Final Words & Conclusion

Final Words & Conclusion

The DeepCool Gamer Storm DQ750-M is a 2018  upgrade of the 2014 model DQ750. It is a very decent 80 Plus Gold certified power supply that stands out in the crowd mainly due to the color of the casing. White PSUs are not very common in this segment of the market. The paintwork is of high quality, and the whole package is really looking nice. The compact physical dimensions are convenient even for smaller cases. It’s good that the cabling is modular. It’s not sleeved, but it looks good enough for most users. A 5-year warranty is a fair offer, but not on par with market leaders (Corsair provides 10 years and Seasonic 12 years). 750 Watts should be more than enough for the majority of users with a single graphics card in their systems. In reality, a setup like the one used in this test (i7 8700K + GTX 1080 Ti) rarely exceeds 350 W of power draw. Technically the unit is on a good level. Load regulation is ok, without noticeable droop on both +5V and +12V rails. Ripple suppression is well within tolerance levels. The 120-mm fan does its job very accurately. It’s audible only over 75% load, and below that we can say it’s really silent. At full load, the noise is very significant (it’s about 1500 rpm). The efficiency of Deepcool’s PSU is really very good, reaching the declared values with ease. DC-DC design is competent, and it’s good that they used Japanese, 105c-rated capacitors. This can really raise the cost comparing with the plain, Chinese ones. On the other hand, it’s a pity that no zip-ties or manual were included. Yes, we know that it’s not essential from a typical user’s point of view, but it’s still an omission.

A word about efficiency

Same as with other power supplies, 50% of the maximum load is where the device is the most efficient. At this sweet spot, the Deepcool DQ750-M achieved 92 % (at 230 Volts). In the case of this particular unit, half of the maximum wattage is 375 W. The average gaming PC with a single graphics card won’t step over this line.  Don’t overestimate the savings (electric bill) that you will get by going from 80 Plus Bronze to even Titanium. You can assume that the build quality of more expensive PSUs can be higher, but the differences in efficiency are not that significant. Below, you can find the cost (in EUR) of daily use of a PC (230 Volts, 20 euro cents per kWh of power) with a power draw of 375 W (a higher-end setup with potential overclocking).

Let's assume that you play games 3 hours a day, 5 days a week, for a full year. Your PC would consume 375 Watts (= a fairly high-end setup, with perhaps a bit of overclocking right?). If we assume a cost of 20 cents per each KWh of power, you can see that the savings would be close to 7 euros at best for the entire year. This means that you would have to use the PSU for several years to make up for the difference in purchase price. Obviously, if your PC is on 24/7, it can be worth it to invest in a PSU with a higher-tier certificate, but you need to do the math yourself. So, summing it up, an 80 Plus Gold PSU like the reviewed Deepcool Gamer Storm DQ750-M should be a good compromise. In this price bracket, you should look at the features (like cables) and overall quality, rather than chase higher 80 Plus certificates. In the US, the DeepCool Gamer Storm DQ750-M retails for 120 USD. Not really pricey given what it brings to the user. Good looks, decent acoustics, nice build quality, and a 5-year warranty can be considered an appealing offer. I’d also like to remind you that the design comes from CWT.

Stability

There isn’t really much to say about stability. The voltages are stable even under higher loads. The 750 W version (there are also 650 and 850W variants) should be enough even for dual-GPU setups with cards like a Nvidia Geforce GTX/RTX 1080/2080. If you are considering an SLI config with the GTX 1080 Ti or higher, we’d recommend the 850W model (or even a more powerful one, but it would have to be from a different brand).

Aesthetics

The Deepcool PSU looks nice with all-black cabling, even though the cables are not sleeved. The white chassis makes it look quite unique. The length is the standard for an ATX unit, meaning 16 cm. The modular design lets you plug in only the wires that you really need, and this will certainly improve the looks of your build.

Final words

Power supplies with higher 80 Plus certificates can really be expensive. The Deepcool Gamer Storm DQ750-M is priced quite reasonably. For the price, you get the 80 Plus Gold certificate, and as you could see above (on this page), it should be efficient enough for typical use cases (not 24/7). However, for a gamer who plays a couple of hours a day, lower energy bills are never going to make up for the price premium on a Platinum or Titanium PSU. Of course, the deciding factor is how many hours a day you actually use your PC.  You’ll be satisfied with the output that DQ750-M provides, as the voltages are steady, noise levels are more than acceptable (up to 75% load), and the looks are very attractive. The white color really makes a good impression (although it won’t fit in all builds aesthetically, right?). The fully modular design makes life easier (but you always plug the 24-pin and 4/8-pin ATX connector anyway, but again that's an aesthetic thing being unified connectors and all). You can use only the cables that you really need. A 5-year warranty is not bad, but you can find products from other brands that have more. The cables are not sleeved, which might be a good thing for some users and others not so much, but that is rather subjective. Overall we can recommend this one.

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