Testing (continued):
The next set of results were obtained from the Seasonic Power Angel while the idle and load testing already described was being executed. This device takes a look at the AC power being provided to the system with each of the four power supplies installed to see how things may differ.
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In the first half of the chart below we see that the power factor values for all three units hit the expected 99% when the systems are in the load condition. The second value shown in this first half of the chart details the amperage on the 120VAC line. What we see is that when powering the same test system, the BFG Tech unit draws the least amount of current, with the Thermaltake unit coming in a close second. The second half of the chart shows the wattage (W) and apparent wattage (VA). Since voltage should be about the same, it makes sense to expect the Wattage reading to be lower when the Amperage is lower, since the equation is P=V*I (power equals voltage times current). Here we see the Thermaltake unit comes in a close second to the BFG Tech unit once again.
With my current electric rate of 15 cents per kWh, the Thermaltake unit powered system would cost about $507.20 per year to operate, while the BFG Tech powered system would cost about $501.95 per year. This is if I could manage to keep the system under a full load 24/7/365, which isn't very likely. Considering the total cost per year, the difference isn't much, but that $5.25 could towards something useful I suppose.
