, there is this "propensity" for the fan to enter a continuous on-off loop, but it is not as exaggerated as in other cases.

Regarding the active mode, its operation is as expected: it maintains quite low revolutions and is ideal for those who want to give an extra internal cooling to the source.

Hold-up time

Hold-up time Thermaltake Phanteks AMP 550W (tested at 230V)	19.5 ms
Data extracted from Cybenetics

As usual in sources based on derivatives of the Focus platform, the hold-up time is very good and exceeds what is required, even using a primary capacitor of not very high capacity.

Final words and conclusion on Phanteks AMP 550W

Phanteks seeks to gain a foothold in the power supply market and for this reason it covers more and more users' spectrum, since this source comes to be added as a “mainstream option”, in a catalog that until now consists of two very high-level ranges (Revolt X, Revolt Pro) with prohibitive prices and special features that only a small niche of users needs.

The Phanteks AMP is, like the other ranges of the brand, made by Seasonic. It is based on a new and modern internal platform such as the Focus GX.

What is perhaps the greatest strength of this source is its wiring, since the brand has opted for a fairly generous number of cables for this power level, and adjusted to the needs of current equipment, and adding to very positive trends such as abandoning the annoying capacitors in the cables or including PCIe cables prepared for graphics of maximum consumption.

We recommend reading our updated guide to the best PC power supplies

Moving to other aspects, such as internal quality, efficiency or warranty periods, there are no big surprises, the range is positioned alongside other models with similar characteristics.

Do not be fooled by its separately reduced power, because this Phanteks AMP 550W is one more source that is suitable for powering any computer with a graphics card on the market, thanks to its quality and characteristics.

We finish talking about the price, a very important factor due to the numerous competition that the Phanteks AMP faces: for 90 euros for the 550W model, 100 euros for 650W and 110 for 750W, we can say that the price is not bad, It is not impressive but it leaves these sources in a good place, and undoubtedly their purchase is worth considering for anyone looking for something around this price level.

Advantage

• Excellent cable management thanks to a generous number of connectors (2 CPUs in the 550W version, up to 14 SATA), no annoying capacitors and use of a single PCIe connector per cable (and, of course, 100% modular). and reasonable market competitiveness. Excellent internal quality, based on a very good Seasonic platform. 10 years warranty.

Disadvantages

• The semi-passive mode, while decent, is not digitally controlled. 650W models and above do not have individual PCIe cabling.

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

Phanteks AMP 550W

INTERNAL QUALITY - 95%

SOUNDNESS - 85%

WIRING MANAGEMENT - 93%

CYBENETICS PERFORMANCE - 93%

PROTECTION SYSTEMS - 90%

PRICE - 80%

89%