Discussion PSU recommendations and power supply discussion thread - Tom's hardware

[Darkbreeze]

I wouldn't go with the Focus or the NZXT product. NZXT as a company is worse than MSI for starters, Seasonic built product or not.

If you're going to run an extremely expensive graphics card like that I'd recommend sticking to the higher end Gold or Platinum Seasonic Prime series, or the Corsair RMx, RMi (I don't think I'd even consider the regular RM), HX or AX products. You sure as hell don't want the GQ. That's an "ok" power supply, for a middling system where a really excellent power supply isn't essential or where it's maybe the best of all options due to a lack of available options, but it has it's own problems not least of which is a noisy fan so I'd recommend avoiding it (IIRC).

 

[g-unit1111]

I wouldn't go with the Focus or the NZXT product. NZXT as a company is worse than MSI for starters, Seasonic built product or not.

If you're going to run an extremely expensive graphics card like that I'd recommend sticking to the higher end Gold or Platinum Seasonic Prime series, or the Corsair RMx, RMi (I don't think I'd even consider the regular RM), HX or AX products. You sure as hell don't want the GQ. That's an "ok" power supply, for a middling system where a really excellent power supply isn't essential or where it's maybe the best of all options due to a lack of available options, but it has it's own problems not least of which is a noisy fan so I'd recommend avoiding it (IIRC).

I figured that about the GQ. But I don't want to leave anything out as faras my options go. I do have a lot of NZXT products in my system which is why I was considering that one.

I'd ultimately like to get the Seasonic Prime but you can't find it anywhere. They had the Focus and that's within my budget. But the Prime the only model Newegg had in stock was the fanless version and that was going for like $500. No thanks. I'll check and see if I can get the Corsair RMx or HX anywhere.

This was the Seasonic I was considering getting: https://pcpartpicker.com/product/P6...fied-fully-modular-atx-power-supply-ssr-850px

This is the Corsair that I'm interested in - is it worth the extra money? https://www.newegg.com/corsair-hxi-series-cp-9020073-na-850w/p/N82E16817139083?Item=N82E16817139083

 

[NightHawkRMX]

Both NZXT and MSI have some very terrible company ethics on the PR side. On the other hand, both companies have some products I really like...

SeaSonic has some spike issues with 3080s. Not sure which models are effected, I would do your research there.

I love my HX750i btw. Not sure if you need that, but you won't regret buying a HXi.

 

[NightHawkRMX]

I got a Thermaltake SMART 600w 80+ Gold OEM unit for $30 with free shipping on eBay the other day.

Anyone got any clue on the quality of this unit? Its completely different from the SMART 80+ white and even the BX1 models from what I understand.

I will investigate when it arrives

I remember someone talking about it and they said it was some CWT platform and it must have been a pretty common one. But the thread was on jonnyguru forum and wayback machine isnt working well.

 

[g-unit1111]

Both NZXT and MSI have some very terrible company ethics on the PR side. On the other hand, both companies have some products I really like...

SeaSonic has some spike issues with 3080s. Not sure which models are effected, I would do your research there.

I love my HX750i btw. Not sure if you need that, but you won't regret buying a HXi.

Yeah that does kind of concern me. I'd rather buy the right product the first time and get it over with. If I have to pay the extra $50 for the HXi then I guess it will be worth it.

And yeah I feel the same way about both NZXT and MSI, and I've used a lot of products from both companies!

 

[maxamillionfeettall]

I recall some people claiming the thermaltake smart gold was a cut down GX1(how can they cut it down more). But I think it was reddit, so zero credibility lol.

 

[NightHawkRMX]

Most likely I'll know when it comes in a week.

I would normally post the teardown on Jonnyguru but since I can't, would it be okay if I post them here? Or would its own thread be preferable?

 

[Aeacus]

I'd rather buy the right product the first time and get it over with.

Just go with Seasonic PRIME and you're golden.

I'd ultimately like to get the Seasonic Prime but you can't find it anywhere.

Here's PRIME TX-750 for 200 bucks: https://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/prod...c_electronics_prime_ultra_ssr_750tr_750w.html

Since RTX 3080 is 320W GPU, you have 430W left to power the rest of the PC, which is more than enough.

 

[Darkbreeze]

In stock. Free shipping. Low price.

https://www.newegg.com/corsair-rmx-...&ranSiteID=8BacdVP0GFs-p1eUVCKou_miCdw.C0RaHQ


What more can you ask for?

 

[NightHawkRMX]

I hardily would call $134 a low price for a power supply.

 

[Darkbreeze]

Compared to what other high demand models are selling for, and the fact that not long ago the RMx 750 was selling for like nearly 200 bucks, yeah, I'd say it's pretty fair. That price is almost the same as what I paid for my G2 750 9 years ago and my 650w Prime Titanium maybe 1.5 years ago. It's actually not a terrible price for that unit.

Whether a given price is low, or not, depends ENTIRELY on the PSU model in question and the current state of the hardware supply chain and demand.

 

[g-unit1111]

Just go with Seasonic PRIME and you're golden.



Here's PRIME TX-750 for 200 bucks: https://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/prod...c_electronics_prime_ultra_ssr_750tr_750w.html

Since RTX 3080 is 320W GPU, you have 430W left to power the rest of the PC, which is more than enough.

I think I want to get an 850. This is going in a system with an overclocked 3900X so I think I would rather have the extra wattage just to be safe.

Compared to what other high demand models are selling for, and the fact that not long ago the RMx 750 was selling for like nearly 200 bucks, yeah, I'd say it's pretty fair. That price is almost the same as what I paid for my G2 750 9 years ago and my 650w Prime Titanium maybe 1.5 years ago. It's actually not a terrible price for that unit.

Whether a given price is low, or not, depends ENTIRELY on the PSU model in question and the current state of the hardware supply chain and demand.

Yeah some of the higher end ones are going for $300 - $400 minimum if you can even find them in stock. I'm sure it's part related to COVID and I'm sure it's part related to Dogecoin.

 

[Aeacus]

I hardily would call $134 a low price for a power supply.

For a good quality PSU, that price is reasonable.

E.g, here are my PSU purchase prices (in USD):
Seasonic SSR-650TD (PRIME 650 Titanium) $250 - 4 years ago
Seasonic PX-550 (Focus 550 Platinum) $123 - 2 years ago
Seasonic SSR-650TR (PRIME 650 Ultra Titanium) $249 - 3 months ago

 

[moccor]

If you have to use adapters, no. You don't say which gpus so can't say for sure. But i would never use an adapter.

Yeahhh that was before I saw the 3080 FTW3 Ultra had 3x 8pin 🤦‍♂️. Either way I can't so I ordered another PSU. But I appreciate the response.

 

[g-unit1111]

Yeahhh that was before I saw the 3080 FTW3 Ultra had 3x 8pin 🤦‍♂️. Either way I can't so I ordered another PSU. But I appreciate the response.

Yup that's the same one I got, which is making the search for an adequate PSU that much harder. Of course the shortages aren't helping either. I did get put on the wait list for a Corsair HX850, though I may also get the Seasonic PX-850.

 

[4745454b]

Where do six plug psus normally start? If your gpu needs three plugs that will rule out (nearly?) all 550W psus, and many 650W. You would need a 1kW or a 1200W to have enough plugs?

 

[refillable]

I got a Thermaltake SMART 600w 80+ Gold OEM unit for $30 with free shipping on eBay the other day.

I bet it's something similar to the GF1 or the GX1. Post the internals here!

 

[g-unit1111]

Where do six plug psus normally start? If your gpu needs three plugs that will rule out (nearly?) all 550W psus, and many 650W. You would need a 1kW or a 1200W to have enough plugs?

Do I really need to buy a 1KW for a single 3080? I would think an 850W would be enough to cover it. After browsing EVGA I did notice that they have the P2 in stock. It was a little bit more than I'm willing to pay but I guess I could fork over the extra money if needed:

https://www.evga.com/products/product.aspx?pn=220-P2-0850-X1

 

[Darkbreeze]

Where do six plug psus normally start? If your gpu needs three plugs that will rule out (nearly?) all 550W psus, and many 650W. You would need a 1kW or a 1200W to have enough plugs?

750w

https://pcpartpicker.com/products/power-supply/#G=6,18&sort=price&page=1

g-unit, you should only need a GOOD 750w or higher power supply, that has the required connections, for that graphics card. The Nvidia recommendation for the RTX 3080 is a 750w power supply, and so long as you had the correct connections you could probably get by with a 650-700w unit technically, but I wouldn't recommend it. I'd think an excellent 750w would be ok or a very good 850w unit. You absolutely don't need a 1000w unit.

 

[NightHawkRMX]

Where do six plug psus normally start? If your gpu needs three plugs that will rule out (nearly?) all 550W psus, and many 650W. You would need a 1kW or a 1200W to have enough plugs?

Choose A Power Supply - PCPartPicker

Looks like 650w psus are the lowest wattage units to feature 6 6+2 pin connectors. I wouldn't run a 3080 on a 650w PSU even if it had enough connectors, however.

My enermax platimax DF 500w has 4 pcie 6+2 pin connectors, and my Corsair HX750I has 6.

Well technically my HX750I only has a single 6+2 pin connector anymore because I stole all of the modular cables for other computers and ended up left with a single 6+2 pin modular cable designed for a Corsair CS450M. But it "should" have 6.

 

[Darkbreeze]

Choose A Power Supply - PCPartPicker

Looks like 650w psus are the lowest wattage units to feature 6 6+2 pin connectors. I wouldn't run a 3080 on a 650w PSU even if it had enough connectors, however.

My enermax platimax DF 500w has 4 pcie 6+2 pin connectors.

No, those PCPP specs would seem to be wrong, and it's not the first time. If you go look at actual product pages, they list (At least one of those units) as only having 4x 6+2.

https://www.newegg.com/msi-mpg-a650gf-650w/p/N82E16817701011?Item=N82E16817701011&nm_mc=AFC-RAN-COM&cm_mmc=AFC-RAN-COM&utm_medium=affiliates&utm_source=afc-PCPartPicker&AFFID=2558510&AFFNAME=PCPartPicker&ACRID=1&ASID=https://pcpartpicker.com/product/bq6qqs/msi-650-w-80-gold-certified-fully-modular-atx-power-supply-mpg-a650gf&ranMID=44583&ranEAID=2558510&ranSiteID=8BacdVP0GFs-vDjwVVZ8zZPRVSj8jUFJTg

So, unless that is four cables with only a single 6+2 connector on each cable, it doesn't qualify. That being said, technically you could use ANY quality power supply with only two PCIe cables, each of which had 2 of the 6+2 connectors on it, but using a single cable for each 6+2 or 8 pin connector is extremely wise when possible. In fact, it should probably be a requirement for some usages but I have to think that if the major platform players are putting them on a single cable it probably must be capable of supporting of supporting the spec for both connections. For lower quality models, probably not as much.

 

[NightHawkRMX]

So, unless that is four cables with only a single 6+2 connector on each cable, it doesn't qualify. That being said, technically you could use ANY quality power supply with only two PCIe cables, each of which had 2 of the 6+2 connectors on it, but using a single cable for each 6+2 or 8 pin connector is extremely wise when possible. In fact, it should probably be a requirement for some usages but I have to think that if the major platform players are putting them on a single cable it probably must be capable of supporting of supporting the spec for both connections. For lower quality models, probably not as much.

I still never understand why running daisy chained connectors is a problem. I see people always saying to do it even with mid tier cards. I do it all the time and never have any issues, granted I am not using RTX3080s.

Many GTX1080s (175-200W depending on model) on units like a EVGA BR500 using daisy chained 8+6pin connectors.
I currently have a PC with a XFX DD R9 280x (~250W) and a Corsair CS450M using daisy chained 8+6 pin connectors.
Heck, I have even done it with very low end units.
For example, an Powercolor PCS+ R9 390 8gb on a W1 500w. Somehow, it still ran fine on that unit using daisy chained connectors despite being nearly a 300w TDP.
IIRC there is someone in a group I'm in with a W1 600w with a RX6800XT...

99.9% of PSUs will be single rail (of course mine has to be an exception) meaning the power is going to be drawn from the same place no matter what connector its drawn from. Assuming the connectors are using proper wire gauges, I really don't see any issues with this.

 

[Eximo]

Plenty of power supplies out there using 'oversized' wiring with two 6+2 connectors per line. For single rail supplies it is no different.

Just have to make sure the voltage drop on the wire isn't too great, and at these distances, very little impact if the gauge is right.

Some additional heating taking place at the connectors, but very minimal.

Yes, ideal world, one device per connector. Also looks better.

 

[g-unit1111]

750w

https://pcpartpicker.com/products/power-supply/#G=6,18&sort=price&page=1

g-unit, you should only need a GOOD 750w or higher power supply, that has the required connections, for that graphics card. The Nvidia recommendation for the RTX 3080 is a 750w power supply, and so long as you had the correct connections you could probably get by with a 650-700w unit technically, but I wouldn't recommend it. I'd think an excellent 750w would be ok or a very good 850w unit. You absolutely don't need a 1000w unit.

Right now I have an EVGA G2 750W in there, which is normally an excellent PSU. But mine is nearly 7 years old now and I'm afraid that it's nearing the end of its' lifespan. Which is why I'm looking at replacing it with at least an 850W unit. This is easily the most expensive GPU I've ever bought and I want to make sure I install it correctly the first time.

 

[4745454b]

I know 650 and 750W units have two x 6+2. But that only gets you one card. What size psu do you need if you were running two three plug cards? Did that men you need a 1kW? 1200? 1500W? I don't normally look at psus that large so I'm not sure.