Visual inspection
The GameMax GX650W Gold is part of the GX power supply series. This unit is aimed towards the gaming and system builder market. With a simple all black design and no RGB but a fully modular cable system.
The case of the power supply is completely black. The only color and design elements present here are the two labels which are applied on the sides.
The power supply has a length of 150mm, a height of 85mm and a width of 140mm.
The fan grill of the GX650W has a different design than your typical power supply. It is the standard honeycomb pattern with an added X at the center. It’s a subtle design change that adds depth to the look of the power supply.
The 120mm fan that is used with this power supply has its own label applied on the rotor hub. The fan itself is attached to the fan shroud with four hexagonal screws.
The sides of the power supply have two labels applied. One with the GX series design and the other with the technical specifications.
The back side of the GX650W Gold has the standard honeycomb pattern acting as the main exhaust for the fan. This side features the typical On / OFF switch and the AC power cable socket.
The modular connectors are installed on the front side of the casing. All connectors are neatly grouped together and the CPU connector is color coded in blue. Fortunately, the label used to group the connectors is of high quality.
The cables included with the GX650W Gold are flat ribbon style, this includes the 24-pin motherboard cable. Usually, the 24pin cable is not flat as it is the largest of them all and harder to design as flat.
Flat, ribbon style cables are better in the sense that you can overlay them and have an easier time routing them around the system.
The internal build quality is good, the OEM behind this power supply is SOHO, however, nothing much is known about this platform, at least at a first glance.
The mosfets are directly cooled by aluminum heatsinks, with the 120mm fan doing the active cooling of the rest of the components.
The filtering starts at the back of the power AC socket, with three Y capacitors. The soldering on this part of the power supply is not the best in the world but it does its job.
The APFC section has a single main capacitor, made by Teapo with the specification: 400V, 470uF, and it has a maximum operating temperature of 105°C.
The APFC controller is a CM6500UNX made by Champion. This controller has been widely used in many power supplies, including some Seasonic Focus units.
The secondary PCB that has all the modular connectors is vertically mounted on the main PCB. Fortunately, it is mounted directly onto the PCB surface and it does not use cables for its connection. This is good as it reduces failure points and current loss.
The GX650W Gold uses a mix of capacitors made by Apaq and ChengX. The Apaq have been widely used in all types of power supplies, ChengX however, is not often seen. While not the worst capacitor in the world, seeing such brands in a power supply priced at close to 90 USD is disappointing.
