Roundup: 12 Gaming Power Supplies Compared

[Guest]

Gamers demand a lot from their computers, starting with the PSU. Therefore, almost every PSU manufacturer sells products optimized for gaming PCs. We introduce ripple and noise testing in this roundup to further improve our power supply evaluations.

Roundup: 12 Gaming Power Supplies Compared : Read more

 

[FLanighan]

Why not Corsair? I jizz at my tx850w

 

[xxsk8er101xx]

Because it failed a few of the tests.

[citation][nom]FLanighan[/nom]Why not Corsair? I jizz at my tx850w[/citation]

 

[p1n3apqlexpr3ss]

Corsair has a gamer series... whyd they test one of the units from the top line aimed more at enthusiasts?

 

[V8VENOM]

Odd, why isn't Silverstone reviewed at all? Most of the power supplies they looked at are junk for anyone with more than one GPU and overclocking. I dumped my PC Power & Cooling 1000 Watt PSU because it couldn't handle two ATI 5870's and overclocked CPU to 4Ghz with 1600 FSB. I put in a Silverstone 1500Watt PSU and my system has been rock solid ever since.

The article doesn't appear to measure noise from during switching and how much noise is introduced to the CPU and bus.

Anyway, it will be a cold day in hell before anyone gets me to switch out my Silverstone 1500 Watt PSU.

 

[scook9]

[citation][nom]V8VENOM[/nom]Odd, why isn't Silverstone reviewed at all? Most of the power supplies they looked at are junk for anyone with more than one GPU and overclocking. I dumped my PC Power & Cooling 1000 Watt PSU because it couldn't handle two ATI 5870's and overclocked CPU to 4Ghz with 1600 FSB. I put in a Silverstone 1500Watt PSU and my system has been rock solid ever since.The article doesn't appear to measure noise from during switching and how much noise is introduced to the CPU and bus.Anyway, it will be a cold day in hell before anyone gets me to switch out my Silverstone 1500 Watt PSU.[/citation]
You are either lying or very unlucky (got a bad PSU)......I have crossfire 5870s and an i7 965 and all stock cannot exceed 650W at the wall (about 550W actually used) no matter what I try.

 

[JamesSneed]

Nice tests but I came to a different conclusion. The seasonic X-750 is close to the most effiecent in the bunch and did you see that voltage ripple it looked like it was flat lining.

 

[boiler1990]

For the ~$20 price difference between the Corsair 850HX and the AX850, I think I'll get the AX. It never hurts to invest in a great PSU

 

[juuh]

[citation][nom]V8VENOM[/nom]Odd, why isn't Silverstone reviewed at all? Most of the power supplies they looked at are junk for anyone with more than one GPU and overclocking. I dumped my PC Power & Cooling 1000 Watt PSU because it couldn't handle two ATI 5870's and overclocked CPU to 4Ghz with 1600 FSB. I put in a Silverstone 1500Watt PSU and my system has been rock solid ever since.The article doesn't appear to measure noise from during switching and how much noise is introduced to the CPU and bus.Anyway, it will be a cold day in hell before anyone gets me to switch out my Silverstone 1500 Watt PSU.[/citation]

I call BS. I could run your setup with my PC power & cooling 750w unit.
http://www.techspot.com/review/289-geforce-gtx-480-sli-versus-radeon-5870-crossfire/page9.html

 

[vanhalen]

No recommendation for the Seasonic? Am I missing something?

 

[random1283]

agreed no reccomendation for an x series seasonic, you guys must be mssing something, every other review of the x series said that they are simply amazing much better then any nxzt or anything.

 

[dEAne]

Very useful article, thank you so much tomshardware.

 

[buzznut]

Yeah thanks Toms, this is a timely article considering the new CPU's and motherboards coming in the next 6 months or so. Lots of us are contemplating upgrades or complete overhauls soon!

 

[buzznut]

BTW, it would be helpful to know exact cable lengths. There is some speculation about which models have decent cable lengths but nothing specific.

My next build will be in an NZXT full tower, and I am particularly interested in the Antec 850W, which I believe is the same line as the 750 tested. The report mentioned something about the cables being a bit short for full towers, I'd like to know exact cable lengths, and does anyone know if the 850W model cables may be a little longer?

 

[KT_WASP]

Huh?

You're kidding right? You mention the NZXT power supply as "being one of the best", but no mention or recommendation for the Seasonic (even tough according to your own tests the Seasonic handily beats the NZXT)?

Seasonic is one of the, if not thee, best power supply houses in the land. Most of the times if you see a real good power supply from another brand, it turns out it was a Seasonic unit. I'm not saying there are no other good manufacturers out there... But, to not even to get a nod or anything in the conclusion??

Review fail.

 

[Olle P]

I fail to see how a low airflow temperature is good. To me it shows that either the fan is running too fast, producing unnecessary noise, or the really hot spots don't get sufficient cooling (with most of the air passing through the PSU without touching any heated surface).

 

[hardcore_gamer]

Did you test the ripple when the PSU is loaded ? Ripple factor is a function of load

 

[Onus]

"In the remaining tests, Cooler Master's GX 750...does mess up a bit with the ripple and noise though, giving us a reading on the 3.3 V rail that is 50% above the ATX specification limit."

So, essentially it will pick away at your RAM. No thanks.

"...its single +12 V rail (preferable to all of the units with dinkier +12 V output spread over multiple rails)..."

I call BS. I'd much rather have multiple +12V rails. With OCP set appropriately, there's no issue of power being "trapped" anywhere, yet it will be safer in the event of near short-circuit conditions.

I'll be building either a SB or BD rig for myself in late Spring or early Summer, and I already picked up the 560W model of the Seasonic "X" line for it ($71 for the one HardwareSecrets reviewed).

Remember too, that 80+ tests at the absurdly low ambient temperature of 23C. While I think their tests are still generally valid, and will certainly clear out the liar-labeled units, for a certified unit to fail by a couple percent under real world conditions is not too unusual.

 

[Gulli]

I'd rather see a comparison between PSUs at the lower end of the spectrum. I can't imagine any of these 750-850W monsters breaking a sweat even with dual high end GPUs. It's uch more interesting to know what's the smallest PSU that can do the job for most desktops. For example: I've been running an HD 5870 with an overclocked Core i7 920 for over a year now on a Corsair 520W PSU, with no problems whatsoever. But if I were to ask on the forums what PSU I would need for my setup most people would recommend 650W, at minimum. So please do a comparison that shows how few watts is enough for single GPU setups and which PSUs are reliable enough.

 

[santiagoanders]

There are power supply fanbois now? Your beloved Seasonic wasn't recommended so you rant?

 

[jimishtar]

To me, having bigger temp difference between input/output air is a good thing. It means the psu has good layout and the heatsinks & fan do their job. Low heat output means bad-cooling-efficiency. Every psu generates heat - not every psu deals with it.

 

[jimishtar]

[citation][nom]santiagoanders[/nom]There are power supply fanbois now? Your beloved Seasonic wasn't recommended so you rant?[/citation]
compare the results yourself, the seasonic is among the best, should be recomended. but the corsair disappointed me, i must say.

 

[geekapproved]

Gaming power supply?? What exactly is a gaming power supply?

 

[hunter315]

Not so fond of the reviews by tom's, the exact conditions arent listed out well, what temperature was the efficiency test run at? 25C like 80+? Any stress testing involved to see how well a unit would hold up in a hot PC case powering high end GPUs? Nope.

Also, when something like the GX 750 has ripple out of spec, its not just a small ripple problem that overshadows a general impression, ATX spec is fairly liberal already, if it cant stay within that its a complete failure and needs to be labeled as such.

 

[Marcus52]

"Overall, the Enermax Modu 87+ is a powerful and solid PSU which meets the demands of a gaming environment. Features like running the fans for a minute after system shuts down set it apart from its competitors, and the five-year warranty is confidence-inspiring."

You mentioned in the article that it barely violated a standard for the 3.3V rail, but in the same breath said it hardly mattered - which is it? Do you recommend this thing, or not?