BitFenix Formula Gold 450W PSU Review: Compact, Efficient, And Near-Silent
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EMC Pre-Compliance Testing
EMC, EMI & EMS Acronyms
Electromagnetic Compatibility (EMC): The ability of a device to operate properly in its environment without disrupting the operation of other close-by devices.
Electromagnetic Interference (EMI): This represents the electromagnetic energy a device emits, which can cause problems in other close-by devices if it is too high.
Electromagnetic Immunity (EMS): Tolerance to electromagnetic emissions.
Equipment & Standards
To properly measure the EMI that a device emits, you need special equipment defined by the CISPR 16-1-1 specification. To learn more about our EMI testing equipment, please check out How We Test Power Supply Units.
In order to minimize EMI noise, some standards have been established. The corresponding standards for Information Technology products are CISPR 32 and its derivative EN 55032. In the EU, every product featuring the "CE" marking has to comply with EN 55032. Both CISPR 32 and EN 55032 divide devices into two classes, A and B. B-class equipment is for domestic environments, so its allowed EMI emissions are significantly lower than for A-class devices.
CISPR 32 / EN55032 Limits | ||
---|---|---|
CISRP 32/ EN 55032 Class A Conducted EMI Limit | ||
Frequency of Emission (MHz) | Conducted Limit (dBuV) | |
Quasi-peak | Average | |
0.15 - 0.50 | 79 | 66 |
0.50 - 30.0 | 73 | 60 |
CISPR 32/ EN 55032 Class B Conducted EMI Limit | ||
Frequency of Emission (MHz) | Conducted Limit (dBuV) | |
Quasi-peak | Average | |
0.15 - 0.50 | 66 - 56 | 56 - 46 |
0.50 - 5.00 | 56 | 46 |
5.00 - 30.00 | 60 | 50 |
EMI Results - Average Detector
Two spikes come close to this test's limit. Everything else is notably lower. What matters most, though, is that the BF450G's EMI filtering stage passes the average detector test successfully.
EMI Results - Peak Detector
The results are much better during our peak detector test.
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Aris Mpitziopoulos is a contributing editor at Tom's Hardware, covering PSUs.
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2Be_or_Not2Be Nice - I really like how quiet these models are running.Reply
Of course, it's also funny that the Formula Gold model is less noisy on average than its "Whisper" mate.