Deepcool PL650D: ATX v3.1 PSU at €59!

Epilogue

The PL-D series is the first to bring highly affordable ATX v3.1 PSUs to the masses, using an older Helly platform with a double forward topology which was popular several years ago when most PSUs were Bronze-rated. With today’s standards Bronze and Silver efficiency levels are low, with many Gold units, sold at reasonable prices, being available from various brands and manufacturers. The problem is that still ATX v3.x compatibility costs a premium, so it is nice to see budget ATX v3.1 units offered by a big brand since this will push other brands to follow this path.

To keep the cost down, the PL-D units don’t have any modular cables, which are very helpful during the system’s setup. The soldering quality is good on the internals, but the parts are not from known manufacturers to save money. Still, Deepcool seems to have faith in this platform’s reliability; otherwise, it wouldn’t support it with a five-year warranty.

A note about the Chengx capacitors on this unit’s primary and secondary sides. You should not be afraid of them, thinking that they are crap. The quality and performance of the Chinese caps have been tremendously improved in the last few years. Chengx also makes caps for several big names in the industry, including known Japanese capacitor brands. If you want facts and not just rumors about capacitor performance, look at my evaluation tests.

The PL650D passed all of my ATX v3.1 transient response tests successfully. It has a lower than 17ms hold-up time, but this is not a problem for the ATX v3.1 spec which dropped the 17ms hold-up requirement to just 12ms. I don’t agree with this change, but I don’t have a saying there. Load regulation is tight on all rails since the PSU’s low capacity and the native cables help there. Moreover, ripple suppression is decent, and the 12V rail keeps its voltage at a reasonable level under increased transient loads. Because of the outdated design, the average efficiency is not high, but still, the unit achieves a Cybenetics Silver efficiency rating. I couldn’t find a US price, but Deepcool mentions a €59 price tag in Europe, which is low for a 650W, Silver-rated, in the Cybenetics scheme, ATX v3.1 PSU.

Another thing I want to mention here is the ATX spec that this unit is compliant with. Although Deepcool mentions ATX v3.0, since it uses native cables, it automatically meets the ATX v3.1 requirements. There is no change in the 12VHPWR or 12V-2×6 cable; only the 12+4 pin headers are changed on PSUs that have them on their modular panels and the graphics cards. This means that PSUs using a pair of 8-pin sockets or the ones with native cables, which already meet the ATX v3.0 requirements, are automatically upgraded to ATX v3.1. I already talked to Deepcool about that, and they told me that in the next production batch, the marketing material and badges will have the ATX v3.1 badge. They should also use the corresponding Cybenetics badges.

Assuming that the PL650D will have a price tag of 50-55 dollars in the US market, given the €59 price tag in the EU market, it will be the most affordable 650W ATX v3.1 PSUs available.

650W ATX v3.x PSU reviews:

• Cooler Master GX III 650W ATX v3.0 PSU Review
• DeepCool PN650D ATX v3.1 PSU Review
• Thermaltake Toughpower GF A3 650W PSU Review
• XPG Core Reactor II VE 650W PSU Review
• XPG KYBER 650W PSU Review

Before investing in a new power supply, read my Best ATX v3.x PSUs article to check all alternative PSU offerings. You help me a lot by using my affiliate links, which don’t increase the product’s price. I get a commission from Amazon every time you do it, which can make a difference for me, especially now that I am on my own, working exclusively for my media and not for someone else.