Wednesday, November 6, 2024

A Cybenetics engineer responds to Gigabyte regarding the GP-P750/850 GM PSUs

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It seems that the history of the power supply Gigabyte GP-P750 GM y GP-850 GM Not over yet. To put you in context, these energy sources have gone viral due to Several reports questioned its quality, so much so that it can explode under harsh conditions of use.

GIGABYTE issued a press release Claiming that this problem manifests itself only when pressing its power supply under laboratory conditions and not in normal use, but despite this, it has announced new versions of its power supply where the margin for activation of OPP protection is Reduced by up to 250W (30%) which reflects that the margin is too high and that is the problem.

It was now Aris MbitziopoulosSenior Accreditation Program Engineer Cybenetics (which rivals the 80 Plus certification), and the famous power supply expert, who discussed all the information provided by Gigabyte:

At first, I did not want to bother with this matter again, but something was bothering me. It can’t be right for Gigabyte to blame its reviewers, or users, for misusing its power supply rather than its engineer. So after some thought, I have decided to respond to your statement of August 13, 2021 about the GP-P750 / 850 GM power supply. Below you will find Gigabyte’s allegations, as written in their statement and my response.

GB: Reports of this nature are taken very seriously and therefore would like to address potential reported issues as follows…

Reply from Aris: I reported problems with the GP-P750GM power supply in late October 2020, before posting their review on TechPowerUp and a video review on the Hardware Busters YouTube channel, and GIGABYTE replied that their engineers tested five drives and found no problems. They did not request the return of the defective sample for failure analysis, which is the usual procedure, and did not submit a second sample for further review. I have saved all my emails with the respective GIGABYTE team, in case there are any questions.

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GB: The OPP safety feature is designed to shut down the unit when the power load exceeds the voltage for which the unit is designed. OPP is modified from 120% to 150%, 1020W ~ 1300W for GP-P850GM, and 900W ~ 1125W for GP-P750GM.

Reply from Aris: OPP to protect the power supply from failure. However, GIGABYTE engineers were supposed to configure it accordingly. Some platforms with high-quality, anti-fatigue components may have a higher OPP setting than other lower-end platforms. It is the manufacturer’s responsibility to properly configure the OPP to effectively protect the power supply under all conditions and the system the PSU is running. Finally, an OPP with a 30% range is quite high. Gigabyte should order a lower rank.

GB: We have been notified by third parties of concerns about potential problems with the GP-P850GM and GP-P750GM subjected to high voltages when tested with DC electronic load equipment for frequently extended periods of time near the trigger point 120% to 150% OPP. This level of prolonged testing can seriously reduce the life of the GP-P850GM and GP-P750GM product and components.

Reply from Aris: First of all, there was no extended testing period under overload, as most samples died within a few minutes of testing, as Steve (Gamer Nexus) mentioned in his video.

In my case, the GP-P750 GM sample I tested died for a short OPP evaluation period and blew as soon as I tried to turn it on again to continue testing, with no load on its lines. Even if it is a prolonged test at high loads, engineers should use lower OPPs from the moment they realize that the platform can withstand higher than normal loads. Finally, Brief Life is a very different story from the component explosion, which clearly shows a problem with the formation of OPP, which GIGABYTE believes is the culprit.

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GB: GIGABYTE has made modifications and reduced the OPP in the GP-P850GM and GP-P750GM….from 120%~150% to 110%~120%

Reply from Aris: GIGABYTE, following our findings, realized that platforms could not support an OPP rating of 120%-150% and decided to lower it. The problem is that 110%-120% OPP is impossible with the analog controllers they offer, which use resistors to tune the OPP. These resistors vary with temperature.

In other words, its resistance changes depending on the operating conditions, so it is impossible to achieve such a small range of OPP in both hot and cold conditions. The only way to achieve a tight OPP is through digital circuits, using an MCU. Finally, GIGABYTE did not mention the operating conditions to which the new OPP settings apply.

GB: GIGABYTE would like to stress that the potential problems reported only appeared after very long periods of intense load testing using DC electronic load equipment and would not be typical of any real-world use.

Reply from Aris: Gamer Nexus samples died within minutes, and my sample died after a short OPP evaluation period. Also, a quick look at user reports (Newegg, forums, etc) shows that most of these power supplies are out of power under normal conditions. With so many bugs reported in Newegg reviews, it can’t be just a coincidence.

GB: The GIGABYTE GP-P850GM and GP-P750GM PSUs include industry standard OCP, OTP, OVP, OPP, UVP and SCP power protection designs.
Security certification from different countries to ensure the safe and stable operation of your system.

Reply from Aris: Since these units are CE certified, I would like to check the corresponding CE reports, including the evaluation of protective properties. To my knowledge, there is no safety certificate that evaluates the protective properties of a power source.

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GB: Although earlier and later versions of OPP convenience are reliable for real-world use.

Reply from Aris: Many users who have purchased these products have a different opinion and experience. Also, OPP isn’t just for us reviewers, it should protect the power supply in all conditions. Otherwise, it makes no sense to have this protection function when you are not saving the power supply.

Also, who and what determines use in the real world? For me the typical use would be to have my computer idle most of the time while other users are playing most of the time, stressing the whole system. Other users can test Furmark and Prime95 at the same time. What I mean is that real-world usage varies from user to user.

GB: The serial number below can request return or exchange service.

Reply from Aris: GIGABYTE made changes to OPP in some production batches but didn’t tell people who bought high OPP units about this or even give them the opportunity to replace their units, just to be safe. They implemented a silent fix, meaning they cared enough to do so.

Conclusion: This is not just a poorly equipped OPP, many units died under moderate loads and in short periods of use. I firmly believe this is a bad design, the FETs are not properly controlled, and while quick checks are done and under normal circumstances the power supply may be fine, there are cases (not just under stress) where they fail. The timing of the FETs is incorrect, due to a poor controller or poor implementation. Of course, I can’t be completely sure without having any samples in my hand, of old and new generations, to test and take apart to analyze defects.

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