Original Link: https://www.anandtech.com/show/17476/the-montech-century-gold-650w-psu-review



Montech is a relatively new player in the PC power & cooling market. Although they are borrowing experience from their parent company, Telon Co. LTD, Montech was only first established in 2016, making the Taiwanese company one of the youngest computer component manufacturers with an international presence. Today Montech is focused on the production and marketing of PC cases, power supply units (PSUs), and CPU cooler solutions.

The core philosophy of the company, according to Montech, is to provide quality products at a competitive price. Therefore, as expected, Montech is focused on the high-volume mainstream market, threading the needle between navigating an oversaturated market, while still grabbing a little piece of the pie thanks to the the sheer size of the market.

Today, we are taking a look at a product that may be a little outside the company’s core philosophy – the Century Gold 650W PSU. Although it definitely is not a halo product that is designed for top-tier competition, Montech designed the Century Gold series to be the brand’s flagbearer. As a result, the $90 price tag is heftier than what most people would expect from a brand whose focus is cost-effectiveness, and yet the Century Gold 650W proves to be a highly interesting product.

Power specifications ( Rated @ 50 °C )
AC INPUT 100 - 240 VAC, 50 - 60 Hz
RAIL +3.3V +5V +12V +5Vsb -12V
MAX OUTPUT 20A 20A 54A 2.5A 0.3A
100W 648W 12.5W 3.6W
TOTAL 650W
 

Packaging and Bundle

We received the Montech in a well-designed and sturdy cardboard box. The artwork is captivating enough to draw attention, without being extravagant. Packaging foam and thick cardboard walls protect the unit from shipping damage.

The bundle of the Century Gold PSU is frugal, with the company obviously trying to keep the cost down as much as possible. Only four standard mounting screws, a basic manual, and an AC power cable can be found inside the packaging.

Montech made the Century Gold an all-modular design, allowing for the removal of every DC power cable, including the 24-pin ATX connector. All of the cables are bare, ribbon-like, with black wires and black connectors.

Montech Century Gold 650W
Connector type Hardwired Modular
ATX 24 Pin - 1
EPS 4+4 Pin - 2
EPS 8 Pin - -
PCI-E 5.0 - -
PCI-E 8 Pin - 4
SATA - 8
Molex - 3
Floppy - 1

The Montech Century Gold 650W PSU

External Appearance

Montech adhered to the ATX standard dimensions for their Century Gold PSU. The chassis measures 86 mm × 150 mm × 140 mm (H × W × D), making it fully compatible with any ATX-compliant case. The steel chassis is sprayed with a satin black paint that is resistant to fingerprints but scratches rather easily. The finger guard is part of the chassis itself, featuring a hex design with the company logo above the fan’s engine.

The sticker with the unit’s certifications and specifications covers the entirety of the top side. A significant portion of the sticker is yellow and it is likely to dishearten users who do not enjoy striking colors visible through the windowed side panel of their systems. Stickers with the elegant series logo cover the sides of the unit.

 

A typical on/off switch can be seen at the rear side of the unit, right next to the standard AC power receptacle. About half of the front side of the unit is covered by the connectors for the modular cables, with a basic legend printed above each connector.

 

Internal Design

Yate Loon supplies the 120 mm fan that is responsible for the cooling of the Montech Century Gold 650W PSU. The D12BM-12 is a simple but very popular fan, with a ball bearing engine and a maximum speed of 1700 RPM. It may not be the best or quietest of options but it is an extensively used and proven quality design.

Montech is using a very popular platform for the Century Gold 650W unit, instantly revealing that Channel-Well Technology (CWT) is the OEM behind the creation of this PSU. CWT is an established designer and producer of PC PSU platforms, with the company primarily focusing on the middle market range.

The filtering stage of the Montech Century Gold 650W PSU is textbook, with a total of four Y capacitors, two X capacitors, and two filtering inductors. The rectifying bridge is placed on a plain heatsink with very little heat dissipation area. Almost the same goes for the active APFC components, which are attached to a much longer but equally plain heatsink across the side of the unit. Nippon Chemi-Con supplies the 400V/390μF APFC capacitor, with a sizeable filtering coil.

 

Two transistors form a typical half-bridge inversion topology at the primary side of the unit, while six MOSFETs generate the 12V line at the secondary side of the transformer. The 3.3V and 5V lines are generated via the DC-to-DC conversion circuits. This is a very typical configuration for an 80Plus Gold-certified unit. The heatsinks of the active switchers on either side of the transformer are of higher complexity than those used for the APFC circuitry and the primary bridge. All of the secondary capacitors, electrolytic and polymer alike, are provided by Nippon Chemi-Con and Nichicon, both of which are highly reputable Japanese manufacturers. 

 



Cold Test Results (~24°C Ambient)

For the testing of PSUs, we are using high precision electronic loads with a maximum power draw of 2700 Watts, a Rigol DS5042M 40 MHz oscilloscope, an Extech 380803 power analyzer, two high precision UNI-T UT-325 digital thermometers, an Extech HD600 SPL meter, a self-designed hotbox and various other bits and parts. For a thorough explanation of our testing methodology and more details on our equipment, please refer to our How We Test PSUs - 2014 Pipeline post.

The 80Plus certification requirements are stricter when the device is powered from a 230 VAC source, so most manufacturers only work towards meeting the requirements with a 115 VAC input. This is not the case here, as the Montech Century Gold 650W unit is exceptionally efficient regardless of the input voltage, easily meeting the 80Plus Gold requirements in either case. The average nominal load range (20% to 100% of the unit's capacity) efficiency of the Montech Century Gold 650W unit is 91.7% when powered from a 230 VAC source, or 90.9% when powered from a 115 VAC source.

Montech kept things simple with the Century Gold unit, including the thermal control circuitry. It is not capable of stopping the fan entirely and only controls its speed in relation to the internal temperature of the unit. Although the fan immediately starts when the PSU is powered on, it maintains a very low running speed across most of the load range. It is audible only from a very short distance while the load is below 400 Watts and it never becomes intolerably loud, not even with the PSU operating at maximum capacity.



Hot Test Results (~45°C Ambient)

For a product of this class and price range, the Montech Century Gold 650W PSU is extremely resilient to high environmental temperatures. The performance of the PSU was largely unaffected while it was operating inside our hotbox, with the average efficiency drop being just 0.2%. The degradation at maximum load was slightly more substantial but still remained negligible. This suggests that the components of the Century Gold are barely getting thermally stressed, even with the PSU operating at maximum capacity in our hotbox.

The thermal control circuitry of the Century Gold appears to be very basic but also highly effective, with the PSU increasing the speed of the fan almost linearly depending on the load. Regardless of the simplicity, the internal temperatures of the PSU are very low for a unit producing that kind of power. Montech could be less strict with the thermal control circuitry but the very low component temperatures directly affect the longevity of the PSU.

Despite the simple thermal control, the Century Gold has its fan spinning at low speeds even while the ambient temperature is high and increases the speed of the fan (and, in extend, the noise) alongside with the output power of the unit. If the Montech Century Gold 650W PSU is found operating under a very high ambient temperature, the Yate Loon fan will be almost silent while the system is idling, clearly audible at half load, and loud while the unit is operating at maximum capacity.



Power Supply Quality

Main Output
Load (Watts) 130.73 W 326.52 W 488.27 W 650.81 W
Load (Percent) 20.11% 50.23% 75.12% 100.12%
  Amperes Volts Amperes Volts Amperes Volts Amperes Volts
3.3 V 1.78 3.31 4.45 3.3 6.67 3.28 8.89 3.27
5 V 1.78 5.09 4.45 5.06 6.67 5.03 8.89 5.01
12 V 9.6 12.06 24.01 12.05 36.01 12.02 48.02 12.02

 

Line Regulation
(20% to 100% load)
Voltage Ripple (mV)
20% Load 50% Load 75% Load 100% Load CL1
12V
CL2
3.3V + 5V
3.3V 1.3% 12 14 14 14 12 14
5V 1.6% 12 16 16 16 12 16
12V 0.4% 16 20 22 26 26 18

The electrical performance of the Montech Century Gold 650W PSU was significantly better than what we expected to see from a product of this class. It has surprisingly strong voltage regulation on the primary 12V line, keeping it within 0.4% across the entire nominal load range. The regulation on the secondary 3.3V and 5V lines is at 1.5%, which is less impressive but still very good. The power quality of all three voltage lines is exceptional considering the tier of the PSU, with the 12V line displaying a maximum ripple of just 26mV with the unit operating at maximum capacity.

As part of our standard testing, we test the primary protections of all PSUs we review (Over Current, Over Voltage, Over Power, and Short Circuit). The Montech Century Gold 650W successfully passed all of the tests, generally reacting timely when needed and shutting down to protect itself and the components it is powering. Only the over-current protection on the 12V line is set too high, taking the PSU a good couple of seconds to shut down at even 110% of its rated amperage. Regardless, the protection operated successfully and no permanent damage is done to the unit even after several successive attempts.

Conclusion

Montech developed the Century Gold series for the higher end of the mainstream market, trying to combine and balance quality, performance, and cost. The market segment that the Century Gold 650W is targeted at is very large, and the sheer selection of available products makes it challenging for new products to establish reputations, even when attempted by highly established brand names. Regardless, Montech is definitely making a serious attempt with the Century Gold.

The core design of the Montech Century Gold 650W feels uninteresting by today’s standards, with the unit based on topologies that are widely used and proven over many years. What is interesting about the Century Gold is Montech’s selection of components, which are of outstanding quality considering the class and target audience of the PSU. Having a proven design combined with top-quality parts is the recipe for longevity. This extends beyond the passive parts, such as the all-Japanese capacitors, to the active parts of the PSU, which are remarkably efficient and largely unaffected by stress, despite the extremely plain heatsinks of the unit.

A good selection of components does more than just affect the quality of a PSU, as it directly affects every aspect of the unit’s performance. The Montech Century Gold 650W is a prime example of that quote, as the PSU displayed the combination of exceptional power quality, great energy conversion efficiency, and minimal losses. Only the thermal control circuit is simplistic and, still, the high efficiency of the PSU allows it to maintain very low noise levels over most of its nominal load range. For a product designed to target the mainstream market, the Montech Century Gold 650W PSU performs exceptionally well – better than a large number of top-tier PSUs.

Montech is a new company whose focus is to deliver, above all else, cost-effective products. As such, we expected the Century Gold 650W unit to be a power supply designed with a focus on price over quality. That, however, proved not to be the company’s main intention with this particular PSU series – instead, this is very much a premium power supply (or at least as much as a Gold PSU can be), with Montech incorporating some of the best parts and materials they could readily procure. So for their first showing on AnandTech, they've definitely made an impression by delivering a high quality PSU.

The one catch in all of this, however, is that the use of premium components adds to the price tag in what is historically a price-sensitive market. Selling the PSU directly through Newegg, Montech has priced the Century Gold 650W at $90, placing it dangerously close to the prices charged for premium PSUs from the larger, more established names. As a result, Montech can't lean on pricing to become a break-out star in this market, which means they have to work in smaller and harder ways instead.

 

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