Cybenetics was formed with one purpose in mind;
to introduce new efficiency and noise certification standards for personal computer
power supply units (PSUs). As compared to the currently available programs, the
volunteered certification program offered by Cybenetics aims to add greater
accuracy to efficiency testing and at the same time to provide an authentic
verification of the PSU’s operational noise level.
Beyond efficiency and noise certifications,
Cybenetics also offers PSU Beta testing and evaluation reports which can
lead to significant time and money savings in the process of increasing the
quality and the performance of the tested products.
The Cybenetics test procedure has been
developed through many years of PSU evaluation experience. The methodologies in place, have been forged
after numerous hours of testing and experimentation to obtain accuracy and
reliability. Cybenetics’ highly experienced personnel uses exclusively top-notch,
state of the art equipment for its certifications. For further information,
please visit the
Cybenetics homepage.
Cybenetics introduces a new efficiency rating
called ETA, after the Greek letter “Η”, which is based
on a highly sophisticated methodology that takes into account many different
factors.
Contrary to the currently available efficiency
rating programs that test only three or four different load points; the ETA
program incorporates load combinations using a unique, custom-made application to
account for the efficiency results of thousands of different load combinations
through a unique proprietary application. This process allows Cybenetics to use
a single value rating to represent the PSU’s true overall efficiency. Moreover,
and very importantly, Power Factor, Vampire Power and the +5VSB rail’s
efficiency are also taken into consideration in the final rating, whereas these
measurements are not even considered in other efficiency certification tests.
Finally, all tested PSUs must be compliant with the ErP Lot 6 2010/2013 and ErP
lot 3 2014 directives and also meet all requirements mentioned in the (EU) No
617/2013 regulation:
(a) 85%
efficiency at 50% of rated output power;
(b) 82%
efficiency at 20% and 100% of rated output power;
(c) Power Factor >= 0.9 at 100% of rated output power.
Cybenetics also provides a noise certification,
named LAMBDA. Utilizing an advanced methodology and a highly sophisticated
controlling/monitoring program, the power supply’s noise readings are recorded throughout
its entire operational range. Those readings are subsequently converted to sound
pressure levels (SPL), averaged, and converted back to dB(A) again. As of this
time, to the best of our knowledge, there is no such noise certification
program available for IT products and our purpose in the future, is to expand
this program to other hardware parts, as well.
The ETA certification comprises of five levels
(A+, A, B, C, and D), while LAMBDA consists of seven levels (A++, A+, A, B, C,
D, and E). Each manufacturer or brand can choose to either use the
corresponding certification badges depicting the level alone, or a more
comprehensive badge that includes the actual overall efficiency or noise
rating. In addition, each badge will be tied to the specific product through a
short-URL and a QR code, which will be printed on the badge. This will allow
users to easily find a PSU’s evaluation report certified by Cybenetics.
Since we want to offer the most detailed possible
evaluation reports in addition to the normal test results, we will also include
a number of other test results (e.g. efficiency and load regulation at 10%-110%
load; ripple performance; hold-up time; etc.), which will provide useful
information not only to everyday users but also to experts and PSU reviewers
who do not have the proper equipment and software to apply our methodology.
For both certification programs, we primarily use
115 VAC; however, the ETA program will include a number of tests using 230 VAC to
check compliance with various EU regulations.
You can find more information about Cybenetics,
the ETA and LAMBDA certification programs, at
www.cybenetics.com. Within a three month period close to 40 PSU models from various brands
have been certified. You will find their evaluation reports in the Cybenetics’
database, which also includes a graphic charts option
(per manufacturer).