The Power Supply Unit tier list Discussion thread

[Darkbreeze]

Short answer is no - the recommendation for SLI 970/980 is 800W minimum

Actually, it's not. It's 700w as seen here. More is better, but with a very good unit, 700-750w would probably be sufficient.

http://www.realhardtechx.com/index_archivos/Page362.htm

 

[zeyuanfu]

I still wouldn't use a B1 unit.

 

[tiny voices]

You can safely SLI 970s on 650w easily. They use very little power, for how high end of a GPU they are.

 

[Zuhayr378]

That unit is not great nor terrible. It is more like a 700w unit, as after 700w it begins to undervolt terribly. For your system it will be fine as your computer will draw less than 400w at FULL 100% load.

Would something better be more idea? Sure, but that PSU won't blow up your computer.

So does that mean I can't really SLI GTX 970s with the PSU with some slight overclocking?

P.S. I won't be SLI'ing GTX 970s with a Pentium, it's just of reference.

Short answer is no - the recommendation for SLI 970/980 is 800W minimum

Well then I guess I'll have to get a new PSU when I do go on the SLI train...Ugh

 

[dottorrent]

A message to all.

This tier list is now going to be rebuilt, due to a rather severe bug in the new anti-spam protocols which has prevented me from editing the list entirely. All the suggestions from JonnyGuru will be implemented as well as newer PSUs announced.

Q : Why not just post the tier list every time it has been edited?

A : That would take up so much space in the forum and I won't crash the server because this list needs to be updated constantly.

The tier list will start being rebuilt at 15:30 GMT tomorrow. No completion date has been confirmed as of yet.

Thank you.

 

[Lutfij]

Noted! Good luck and thanks for taking the ideas/suggestions into consideration!

 

[Zuhayr378]

I still wouldn't use a B1 unit.

Is that basically saying the b2 series has been a huge improvement over the b1 series?

 

[tiny voices]

Yes, the B2 units are VERY good.

 

[zeyuanfu]

B1 and G1 units use something like ''group regulation'' where all the +12 volt rails are regulated together.

 

[CGurrell]

B1 and G1 units use something like ''group regulation'' where all the +12 volt rails are regulated together.

I think the XFX Black Edition uses something similar

 

[Someone Somewhere]

Group regulation, IIRC, is where the +12V, +5V, and +3.3V rails are regulated together. In a crossload situation, rails tend to go out of spec. Fine for most builds, though.

More expensive units will use individual regulation.

 

[Darkbreeze]

Couple of things I wanted to suggest and/or ask.

First of all, I was wondering since I got bashed here recently for having a Seasonic M12II PSU due to it's having group regulated voltage, are all the Seasonic M12 II and S12 II models group regulated and as such should they not be recommended for higher end builds with overclocks and big cards even though they have good tier listing? Are there other Seasonic models that are tiered high with group regulated voltage, or rather, which Seasonic series DON'T have group regulation?


Secondly, I was thinking that since the PSU Tier list is going to be rebuilt and since clearly there is always going to be a running discussion, maybe a thread just for general PSU discussion that's semi-permanent and kind of sideways from the Tier list thread should be created so it doesn't bog down the Tier list itself and could actually be deleted and recreated every so often, or even just left alone. Seems like a lot of PSU related discussion that happens on the thread doesn't really pertain to the list or it's contents and might possibly be better off as a spin off discussion. Sort of a community PSU town hall that can be about the Tier list, or things relevant TO the tier list, but not ON the Tier list. Just a thought.

Dottorrent might prefer it to stay just the way it is, even in it's new revision, I don't know, but I thought I'd put it out there anyhow.

 

[Darkbreeze]

Also, when the new list is created, are all the threads that point to the current Tier list going to be linked to a non-existent page or can a forward be created for this URL that points to the new list? Or will it's address remain the same? There are an awful lot of threads that are linked to here and it would suck for them to all be broken.

 

[dottorrent]

Right now I am giving the tier list a complete overhaul to prevent such anti-spam issues from appearing.

No, this thread will be for discussions only from here on out. When the tier list has been finally created, there will be a link linking the new tier list on the front page and on the new list will link this page for discussion. A new megathread could be in the works if I have the time to do so, but for now, this thread is for discussion, as no changes can be made for now.

 

[CGurrell]

Dottorrent: Is the list that's currently up still a viable list for ranking PSUs, and something we should still be referring people to if they're looking for a new PSU?

 

[tiny voices]

Yes, it is still accurate and a great resource.

 

[Darkbreeze]

Right now I am giving the tier list a complete overhaul to prevent such anti-spam issues from appearing.

No, this thread will be for discussions only from here on out. When the tier list has been finally created, there will be a link linking the new tier list on the front page and on the new list will link this page for discussion. A new megathread could be in the works if I have the time to do so, but for now, this thread is for discussion, as no changes can be made for now.

That suits the same purpose and sounds good to me. Thanks bud.

 

[Zuhayr378]

I'm confused. What is the difference between the EVGA Supernova 750 B1 and the NEX750 B because they are in different tiers (the Supernova is in Tier 3 and the NEX750 B is in Tier 2 class B). The Supernova NEX750B is the actual name for my unit and I'm confused to where the heck that goes...

 

[CGurrell]

Guys, anyone got any info on the xigmatek xcp-a500? All I can find is that it has 384w on the 12v rail. Someone I'm helping has had their dad buy one for him as a salesman apparently said that, by buying a bigger brand would be more expensive as you're just paying for a brand, not higher quality... I know you know that's not true but it's what happened.

 

[Darkbreeze]

Actually, it can be true. Quite often the "Name brands" that most people know, are not the best products, or even good products. Most of the better known brands that DO have good products, generally overcharge for them as well. If a brand doesn't have any products AT ALL listed in Tier 2B, 2A or Tier 1, it doesn't necessarily mean they only make bad products, but it should certainly be a red flag indicating further investigation into reviewed quality.

If you can't find any reliable reviews on a product it probably means it's either too crappy to bother with or too new to have been reviewed yet.

 

[damric]

Don't look at the sticker brand. Look at the OEM platform. What is is inside is all that really matters.

"Brand" is what is abused so much by PSUs and kind of the reason you need a list like this. Corsair and EVGA are notorious examples of using brand name to sell overpriced junk, when we all know that only a couple of their products are really any good. When a brand uses many different variety of OEMs, be careful.

 

[Darkbreeze]

Seems like maybe the Corsair RM 850 doesn't belong on Tier 3 according to this review. It scores just as high as some Tier 2B units. Anybody have additional feedback on this?

http://www.jonnyguru.com/modules.php?name=NDReviews&op=Story6&reid=369

 

[damric]

Seems like maybe the Corsair RM 850 doesn't belong on Tier 3 according to this review. It scores just as high as some Tier 2B units. Anybody have additional feedback on this?

http://www.jonnyguru.com/modules.php?name=NDReviews&op=Story6&reid=369

Those RM's are a real mixed bag, and very overpriced. They still using two different OEMs for those?

 

[jonnyguru]

Umm, you been to Australia mate? I don't run the AC when i'm not home, the inside temp easily getting to between 30 and 40degC is normal (ok 40 is extreme, but over 30 easily), average indoor temp when someone is home is still only 25-27degC with the Aircon on when its 35degC outside - on 40+ or humidity above 60%, evaporative cooling for the house barely works and the temp inside climbs.

Right.. but you're not running your PSU at 100% load when you're not at home, are you? Because that was the point. The PSU did not run at 100% load at 45°C, but lower loads certainly are no problem. The "operating temperature" of the PSU is 0 to 50°C.

Efficiency is not a very reliable criteria to grade a PSU. Check up the tier list, there are many Gold efficiency units below Bronze units, it just isn't something one should see when we talk about 'quality'. Quality is better limited to caps, voltage regulations, etc. If we talk about 'features', then efficiency, modularity and stuff have a bigger role to play.

Right. As higher efficiency becomes more mainstream, you'll see "cheaper", yet more efficient units. Right now, Platinum is fairly consistently high quality, but that will change in a couple years. Gold is now mainstream and can be a mixed bag. There's still some Bronze units out there that are better than a lot of Gold units.

I still wouldn't use a B1 unit.

Me neither. It's made by HEC. 😀

Seems like maybe the Corsair RM 850 doesn't belong on Tier 3 according to this review. It scores just as high as some Tier 2B units. Anybody have additional feedback on this?

http://www.jonnyguru.com/modules.php?name=NDReviews&op=Story6&reid=369

Those RM's are a real mixed bag, and very overpriced. They still using two different OEMs for those?

Price varies depending on region, I've found. Always worth a price check. They shouldn't be a "mixed bag" though. They use two OEMs (Chicony for the 750 and 850W and CWT for the rest), but the level of component quality used and the assembly quality is pretty much the same on any of them.

For my own tier list, I started doing this in Excel so you can sort by brand, OEM, efficiency, etc. Unfortunately, I only got as far as Antec, beQuiet, Corsair, EVGA, NZXT and XFX. And I've gone up to 9 tiers because of so many differences in so many different platforms (i.e. tier 1 is a server grade unit rated at 50°C while 9 would be a non-PFC unit with all Chinese caps).

You can view it here: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1qaSSCWjC11ArO8WyBb_wTvFU_Ez9488F6ARkbag1e14/edit?usp=sharing

I've allowed comments if people want to provide input for "platform used", etc. or if you want to tell me I'm flat out wrong about something.

I got sidetracked with a bunch of other stuff, so I'm taking a break from it right now, but I might pick it up again during the Christmas break.

 

[Novuake]

Interesting, what criteria you using for your tiers?

Seems a bit excessive... Since you will probably need to add a few tiers for bad units, you have put the CX series in tier8, which I would say is middle ground when it comes to reliability.