PSU tier list 2.0

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Yes, 850w is overkill for an i7 and single 980ti.

There are no issues with using an 850w PSU with lower end hardware. The parts only pull as much power as they need. You would run an i3 and a gtx750 on a 1600w PSU and it would perform exactly the same as if you ran it on a 350w PSU.
 
Ok, thanks but ai have read and seen in vids that people say that if you use a psu much better than your needs in lowers the psu's effidiency. Is that true?

also what about the 5 vs 10 year warranty?
 
The PSU might be SLIGHTLY less efficient at low loads but nothing noticeable and certainly nothing bad.

Even when a TOP of the line PC is at idle it may only pull 150w even if it can pull 650w under load, so technically whenever your PC is idle, or not being stressed you are barely using the PSU and it will be less efficient.

Both are good PSUs. I'd probably go for the Seasonic as I'm not a huge EVGA fan.
 
So... If i understood right when you use it with a gtx 960 it has lower efficiency but when you will use it with a 980 ti its efficiency increses again? Probobly I will go with the EVGA cause its 10 year warranty
 
Yes, electronics are not partial to any given video card.

Here is a chart showing the efficiency graph that most of today's power supplies follow:

8zp4kp.jpg
 
It doesn't matter if you use it with Titan X SLI or an R7 240. At idle, when NOT under a load, the efficiency of a high capacity PSU is going to be lower. When it's under a gaming or other load, even if it's not using anywhere near it's maximum capacity, it's going to be more efficient. You are not losing anything by getting a higher end unit, and are probably STILL gaining an advantage, since that unit will never come anywhere close to using it's upper 20% of capacity, even if you had a 290x installed, and is going to last a very long time since the unit won't be maxed out on a continuous basis and the fan will not be overworked as it would if you had a unit that barely covered it's requirements.

It's also going to be less likely to create elevated levels, to any degree, of noise or ripple, as can happen when a unit gets too hot. Also, heat affects efficiency as well, and since you're unlikely to heat that unit much if any at all, to any pronounced degree, the efficiency when running all out is probably likely to be BETTER than if you were using a 450w unit with a high 80plus rating.
 
Depends. Considering your low usage, you aren't exactly heating up the psu much, especially at idle, and if the pc is in a cooler ambient climate, its going to remain at a lower temp. So enabling eco will just mean some silence until the psu is used hard enough to heat it up. However, if the pc is in a warmer ambient climate, everything will be warmer, so you might be better with it disabled, and have the fan spinning from startup.
 
I've never used them, which is what threw me for a loop. I was like, huh, in 25 years I've never used them and never had an issue. I think Smorizio was just having fun with the latest Tom's noob at that time. But maybe he was serious. Dunno. I haven't been a PC noob for many years before coming to Tom's, but to be honest I've probably learned/supplemented my knowledge a lot more since being here than I did during A+ certification courses or other related schooling. Aside from having that piece of paper that "says" you know WTF you're doing, hands on and absorbing from others who do real world work is probably a better way to go.

By the way, that was my very first post on Tom's as a member, which is why I know the TR2 intimately. In fact, I have that very same unit, in the the clients original packaging, sitting on my work bench to commemorate my introduction to Tom's and to remind me at all times that Thermaltake is anathema.
 
Well, seriously, mb/psu screws are supposed to be serrated on the back of the head. It's to break/scratch any oxidation/paint etc so as to initiate a good solid ground.

Well at least your psu was a brand name, db, back a couple hundred years ago when I was building/fixing full time for a living, 99% of what I got to deal with was OEM psus. Every now and then I suppose I got to work on a Seasonic or Delta OEM, but then I didn't realize that's what they were because nothing was labeled worth a damn. I'd open a case, see bestec or logysis, turbo king, or even nothing at all. It was enough to make ya just tear out your hair lol.

Honestly wonder if it wouldn't be worth it to toss tier4 altogether. 1,2,3 then 5. Solve a lot of issues, either it's ok or better, or its junk.
 
I like the way JonnyLucky does it; the good stuff, the bad stuff, and everything else. Buy only the good stuff, run screaming from the bad stuff and/or insist it be replaced in a client's PC, and just ignore the rest unless or until it's a problem.
 
Wish I had payed attention to this for my first PC build in early 2014. Researched most of what I should have, just not my PSU. Overall my build was not cost effective at all but was a great learning experience, if anything. It still works very well to this day though, but too bad I have one of those psu's in the "DO NOT TOUCH EVER OR SATAN WILL SHOVE A PITCHFORK IN YOU" category..
 


I wish I had read that too. Thats why I slowly start upgrading to tier 1 psu, gtx 980ti,i7 etc


(current, tier4,gtx960,i5)
 


Well, it wasn't mine, it was a clients. But yeah, I'd say that for the last twenty years that 7 times out of ten when somebody brings me a computer with a problem, it's an OEM or junk branded power supply to blame. That was one of the first actual Thermaltake power supplies I had come across, surprisingly, and is total cesspool garbage as far as I'm concerned. I've encountered four more TR2 units just since then, all of which had problems that were resolved by replacement. TigerDirect pushes those units in their bundles, which is why I've seen a few of them on systems people have put together themselves and then couldn't figure out the "ghosts" in the machine.
 


Please replace that Coolmax unit ASAP. I don't want to see you back here in a month saying "I shouldn't have said that, because it DID kill my system", which it might, OR have to come to your house and get rid of it for you. :)
 


I don't have the money for that D:
I would however welcome you coming to my house and doing it for me with open arms man 😀
I mean
it's been good for the last year and a half
 
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