Fractal Design Integra M 750W Power Supply Review

Overview

 

Fractal Design may not be the first company that comes to mind when shopping around for a new Power Supply, in fact I’d hazard a guess that many of you aren’t even aware that the Scandinavian company even produce them, but since the 2008 launch of the Newton 1000W Fractal have built up quite a line-up of Power Supplies to suit Gaming PC’s of practically every size and with enough power to suit nearly all of our needs.

What we have here today is the new Fractal Design Integra M 750W (FD-PSU-IN3B-750W), a third generation Power Supply to bare the Integra name. The current line-up is made for Fractal Design by ATNG of Taiwan and is available in four capacities: 450W, 550W, 650W this the 750W. The Power Supply is certified for 80 PLUS Bronze efficiency, features semi-modular cables with a flat design to help allow for a tidier installation and enhance airflow, a large temperature-controlled 120mm fan to help optimize cooling and reduce the production of noise. This is furthered by the Integra M series being one of the shortest fully fledged ATX Power Supplies currently available at just 140mm in length, ensuring it’ll fit inside all bar the smallest of Gaming Rigs, all within a fairly economical price range.

Let’s take a closer look!

 

 

 

The Fractal Design Integra M 750W arrived at pcG within a box that was simply stylized, allowing for the dominant image of the PSU inside to do all the talking. The box itself was predominately satin black in colour, with a golden yellow ribbon towards the foot of the box displaying the Fractal Design logo and web address. In the upper right we find the model name and capacity shown off in a similar manner, while the top left makes sure we are aware that the Integra is indeed a Fractal Design product by way of a huge image of the company’s branding. The box front also notifies us that the Integra M 750W features a three year warranty, is 80 PLUS Bronze certified and is ErP ready.

From the right and following the same styling as the box front we find no descriptions of any kind, but we do find six images of the Integra M’s key features, which are then detailed on the rear of the box.

Alongside the aforementioned key features, the back of the Integra M box gives us a brief on the PSU itself along with a couple of graphs showing us the estimated performance and efficiency. Then in the lower right Fractal rather nicely provides detail as to which of the PSU cables are fixed and which are fully modular.

 

 

The Fractal Design Integra M 750W Power Supply itself was found to be adequately packaged within its box. The unit and modular cables were individually bagged, whilst the PSU was further protected inside a two piece dense foam block to help prevent movement and potential damage.

 

 

As we can see, the Fractal Design Integra M 750W is shipped with with a fairly minimal set of accessories. Alongside the Power Supply and modular power cables, we find four PSU screws, four tie clips to help with cables management, a Velcro PSU strap, European power cable and a user guide. In fact because it’s a Power Supply what more would you even need!? Well I for one would find a three pin UK mains power cable rather handy! 🙁

 

At the time of writing, the Fractal Design Integra M 750W is available on Amazon for approximatley £81 or from eBuyer for just £71, while offering a very reasonable 3 year warranty.

 

Specifications/Features

courtesy of Fractal Design

80 PLUS® Bronze certified efficiency
Integra M PSUs meet the 80 PLUS® Bronze specification for providing power with an efficiency that is typical of PSUs with much higher price points. Additionally, because Integra M PSUs generate less heat, they provide power at lower fan speeds, which results in reduced noise levels.

Excellent Electrical Performance
Fractal Design Integra M Series PSUs feature excellent DC voltage regulation and ripple suppression: they can deliver their full-rated wattage continuously even with an intake temperature as high as 40°C full load or 50°C at 80% load.

Compliant with the latest standards
Integra M PSUs are compliant with the latest PC PSU standard: ATX 2.4 / EPS 2.92

Extremely short 140 mm case
Integra M PSUs are only 140mm long, which accommodates the smallest ATX-compatible computer cases on the market.

Silent, temperature-controlled 120mm fan
Generally, larger fans move more air with less noise than smaller fans: Integra M Series PSUs are equipped with a 120mm fan Sleeve Bearing, which keeps noise level down.

Extra-long ATX12V cable
Integra M PSUs are equipped with an extra long 12V (“P4”) connector cable, which accommodates bottom-mounted-PSU computer cases.

Computer protection
Integra M PSUs feature an impressive suit of computer protection, including: Over Power Protection, Over Voltage Protection, Under Voltage Protection and Short Circuit Protection.

 

* Additional details available here

 

First Impressions

 

 

Okay, so granted Power Supplies aren’t often the most exciting component to take a look at when first piecing together your Gaming Rig, where other manufacturers have concentrated of lifting the overall aesthetic by including LED illuminated power sockets or fans, Fractal Design have instead gone for a more minimal approach. By that I mean minimal size! Measuring in at just 150(W)mm x 86(H)mm x 140(L)mm, the Integra M is quite possibly the shortest ATX Power Supply I’ve ever come across (anyone planning to use a large Graphics Card and building inside one of the BitFenix Prodigy M variants take note, this PSU would be perfect!), while remaining fairly light at 1.6kg. Another surprising feature surrounds the fixed cable layout. I for one often turn my nose up at any Power Supply with fixed cables of any kind and always look for the word ‘modular’ when shopping around for a new PSU, yet the Integra M IS a semi-modular Power Supply with a twist, Fractal Design have made the very welcome and sensible decision of using only the power cables that are of a 100% necessity (namely the 24-pin, 8-pin & PCIe power cables) to your build, helping cut down on cable clutter.

 

 

The Fractal Design Integra M and its entirety are completely sprayed with a satin black powder coating, which means the PSU itself will fit in with almost any Gaming Rig colour scheme imaginable. From the left and in white we find an imposing Fractal Design branding, while just beneath this the PSU capacity and the model name with its golden yellow surround.

Whilst over on the right we find the Integra M’s specifications a warning sticker. Except this is no sticker! The specifications label is in fact printed on the side of the Integra M. Yes ok, this may be a small detail and none of us like to see a Power Supply specifications sticker anyway, but this prevents the label from becoming worn and furry around the edges through repeated installation (like my regular test PSU 🙁 ). I’d also like to give kudos to Fractal for having the specifications on the correct and least often viewed side of the PSU.

 

 

Looking at the front of the Fractal Design Integra M 750W comes as quite a shock as we find just the four power sockets… Of course there is no reason to fret because the PSU is of the semi-modular variety, the 24-pin Motherboard power cable, 8-pin (4+4) CPU power cable and a 2x PCIe 8-pin (6+2) are already fixed, which leaves us a white 8-pin socket for an additional 2x PCIe 8-pin (6+2), then three black 6-pin sockets for SATA and peripheral cables.

Right at the back of the Integra M, we find a rather dominant honeycomb grill to help exhaust any heat build up whilst the Power Supply is in use. We also find the typical 3-pin auxiliary power socket and power switch. Something that is a little unusual is the orientation of the socket and switch, instead of the usual side by side approach, Fractal have chosen to stack one atop the other.

 

 

The very top of the Fractal Design Integra M is devoid of features as you’d expect. What we do find though is a large expanse of satin black powder coating (and some slightly greasy fingerprints…) with a high quality finish, with a large but tasteful Fractal Design logo embossed in the top.

Taking a look at the bottom (dependent on your orientation) we find the Power Supply features another dominant honeycomb grill. This time once in operation, it will act as an intake for the white bladed 120mm fan within, which features a Sleeve Bearing to help keep noise levels to a minimum.

 

 

The above left image shows the fixed cables featured on the Fractal Design Integra M 750W. As you can see, only the 24-pin (20+4) Motherboard power cable is braided, which is nicely implemented with a large black heat shrink plastic collar to help prevent the braid from fraying. Something I’m not so keen on is the multi-coloured wiring leading to the two plugs themselves though!. Neither the 8-pin (4+4) CPU power cable or the 2x 8-pin (6+2) are braided, but they are both entirely black and feature flat cabling to allow for slightly easier installation and help improve airflow should you feel the need to allow the cables to trail around the main area of your Gaming rig!? Something I feel deserves attention here is the length of the 8-pin CPU power cable, at approximately 720mm this cable should stretch from the Integra M to your Motherboard CPU power socket in all but the very largest of Cases, something I’ve found sadly lacking on other Power Supplies in the past, meaning that I’ve then had to use an extension.

Along with the fixed power cables, the Fractal Design Integra M 750W also includes four semi-modular ones. Again they are flat and fully sleeved in black plastic, whilst also allowing for up to eight SATA powered devices via the two (x4) SATA power cables, two 4-pin Molex via the Molex cable, or to allow SLI or CrossFire courtesy of the additional PCIe 2x 8-pin (6+2) power cable. Something some may find sadly absent is the lack of power cable for Floppy Drives (when did anyone last use one of these anyway!?).

Overall the Fractal Design Integra M 750W is certainly an attractive proposition. It is very small for an ATX Power Supply at just 140mm in length, offers a very high build quality, great paintwork and a subtle design that is sure to fit in with pretty much any Gaming Rig. Combined with a sensible set of fixed cables and a good selection of modular cables, this 750W Power Supply seems to have everything you could need.

 

Cable Details

 

 

Hardware Installation

 

Test Rig Setup

Case	Fractal Design Define S	Power Supply	Fractal Design Integra M 750W
Motherboard	ASRock Fatal1ty Z97X Killer	CPU	Intel Core i5-4690K
CPU Cooler	Raijintek Themis	RAM	HyperX Savage 2400MHz 8GB Kit
Graphics Card	XFX AMD Radeon R9 290X DD Black Edition	SSD	HyperX FURY 120GB

 

 

A quick side by side comparison between the Fractal Design Integra M 750W and our regular Test Rig Power Supply, the Corsair Professional Series AX760i, shows that at 150mm(W) x 86mm(H) x 140mm(L) the Integra M is dwarfed by the larger AX760i which measure in at 150mm(W) x 85mm(H) x 160mm(L). Which is something of a surprise given the Corsair unit is actually smaller than the majority of ATX Power Supplies currently available.

 

 

Installing the Integra M 750W is a very nice and easy task. The Power Supply itself is simply affixed via the four included screws to the PSU mount within the Fractal Design Define S, correct way up of course with the fan facing the bottom of the Case to allow access to cool air. The three fixed power cables are then fed through the nearest cable cut-out to help clear some working space. We then plug in one of the modular SATA cables to the Integra M 750W and do the same to allow power to our HyperX Fury 120GB and Seagate 2TB SSHD test drives.

 

 

We then plug in the long 8-pin (4+4) power cable into the ASRock Fatal1ty Z97X Killer CPU power socket to allow for the needs of the i5-4690K, the 24-pin (20+4) Motherboard power cable is then connected, shortly followed by the 2x 8-pin (6+2) PCIe power cables into our XFX Radeon R9 290X DD Black Edition in an 8+6 configuration (the GPU features sockets of these sizes). Leaving just a little tidy up of cables left to do.

 

 

Oh, and some pretty pics of course. The overall install of the Fractal Design Integra M 750W is very easy indeed and helped along by cables that feature a good length and that are surprisingly flexible. Once installed the cabling looks pretty good as well due to the black plastic sleeving, it really is a shame that Fractal chose not to do the same for the Motherboard power cable though, damn those coloured cables…

 

Testing Methodology/Setup

 

When it comes to testing Power Supplies there’s very little else you can do other than put the PSU under load and measure the voltages. As this is not a very real world test (as it only takes seconds to setup and record), we have employed a more real world test. For more details on our thoughts regarding Power Supply testing check out this article.

The Power Supply is put under a real world load for 1 hour, while running both Unigine Heaven and running Prime 95 (Blend) simultaneously. Power Supplies over 750W are normally tested using x2 XFX R9 290X DD Black Edition to ensure the PSU gets a real workout. The Fractal Design Integra M 750W of course is a 750W Power Supply which means we’ll only require a single Graphics Card for this particular stress test.

 

Hardware Performance

 

 

As you can see from the above image, the Fractal Design Integra M 750W Power Supply did pretty well in our burn-in test, with all voltages (12v, 5v & 3.3V) remaining stable at (12.096v, 5.160v & 3.392v) and well within the ATX guidelines which allow for a 5% fluctuation. Throughout testing and during the week long test period no signs of instability were encountered.

 

 

Final Thoughts

 

The Fractal Design Integra M 750W may very well be the first Fractal Design Power Supply we’ve seen here at pcG and not even fully modular, but with its tiny dimensions, performance and pricing I for one will be hoping it won’t be our last.

The Fractal Design Integra M arrived at pcG within a simply styled box, designed to show off the Power Supply itself without trying to throw 101 different features at us, which can often confuse things a little. With the box open, the Integra M 750W and its accessories were revealed to be suitably packaged within clear plastic bags and safely wedged between two dense foam blocks.

Once removed from its cardboard confines, the Integra M 750W was revealed to be very solidly built, but also I discovered was what is possibly the smallest fully fledged ATX Power Supply I’ve ever seen! Measuring just 150mm(W) x 86mm(H) x 140mm(L), the Integra M is incredibly short and would be the perfect addition to many small form factor cases on the market today (assuming they accept ATX PSUs of course). The Power Supply features a satin black powder coating of a very high standard and in terms of aesthetics, its nice to see (or not!) the specifications label on the correct side of the PSU. Fractal Design have been very sensible with the cable layout of their latest semi-modular power supply, with each of the three fixed power cables being necessities for any modern day Gaming Rig, which essentially leaves the modular cables for SATA and peripheral power which of course cuts down on further cable clutter. All of the power cables bar the Motherboard cable are of the flat variety and entirely coated in a soft satin black plastic, which makes them easy to install courtesy of their flexibility as well as good to look at. With the only notable exception being the nicely braided 24-pin Motherboard power cable which sadly features multi-coloured cables. One very important feature of the Fractal Design Integra M 750W is the length of the fixed 8-pin CPU power cable, at approximately 720mm this cable will easily stretch from the Integra M to your Motherboard CPU power header in all bar the very biggest of cases without the need for any kind of cable extension.

Even throughout the stressful pcG the burn in test, the 80 PLUS Bronze certified Integra M performed well. We found now indications of any kind of instability at all. Each of the 12v, 5v & 3.3V rails remained stable at 12.096v, 5.160v & 3.392v and stayed well within the 5% fluctuation allowed for by ATX guidelines, while the Fractal Design Integra M remaining quiet throughout use.

I must admit I’m not a fan of fixed or semi-modular Power Supplies at all and never have been. At least until now! The Fractal Design Integra M 750W is actually rather good, is very well made, features sensible fixed cables of good length, a good selection of modular cables allowing for up to eight SATA devices and either SLI or CrossFire, practically silent operation and it’s tiny for an ATX Power Supply. In fact for approximately £80.00 the Integra M 750W is even well priced and certainly worthy of your consideration.

 

Verdict

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Many thanks to Fractal Design for providing this sample for review