Need Advice on 1200W Psus

[vollman1]

I am looking for some advice on 1200W PSUs.

Does anyone know which is a good choice for stable power, cool temps and low noise?

 

[mathew7]

TBH, no 1200W PSU can be called "cool temps" and "low noise".
That's because of 2 reasons:
1. You would need 4GPUs with latest i7 (or AMD alternatives) which themselves would be noisy (the case itself would matter very much)
2. A 1200W PSU is too inefficient at low loads (300W-400W that 1x i7 with 1x high-end GPU would consume), which means it will have a higher heat output compared to a 600W PSU at the same load.

The reason that I am such a critic is because if you really need such a PSU, you would have already looked at many reviews of GPU/CPU (where the real load and noise is tested), while if you don't need it, you would be spending money just for numbers.

So if you don't do multiGPU/multiCPU, look instead for a half power, reputable manufacturer PSU (most would agree of Antec, Enermax, Seasonic, Thermaltake, Corsair, Zalman)

PS: www.silentpcreview has a table with recomended silent PSUs. It's last category is 650+W, where a Zalman 1000W is the biggest.

 

[vollman1]

Thanks for responding.

I am actually in the process of my first build and am, in fact, considering multiple GPUs. But, I may not be able to get them all at once. So, the reason for the question is to have a PSU that is capable of handling 2 or 3 GPUs in the near future (3 months or so).

Are you saying that it would be harmful to have a 1k or 1.2k PSU in a system with a single GPU? Or is it just a matter of efficiency that you are pointing out?

 

[Ninja Pants]

It would not be harmful. Mathew is right, if you considering a multi-gpu system (and not watercooled) then your psu is not going to be the main contributor to noise (or heat for that matter).

If you decide that you do need 1200W I would suggest one of these:
- http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817139014&Tpk=corsair%201200W
- http://www.kitguru.net/components/power-supplies/zardon/ocz-zx-1250w-power-supply-review/ (cant find it on newegg but heres a review).

 

[vollman1]

Thanks for links.

Maybe I should have started by listing what components I was thinking about from the beginning. So, here is what I had planned so far:

i5 2500k & P8P67 WS Revolution- http://www.newegg.com/Product/Comb [...] mbo.701071

Corsair h60- http://www.amazon.com/Corsair-Cool [...] 627&sr=1-1

aftermarket fans for the h60- http://www.amazon.com/Cooler-Maste [...] 659&sr=1-6 x2

G.SKILL Ripjaws X Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] CL8D-8GBXM

COOLER MASTER HAF X http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6811119239

SAMSUNG Spinpoint F3 HD103SJ 1TB 7200 RPM 32MB Cache SATA 3.0Gb/s http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6822152185

LITE-ON 24X DVD Writer 24X DVD+R 8X DVD+RW 12X DVD+R DL 24X DVD-R 6X DVD-RW 16X DVD-ROM 48X CD-R 32X CD-RW 48X CD-ROM Black SATA Model http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] IHAS424-98

And for graphics:

3x PowerColor AX6950 2GBD5-2DH Radeon HD 6950 2GB 256-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 2.1 x16 HDCP Ready CrossFireX Support Video Card with Eyefinity http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814131393

I was going over power needs (including leaving enough for future upgrades) and was on the fence over 1kW or 1.2kW PSUs.

Given this set up, is 1.2kW overkill when you include future upgrade options?

Maybe this should have been the initial question, but I was really trying to get only basic info on some PSU options.

 

[vollman1]

Let me try those links again (sorry):

i5 2500k & P8P67 WS Revolution- http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboDealDetails.aspx?ItemList=Combo.701071&nm_mc=AFC-C8Junction&cm_mmc=AFC-C8Junction-_-RSSDailyDeals-_-na-_-na&AID=10521304&PID=4176827&SID=ir2odc85idux

Corsair h60- http://www.amazon.com/Corsair-Cooling-Hydro--High-Performance-CWCH60/dp/B004MYFOE2/ref=sr_1_1?s=electronics&ie=UTF8&qid=1312849627&sr=1-1&tag=vglnk-c1001-20

G.SKILL Ripjaws X Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231445&Tpk=G.Skill%20F3-12800CL8D-8GBXM&nm_mc=AFC-C8Junction&cm_mmc=AFC-C8Junction-_-RSSDailyDeals-_-na-_-na&AID=10521304&PID=4176827&SID=14djpyqtudcju

COOLER MASTER HAF X http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811119239&nm_mc=AFC-C8Junction&cm_mmc=AFC-C8Junction-_-RSSDailyDeals-_-na-_-na&AID=10521304&PID=4176827&SID=1w96iht99lmi7

SAMSUNG Spinpoint F3 HD103SJ 1TB 7200 RPM 32MB Cache SATA 3.0Gb/s
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6822152185

LITE-ON 24X DVD Writer 24X DVD+R 8X DVD+RW 12X DVD+R DL 24X DVD-R 6X DVD-RW 16X DVD-ROM 48X CD-R 32X CD-RW 48X CD-ROM Black SATA Model http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16827106335&Tpk=IHAS424-98&nm_mc=AFC-C8Junction&cm_mmc=AFC-C8Junction-_-RSSDailyDeals-_-na-_-na&AID=10521304&PID=4176827&SID=5gw0bz3h7ttl

 

[vollman1]

:bump:

Would a 1.2kW PSU be overkill for this system?

 

[vollman1]

Anyone opinions about going with a 1kW or 1.2kW PSU with this setup?

 

[Mousemonkey]

Don't...
Bump posts
http://www.tomshardware.com/forum/283384-33-read-first

 

[vollman1]

Best answer selected by vollman1.