Fractal Ion+2 Platinum 660W Power Supply Review

A Closer Look

Out of the box, the Fractal Ion+2 Platinum presents itself well as a sleek and professional power supply. Such an aesthetic has undoubtedly been chosen to highlight that this is a high-quality design featuring an 80 Plus Platinum efficiency rating.

While there is some branding visible to the design, Fractal has taken the decision to let this be rather low-key. It’s likely a wise choice as they push the ‘professional’ nature of this PSU design, and anything larger might’ve given the impression that this was all about flash with little to no substance.

The modular cable input bank is exceptionally well presented with the ports being located in a well-spaced ‘back to back’ design allowing for easy insertion and removal. Each section is clearly labeled to denote its usage, meaning that this is practically foolproof for inexperienced users. You will also note the inclusion of a ‘zero RPM’ fan switch which allows users to set the cooling fan to only operate when the power supply deems it 100% necessary. A useful feature for those who value low noise output systems.

Albeit, we should note that this power supply does cite in its standard design that the fan has already been optimised to reduce overall acoustic output, and even with this switched off, if the PSU can run passively, it will do so for as long as possible. Therefore, the manual switch would just seemingly take this to a greater level for more optimal low-noise operation.

The top of the Fractal Ion+2 Platinum is dominated by the cooling fan which has been given a strong central positioning. Featuring a very minimalistic ‘grill’ covering, although dust connection could potentially be an issue here, on the flip side of the coin the airflow will be significantly greater than if the covering was smaller. As noted above, we suspect that this design has been very specifically chosen to allow for good levels of passive airflow, or, at the very least, a decent amount of low-pressure airflow to be maintained when the fan is at a low RPM.

Cabling

Following up from the input bank on the power supply itself, each cable with the Fractal Ion+2 Platinum has been specifically itemised to denote its usage. As such, failure to successfully connect your components can only lie in one fact. Namely, that you were not paying attention. The cabling length is decently (but not excessively) generous meaning that even for rather large case designs, you shouldn’t have any problem in successfully connecting all of your hardware components while still having plenty of ‘wiggle room’ left for strong levels of cable management.

Internals – A Look Inside!

As in standard practice in our power supply review methodology, we always attempt to get inside the power supply and have a closer look at the key electronic components within. For example, with a power supply such as this where the manufacturer claims that 100% Japanese capacitors have been used, this is something we always feel compelled to verify. It’s an important point that needs checking.

In something of a very rare occurrence, however, with the Fractal Ion+2 Platinum, we were unable to successfully gain access to the interior.

We should, on this point, raise two key factors. Firstly, we do not believe that the Fractal Ion+2 Platinum is a sealed unit and, as such, with the correct knowledge, methodology, and possibly specialist tools, getting safely inside it is probably possible. – Having removed every fixing point we could find on the exterior casing. However, we were left with something of a dilemma, and this comes around to the second factor. Yes, we could’ve probably had ‘forced’ our way inside, but not without raising the risk of damaging the power supply. Not on an aesthetic level, because that’s a factor of secondary importance, but from the key aspect of actually potentially damaging the power supply or its components in the effort. This would’ve, by proxy, potentially made our testing of it either potentially compromised or worse, we could actually run the real risk of simply breaking it entirely.

As such, and alas, we were unable to get a clear view of the interior components with our own eyes. Fortunately, due to the large nature of the fan cover fins, we were able to get a decent look at the main capacitors and can confirm that they are not only Japanese (Nichicon) but are rated to 105C. This is exceptionally good as they are some of the best capacitors currently available on the market and strongly indicates that the Fractal Ion+2 Platinum has been created to some exceptionally high standards.

Fractal has kindly provided us with an image of the interior components, and this does appear to 100% conform with what we could see ourselves. You’ll note that the main parts within the Fractal Ion+2 Platinum are exceptionally well-spaced, allowing for good airflow (a particular factor of importance with the relatively passive design this PSU has), but more so, we noted that the PCB is exceptionally tidy. In fact, I don’t think I’ve seen a power supply look as ‘clean’ as this before.

It again just highlights that the build quality for the Fractal Ion+2 Platinum has been exceptionally well thought out and applied which, all going well, will translate itself into some strong performance figures in our testing.

Overall Thoughts!

On the whole, the Fractal Ion+2 Platinum looks like an exceptionally professional, well-designed, high-quality, no-nonsense power supply. It doesn’t rely on flashy branding, RGB lighting effects, nor providing anything in terms of aesthetics that could potentially compromise on its functionality. In simple terms, for the savvy PSU consumer who cares more about substance than aesthetic style, this is exactly what you should be looking for. And with this in mind, we now fully expect this to be translated into some very positive results in our testing.

Will it though? Well, there’s only one way to find out. Let’s get this hooked up and switched on!