80 PLUS Gold: Four Efficient 700-850 W Power Supplies

[Guest]

Gamers and enthusiasts are always on the lookout for crème de la crème hardware. It's easy to pick winning CPUs and graphics cards; less so for PSUs. We put four 80 PLUS Gold devices from Antec, FSP, Seasonic, and SilverStone under the magnifying glass.

80 PLUS Gold: Four Efficient 700-850 W Power Supplies : Read more

 

[compton]

Every now and again you can catch the Seasonic X series on sale. I picked up a X-650 for about $110 with shipping. For that price, there isn't really anything better. With out a sale, I still say full modular and 80+ Gold is worth the premium over less auspicious contenders.

Thanks for an excellent review.

 

[jjb8675309]

no need for a 200 dollar psu for me

 

[Guest]

on the seasonic X-760 introduction, the first paragraph states that it comes with hard-wiring. But if you look at the pictures, and further down the review, you'll notice that it is fully-modular.

no pun intended here ;-)

 

[The Greater Good]

[citation][nom]compton[/nom]Every now and again you can catch the Seasonic X series on sale. I picked up a X-650 for about $110 with shipping. For that price, there isn't really anything better. With out a sale, I still say full modular and 80+ Gold is worth the premium over less auspicious contenders.Thanks for an excellent review.[/citation]

I've used the X 650 in builds for two of my friends. I can't wait to get mine. The cabling is perfect for the Antec 1200 case.

 

[Guest]

What about noise? Only had a quick glance at the article but that didn't seem to have been measured.

 

[flong]

Great review, but where is Corsair???? Certainly Corsair is one of the industry leaders and most recommended PSUs on the market.

This review would have benefited greatly by including both silver and gold rated PSUs from 750W - 1000W. Some Silver rated PSUs actually perform at nearly at gold levels (Corsair) and so they are a great value.

It would have been nice to have some expert comment on Au's claim that a non-modular cable setup improves efficiency. This appears to be a myth because we see many modular units outperform non-modular units in their class.

Still I really enjoyed this review.

 

[jah_33]

Not to forget is that a 80+ PSU generates about twice the heat of a 80+ Gold PSU, 20% compared to 10% of the power output. So a gold certified PSU should be significantly more quiet then a 80+ given equal cooling.

[citation][nom]flong[/nom]Great review, but where is Corsair???? /citation]
Corsair don't build there own PSU:s the are mostly Seasonic built, some CWT. For example the Corsair AX series are nearly identical to the Seasonic X series, the only difference is the fan.

 

[darreng101]

I have a SeaSonic X-760 fitted to an O/C'ed i7.

The 'fan-on' at 20% (i think without looking back) is worst case, mine kicks on at about 30-35% depending on ambient temp, so its awesome quiet. Even when on its quiet.

It works very well in a dual gaming/home cinema box...

I'd definiately recommend one

 

[Guest]

lol. 200 dollar psu's!

are you guys complete noobs! do you think we need this ...?

 

[dominatorix]

ok., compare: http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/gaming-psu-efficiency,2796-11.html
with: http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/750-watt-psu-80-plus-gold,2927-3.html

 

[cmartin011]

nice review happy see the other small companies making good equipment. need more brands for the gold spec to be tested 500-700

 

[dalta centauri]

[citation][nom]bent540[/nom]lol, why get a 200$ PSU when there's cheaper models that work just as good?[/citation]
Fix'd.
Efficency, being modular, Cable quality, and Amperage. Larger priced models have more features, and that's why companies like Corsair usually have a large array in a series such as their "Enthusiast Series."

 

[jdamon113]

Bent540
Stand back. These psu are for people who Do things your pc will not.
I have the seasonic. Let me tell you my system dosen't crash. It never fails. Its runs every thing. I can run Crysis and watch HD on two different screens. Do that with your oem PSU>

 

[jdamon113]

Toms you should have put the enermax in this test. The silverstone is total crap.

 

[JohnnyLucky]

great article.

 

[flong]

"Corsair don't build there own PSU:s the are mostly Seasonic built, some CWT. For example the Corsair AX series are nearly identical to the Seasonic X series, the only difference is the fan."

Actually, this isn't true anymore. Corsair does have other manufacturers build its PSUs but it has its own specs and it tweaks them. But even if the Corsair PSUs are similar to the Seasonic, they deserve to be in this lineup.

 

[scook9]

I know my Corsair AX1200 has been awesome for me

Sure I spent $280 on a PSU....because for at least the next 7 years I will never have to even think about getting a new PSU again.....so for a dime a day I have one of the best PSUs ever made.....Good luck making me feel bad about that

 

[Ubrales]

Good review. I am disappointed not to see Corsair listed. Corsair has excellent products and superior customer service!

 

[Onus]

I picked up the X-560 that HardwareSecrets reviewed when they were done with it [for $71 iirc]. I expect that it, and my Antec SG-650, will both last for decades. I fully agree with scook9. Buying excellent PSUs means there are entire classes of problems I'll simply never have.

 

[hunter315]

Much better article this time! For those who are concerned about not seeing corsair listed, they only have 3 80+ gold units which could have been in this review and all three have been thoroughly tested and reviewed at jonnyguru.


Two things that got me this time(much less than last time), you ding the HCP 850 for only getting 60% efficiency at 3% of its max load, no system that it should be running should be at only 25W at idle, and you also dont say your load distribution for your custom load profiles, heavy 12V will yield better efficiency while heavy 3.3V and 5V will hurt the efficiency.

And i still want to see shots of the innards, because most PSUs can pass for the short term, but one with 80C rated chinese caps wont make it too long past the initial test, and its the quality of the innards that tells you if the initial quality will stay around for 5 years.

 

[Noworldorder]

Once again, I am disappointed that an Enermax or Lepa unit was not included, as they are among the best.
Now, men buy PSUs like they trade fish stories; "mine's bigger", thus badly overbuying and reducing efficiency.
What we need from Toms is an article teaching us how to properly size a GOLD PSU to our system. We will learn that the units here are all too large for the average user.

 

[Guest]

Corsair is seasonic with a few in house modifications for their upper end power supplies. http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/power-supply-oem-manufacturer,2913.html

 

[Guest]

For some time I've wanted to get quality PSUs, and got a couple (Seasonic M12 and Corsair HX) but kept getting suckered by the low prices of OCZ etc. After one burn out and another with a buzzing fan, no more. I've decided Seasonic X series from now on, keeping an eye out for sales. I have a couple X-750s, and while they're expensive, I now think they're worth it.

 

[Guest]

Ans for you noobs that buy the cheapest psu that you can 'afford', I will b c'n you back at more store within 6 months complaining about how your 'brand new' psu just died and I won't replace it for you, spend the money ONCE, that's the reason for these 'expensive' power supplies.
Flippin noobs!!!!!