Power Supply Conundrum

tonsofpuppies

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I'm building a very high end gaming / programming PC and I'm trying to decide on a power supply for the system. Based on wattage calculators, it seems that I'll be running roughly 650-700W, which means I could easily use a 850-1000W PSU. I was looking at the ToughPower iRGB Plus Platinum series by Thermaltake, due to the RBG integration, which is a big part of my build.

My problem is this - there's an incredible deal available for the highest spec model in the ToughPower iRGB series, the 1250W Titanium. For some reason, it's available on Amazon Canada right now for $295 CAD. This is a PSU that goes for $400+ USD ($550+ CAD) on any given day. I know the 1250W is way higher than I need for my setup, but that deal is a tough one to pass on. For comparison's sake, the 1000W version of the same series is only $20 less. Should I stick with that one, or pay the extra $20 for the extra 250W + Titanium grading? Are there any downsides to having a way higher wattage than needed? Here is my parts list for reference:

https://ca.pcpartpicker.com/list/RrF6r6
 

tonsofpuppies

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It's definitely not needed at the moment, although I will say that it gives me extra breathing room should I want to run an SLI setup a bit later down the line - which is something I've already considered. I mean really, it's a luxury, not a necessity, but it's tough to pass up at that price point. It's almost a 50% reduction.

UPDATE: Amazon dropped the price again, down to $283 now.
 

TJ Hooker

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SLI is dying out, I wouldn't recommend making purchases based on potential SLI in the future.

Like I said, a deal isn't a deal unless it's something you actually benefit from. It may seem like you're saving money with that PSU, but in reality it's costing you an extra ~$150 compared to what you actually need.

Up to you though. Based on that build you clearly have some disposable income, so if you're not fussed about spending an extra $100-150 'just in case', knowing that you will probably never get any extra utility for that extra cost, then go for it.
 

tonsofpuppies

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This is good advice and I agree with the premise of what you're saying, but keep in mind, it's not a $100-$150 difference. I want to stick with the iRGB series to go with the rest of my RGB components. The 850W Platinum is $238. As of this moment, the 1250W Titanium is $283. So the difference is only $45. $45 is still something, obviously, especially seeing as I'm not going to see much benefit. Having said that, wouldn't the 1250W model run more quietly and efficiently due to the threshold at which the fans will start to run (which would be reached with far less load with the 850W model)?
 

Rexper

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What ever calculators you used are garbage. You dont need 1250w, not 1000w, not 700w, probably not even 650w! 550W would be fine if you don't overclock much.

You can definitely have disadvantages with higher wattage power supplies -
- They're generally less efficient at idle loads
- Especially with that PSU, the damage caused may be much higher in a fault. That PSU has 104A only on 1 rail! If a GPU or something shorts, and the SCP doesn't pick up on that part is going to draw until it hits 104A or until something melts.
- Usually louder, because the fan is usually a higher voltage since the PSU is designed to deliver 1200w.
- Obviously more expensive

If you really want the iRGB go for the 650w or 550w version, unless you want to SLI though SLI isn't a good idea most of the time.
 

tonsofpuppies

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The lowest the iRGB series goes is 850W.
 
on a gaming rig your always better to go higher then needed in amps on the 12v rail. check reviews and and web site that done load testing of the unit. also find out who built the unit and is it an old analong power supply like the old seasonic 620w units or is it newer like seasonic focus. when i see sale price like the one you posted is showing that the sellers trying to clear out there inventory...eather a newer unit that the same price or cheaper is dropping soon. the vendor went end of life on that model....ok for now but if there a long warranty what will the vendor replace it wiht a cheaper unit?? the unit is a lemon and people know it.
 

Rexper

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on a gaming rig your always better to go higher then needed in amps on the 12v rail. check reviews and and web site that done load testing of the unit.
How? How does the relative load make a difference? There's nothing in a proper PSU review that leads to that.

The lowest the iRGB series goes is 850W.

Just keep on mind your system will run fine on any 650w+ PSU, so if your comparing from the same series just choose the cheapest.
 
reaper as i posted in another thread that you trolled me in. wattage cal are great help so you dont buy an under wattage power supply and have it blow up under gaming loads. in real world with power supplys under heavy gaming loads your better off with a little more amp then needed on the 12v line then those power supply cal give out. the closer to the max output of 12v rail your going to make a lot of heat in any stock power supply...going to have fan noise. then with heat and stress of maxing out a power supply there may be a part that weak...under full load the power supply can ripple out or just shut off. the biggest risk is having the supply pop and back feed into the rig. the last issue that will happen is cap age. having a slightly larger supply cover for cap age or adding parts to his rig latter on ike light lighting.
 

Rexper

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I don't troll on these forums. All of what I say is serious.
We aren't talking about under wattage, we're talking about two power supplies that can both provide enough power to the system, yet 1 is larger than the other.

the closer to the max output of 12v rail your going to make a lot of heat in any stock power supply...going to have fan noise
That doesn't make sense. How is relative load relative to heat? It's about the actual load like '300w'.
By your logic a 550w PSU at 90% load will draw the same heat as an 850w PSU (same series and platform) at 90% load. Or a 550w PSU at 90% load will draw less heat than an 850w PSU at ~58% load. These are both wrong. Since they're roughly the same efficiency, say 90%, 495w load will have 45w wasted in heat, no matter what the maximum wattage the PSU can give out.
It is about the absolute/actual load, in wattage. Not relative load.

And the higher watt PSUs are generally louder as they need a faster fan to cool down the higher loads.

under full load the power supply can ripple out or just shut off. the biggest risk is having the supply pop and back feed
We're discussing between good power supplies here, just look at OP's budget. Not 10 year old crap.

slightly larger supply cover for cap age or adding parts to his rig latter on ike light lighting.

There is no solid evidence of power supplies having a negligible decrease in max power delivery. And do you really think that adding parts onto an existing build will add another 600w? I believe not. Because SSDs are a couple watts most, hard drive 10w most, another GPU maybe 250w, LEDs couple watts most.
 
you again missed the point. it not about heat. it about amp load on the main rail. look at all the load test data of power supply out there. when people like jonny guru load test the power supply. when they hit the higher end of the power supply output look at the ripple and voltage and temp output of the units. it not a good thing to keep the main rails under near or full load for a long lenth of time (ie gaming). in real world a unit that passed but cant keep voltage stable cause user grief. bsod or just locking up or shutting down in games. going a little larger then needed gives the power supply a little breathing room. under full load. if you want to see this in real life go buy a cheap blender and try make crushed ice...see how long the motor last before it smells.
 

tonsofpuppies

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I ended up going with the 1250W one, simply because the deal was too good to pass up. The 850W (which is the lowest wattage and cheapest model in the iRGB series) costs about $250 and I got the 1250W one for $280. I mean, if I really wanted to, I could flip this one for closer to retail to someone else and use the profit towards the cheaper one. The price jumped up to $365 after I bought it too, for some reason.
 

TJ Hooker

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Ah, I didn't realize this. Makes it an easier sell.

Yes, the 1250W would probably be more efficient if for no other reason than it has a higher efficiency rating (titanium vs platinum).

Noise is harder to say. Depending on the load you may have a case where the 1250W would be running passively while the 850W has to turn the fan on. That being said, even if you heavily overclock that rig and both CPU and GPU are at 100% load (an unrealistic scenario), you'd be drawing like 600W at most. Your typical power draw will likely be a fair bit less than that. Based on the comments in this review, I'd say there's a good chance even the 850W would be running near-silent most of the time.
https://www.hardocp.com/article/2016/09/06/thermaltake_toughpower_dps_g_rgb_850w_psu_review/6
 

tonsofpuppies

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True enough. I ended up purchasing it. It came to $322.05 with tax. By comparison, had I purchased it at regular price on Newegg, it would have cost $566.57. It was just too good of a deal to pass up. Having said that, if I decide that I would prefer the 850W Platinum model, I could always sell this one to someone in need of a high capacity PSU and use the money to buy the lower capacity one. I'm not going to be putting the PC together for another 4-5 months, so I've got time to mull it over.
 

tonsofpuppies

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Fair enough, but my needs are not going to change in that little amount of time. The only thing that may change is components (should newer revisions come out), which is a fair point you've brought up. I'm actually planning to wait until Black Friday / Cyber Monday to purchase the bulk of these components to get the best possible prices. The only reason I got this now was because I'm 99% certain that it won't drop any lower than that, even on BF.

The only changes that I'll for sure be making are for the GTX 1180 when that is available and the Z390 chipset. Both should be available by this fall, which is why I'm waiting until then.
 

tonsofpuppies

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Yep. There's only the current lineup of iRGB Plus models from Thermaltake and the previous generation ones (they only do 256 colours as opposed to 16.8 million). Seems that TT is playing in a market all by themselves for the time being. I don't imagine it'll be long before that changes though.
 

tonsofpuppies

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Can't say that I do, but if you see this PSU for $220 USD anywhere else, I'd be shocked. It's called playing the percentages, hence why I said 99% and not 100% - and yes, I know that I can't be 100% sure of my numbers either, I'm just saying, in my opinion, it's more unlikely than likely to go lower. Also keep in mind that I'm in Canada, so we don't get the absolutely asinine deals that the US gets a lot of the time.
 

USAFRet

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Well...I'm not likely to set an alert for that specific part.
But I've found better deals in July vs BF/CM.

You may have found the price gem. Or maybe not.
But it's not a gem if it is more power than you need. Or if/when it is outside the 30 day Amazon return window.
 

tonsofpuppies

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I'm new to a lot of this, so you'll have much more expertise than I do. Why in July?
 

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