XFX R9 390X or RX480 Nitro for 1440p?

[ShockInfantry]

I was thinking about getting a Sapphire RX480 Nitro to pair along with my new 1440p freesync monitor I ordered, but today I saw on newegg that the XFX 390x is going for about $250 after $30 rebate. Is the 390x still better than incoming RX480 for 1440p?

Another concern is that my current PSU has only 550W (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817207013) and it is just about 3 years old now, which is fine when powering my current 7950, but I assume that won't cut it for the 390x if I get it. If I should get the 390x, what PSU should I buy, assuming I am not going to overclock my card or CPU (an i7 3770k)?

 

[atomicWAR]

you will need a new PSU if you get the 390x but if you get the rx 480 you should be fine...

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

if you get a new PSU get anything for the tier 1 (tier 2 is ok if you plan to replace it every 3 years or less)

http://www.tomshardware.com/forum/id-2547993/psu-tier-list.html

 

[Chugalug_]

To be honest, for 1440p 144hz you're better off getting something more powerful like a Fury, Nano or Fury X.
Out of the two you've selected however, the 390X is the better performing option.
For power supply, get the XFX TS Gold 650w series, made by Seasonic, a very good OEM.

 

[turkey3_scratch]

you will need a new PSU if you get the 390x but if you get the rx 480 you should be fine...

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

if you get a new PSU get anything for the tier 1 (tier 2 is ok if you plan to replace it every 3 years or less)

http://www.tomshardware.com/forum/id-2547993/psu-tier-list.html

The XFX TS 550 has two 8-pin PCIe cables which should be sufficient for the 390X.

 

[atomicWAR]

you will need a new PSU if you get the 390x but if you get the rx 480 you should be fine...

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

if you get a new PSU get anything for the tier 1 (tier 2 is ok if you plan to replace it every 3 years or less)

http://www.tomshardware.com/forum/id-2547993/psu-tier-list.html

The XFX TS 550 has two 8-pin PCIe cables which should be sufficient for the 390X.

having two 8 pins doesn't mean it has the wattage to power the card. the 390x recommends a 700watt supply. I am not saying it would not work, but if it were my pc i would not do it. To much risk in frying the whole thing. To be fair though i do see peeps powering a 390x with 500-600watts but i never recommend going lower the the manufacturers suggests as a rule

 

[Chugalug_]

you will need a new PSU if you get the 390x but if you get the rx 480 you should be fine...

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

if you get a new PSU get anything for the tier 1 (tier 2 is ok if you plan to replace it every 3 years or less)

http://www.tomshardware.com/forum/id-2547993/psu-tier-list.html

The XFX TS 550 has two 8-pin PCIe cables which should be sufficient for the 390X.

Note that realistically under moderate gaming load it draws around 550w, meaning that under high load or stress testing it will draw anywhere from 600-650w.
Hell, even AMD recommends a 700w PSU!
I'd say that a good 650w is what you want in this situation.

 

[turkey3_scratch]

you will need a new PSU if you get the 390x but if you get the rx 480 you should be fine...

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

if you get a new PSU get anything for the tier 1 (tier 2 is ok if you plan to replace it every 3 years or less)

http://www.tomshardware.com/forum/id-2547993/psu-tier-list.html

The XFX TS 550 has two 8-pin PCIe cables which should be sufficient for the 390X.

Note that realistically under moderate gaming load it draws around 550w, meaning that under high load or stress testing it will draw anywhere from 600-650w.
Hell, even AMD recommends a 700w PSU!
I'd say that a good 650w is what you want in this situation.

No it won't. Under gaming conditions his rig can be expected to be in the 365W-400W vicinity. Take the MSI R9 390X http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/amd-radeon-r9-390x-r9-380-r7-370,4178-9.html on average it is about 290W. IN typical games, the CPU is not running to its full potential at all, so 50W is a good estimation. Then add in some other parts of the system, motherboard, fans, etc. and you are probably looking at around 365W.

They don't equip a PSU with two 8-pin PCIe cables if it is not capable of handling a card that takes two.

 

[atomicWAR]

you will need a new PSU if you get the 390x but if you get the rx 480 you should be fine...

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

if you get a new PSU get anything for the tier 1 (tier 2 is ok if you plan to replace it every 3 years or less)

http://www.tomshardware.com/forum/id-2547993/psu-tier-list.html

The XFX TS 550 has two 8-pin PCIe cables which should be sufficient for the 390X.

Note that realistically under moderate gaming load it draws around 550w, meaning that under high load or stress testing it will draw anywhere from 600-650w.
Hell, even AMD recommends a 700w PSU!
I'd say that a good 650w is what you want in this situation.

No it won't. Under gaming conditions his rig can be expected to be in the 365W-400W vicinity. Take the MSI R9 390X http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/amd-radeon-r9-390x-r9-380-r7-370,4178-9.html on average it is about 290W. IN typical games, the CPU is not running to its full potential at all, so 50W is a good estimation. Then add in some other parts of the system, motherboard, fans, etc. and you are probably looking at around 365W.

They don't equip a PSU with two 8-pin PCIe cables if it is not capable of handling a card that takes two.

I've personally fried enough rigs in 20+ years and seen friends do the same from that line of thinking to say i do not think that is solid advice.

 

[turkey3_scratch]

you will need a new PSU if you get the 390x but if you get the rx 480 you should be fine...

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

if you get a new PSU get anything for the tier 1 (tier 2 is ok if you plan to replace it every 3 years or less)

http://www.tomshardware.com/forum/id-2547993/psu-tier-list.html

The XFX TS 550 has two 8-pin PCIe cables which should be sufficient for the 390X.

Note that realistically under moderate gaming load it draws around 550w, meaning that under high load or stress testing it will draw anywhere from 600-650w.
Hell, even AMD recommends a 700w PSU!
I'd say that a good 650w is what you want in this situation.

No it won't. Under gaming conditions his rig can be expected to be in the 365W-400W vicinity. Take the MSI R9 390X http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/amd-radeon-r9-390x-r9-380-r7-370,4178-9.html on average it is about 290W. IN typical games, the CPU is not running to its full potential at all, so 50W is a good estimation. Then add in some other parts of the system, motherboard, fans, etc. and you are probably looking at around 365W.

They don't equip a PSU with two 8-pin PCIe cables if it is not capable of handling a card that takes two.

I've personally fried enough rigs in 20+ years and seen friends do the same from that line of thinking to say i do not think that is solid advice.

What do you think is poor about it then?

Here is a review of the XFX card http://www.hardocp.com/article/2015/10/26/xfx_r9_390x_double_dissipation_core_edition_review/9#.V6KC7rgrL1s shows a 390X system at about 416W during gaming. His PSU will not at all have a problem with that system. Everyone always overestimates. There is no need to.

 

[atomicWAR]

exactly what i said...It may work, others may do it but just because your friends jump off a bridge doesn't mean you should. There is also the fact we have no other info about what hardware he is running so we can't assume the wattage pull from those parts. There is the fact the PSU is already 3 years old and as PSU age so does there power out put...though to be fair it is a tier 2 PSU though seasonic rebadge which i am a fan of. But again being tier 2 i would recommend a new PSU regardless after 3 years to be safe, if it was a tier 1 i would say replace after 5 years...to be safe. So yeah there is all of that!

 

[Chugalug_]

That tier list is garbage to be honest, kind of outdated and not very accurate.....
People always go 'tier 1 ,tier 2 tier 5000' but it really means nothing.
Doing the hard research into power supplies is what you want to do.
Find out hold up times, ripple ratings, efficiency, capacitors and OEMs, the key components to any quality power supply.
In that regard the XFX TS is very good value.

 

[JackNaylorPE]

I was eagerly anticipating the Sapphire 480 but from the only review I have read so far had each paragraph stating something to the effect of..."I was really looking forward to" .... and then always came to a "but".

http://www.legitreviews.com/sapphire-nitro-radeon-rx-480-4gb-video-card-review_184553/11

Too hot, too warm, less performance than reference. At $229 (newegg), it's still higher than the anticipated $219.... but I'm looking for a reason to choose it over the $249 MSI 1060 Armor and coming up short. Hopefully other vendors wil have their cards enter the fray shortly.

https://www.techpowerup.com/reviews/MSI/RX_480_Gaming_X/28.html

Techpowerup writes:

MSI's Radeon RX 480 Gaming X is the first Radeon RX 480 that manages to impress..... In my opinion, this is thus far the only RX 480 that looks like it can compete with the GTX 1060 and its custom designs.

Unfortunately, it's the same price range as MSI's 1060's ... It did manage to double; the Asus Stix 480s OC performance at 12% over reference.

https://www.techpowerup.com/reviews/MSI/RX_480_Gaming_X/23.html

The 390x is still 8% faster than the 480 ... but the AIB 480's needs 200 watts and the AIB 390X needs 350ish... so 450 - 500 watts is all ya need for a 480 whereas 550 - 600 needed for 390x depending on how far the AIB partner went with the power allocation.

The Seasonic S12 or M12 620 would be a good 390x PSU

If it were me, I'd get the MSI 1060 .... but between the two you mention, the MSI 480 with it's 12% OC looks better than the Nitro or any 390X and it's 6% OC. It won't catch say the MSI 390x but it comes awful close and being 150 watts less, its easier on your PSU.

But now let's get to the 1440p part ... at this resolution, I recommend:

(2)1 GTX 1070 or (2) RX 480s in CF ... but the 10970 is faster, cheaper, OC's better and requires waaaay less power

 

[atomicWAR]

That tier list is garbage to be honest, kind of outdated and not very accurate.....
People always go 'tier 1 ,tier 2 tier 5000' but it really means nothing.
Doing the hard research into power supplies is what you want to do.
Find out hold up times, ripple ratings, efficiency, capacitors and OEMs, the key components to any quality power supply.
In that regard the XFX TS is very good value.

not sure i agree with it being garbage but i do agree with doing your research. I see the tier list as a good place to start said research is all.

 

[Chugalug_]

I was eagerly anticipating the Sapphire 480 but from the only review I have read so far had each paragraph stating something to the effect of..."I was really looking forward to" .... and then always came to a "but".

http://www.legitreviews.com/sapphire-nitro-radeon-rx-480-4gb-video-card-review_184553/11

Too hot, too warm, less performance than reference. At $229 (newegg), it's still higher than the anticipated $219.... but I'm looking for a reason to choose it over the $249 MSI 1060 Armor and coming up short. Hopefully other vendors wil have their cards enter the fray shortly.

https://www.techpowerup.com/reviews/MSI/RX_480_Gaming_X/28.html

Techpowerup writes:

MSI's Radeon RX 480 Gaming X is the first Radeon RX 480 that manages to impress..... In my opinion, this is thus far the only RX 480 that looks like it can compete with the GTX 1060 and its custom designs.

Unfortunately, it's the same price range as MSI's 1060's ... It did manage to double; the Asus Stix 480s OC performance at 12% over reference.

https://www.techpowerup.com/reviews/MSI/RX_480_Gaming_X/23.html

The 390x is still 8% faster than the 480 ... but the AIB 480's needs 200 watts and the AIB 390X needs 350ish... so 450 - 500 watts is all ya need for a 480 whereas 550 - 600 needed for 390x depending on how far the AIB partner went with the power allocation.

The Seasonic S12 or M12 620 would be a good 390x PSU

If it were me, I'd get the MSI 1060 .... but between the two you mention, the MSI 480 with it's 12% OC looks better than the Nitro or any 390X and it's 6% OC. It won't catch say the MSI 390x but it comes awful close and being 150 watts less, its easier on your PSU.

Mmmmm, what I would do normally with the 1060.
The problem here seems to be that OP wants to use a 1440p freesync monitor he bought, which was a poor choice considering the choice of graphics card is so limited now in terms of budget.
To be honest, his current PSU should be able to handle the 390X statistically, but I wouldn't recommend risking it, comes too close in my opinion.
As mentioned above, get either a Seasonic 620w or an XFX TS Gold 650w. Both are great.

 

[JackNaylorPE]

That tier list is garbage to be honest, kind of outdated and not very accurate.....
People always go 'tier 1 ,tier 2 tier 5000' but it really means nothing.
Doing the hard research into power supplies is what you want to do.
Find out hold up times, ripple ratings, efficiency, capacitors and OEMs, the key components to any quality power supply.
In that regard the XFX TS is very good value.

Agreed as to the evaluation part ... also, as the TS is built on the Seasonic GB Bronze platform (same as the Seasonic S12 / M12) it will serve well

 

[turkey3_scratch]

exactly what i said...It may work, others may do it but just because your friends jump off a bridge doesn't mean you should. There is also the fact we have no other info about what hardware he is running so we can't assume the wattage pull from those parts. There is the fact the PSU is already 3 years old and as PSU age so does there power out put...though to be fair it is a tier 2 PSU though seasonic rebadge which i am a fan of. But again being tier 2 i would recommend a new PSU regardless after 3 years to be safe, if it was a tier 1 i would say replace after 5 years...to be safe. So yeah there is all of that!

Define what you mean by their power output "ages". Power supplies can be overloaded, it won't just stop or reach some sort of peak. That's why they are required to have OCP or OPP, because of overloading. That's what I never got about the "power output decreases with age" rumors. It seems to be a generalized statement that doesn't really make any logical sense. If a PSU's Schottkeys and switchers and all the other transistors and diodes and components are rated to handle the amount of load a computer will subject to them, there is no problem pushing them far, and I don't see how that would change at all with age.

Anyway, I respect your opinion, but I don't feel he has the need to change the PSU. If you disagree with me that is fine.

 

[atomicWAR]

exactly what i said...It may work, others may do it but just because your friends jump off a bridge doesn't mean you should. There is also the fact we have no other info about what hardware he is running so we can't assume the wattage pull from those parts. There is the fact the PSU is already 3 years old and as PSU age so does there power out put...though to be fair it is a tier 2 PSU though seasonic rebadge which i am a fan of. But again being tier 2 i would recommend a new PSU regardless after 3 years to be safe, if it was a tier 1 i would say replace after 5 years...to be safe. So yeah there is all of that!

Define what you mean by their power output "ages". Power supplies can be overloaded, it won't just stop or reach some sort of peak. That's why they are required to have OCP or OPP, because of overloading. That's what I never got about the "power output decreases with age" rumors. It seems to be a generalized statement that doesn't really make any logical sense. If a PSU's Schottkeys and switchers and all the other transistors and diodes and components are rated to handle the amount of load a computer will subject to them, there is no problem pushing them far, and I don't see how that would change at all with age.

Anyway, I respect your opinion, but I don't feel he has the need to change the PSU. If you disagree with me that is fine.

It's called capacitor wear....very common and something everyone should consider when building a PC. The wattage rating your PSU has slowly goes down with time as you caps wear out (just like it sounds). The difference over time can be enough to under power compentent...or even surge them when the cap finally goes.. it is why i never make recommendations below manufacturers recommended specs. Especially with older PSUs. here a little bit about it below...

http://www.electronicproducts.com/Passive_Components/Capacitors/Failure_modes_in_capacitors.aspx
http://www.tomsguide.com/forum/59382-6-power-supply-capacitors-wear\

you can choose not to believe in physics but it doesn't make your conclusion the correct one.

 

[Chugalug_]

Yup. This pretty much sums it up. Over time the capacitors degrade, resulting in potential electrical hazards due to failure, and lower overload peak.
His power supply is perfectly fine now, as it is relatively high quality, but if it is pushed to its limits by the 390X it may just be enough to push it over the edge and start frying some electronics.
Highly recommended to upgrade it to a 650w.

 

[JackNaylorPE]

Mmmmm, what I would do normally with the 1060.
The problem here seems to be that OP wants to use a 1440p freesync monitor he bought, which was a poor choice considering the choice of graphics card is so limited now in terms of budget.
To be honest, his current PSU should be able to handle the 390X statistically, but I wouldn't recommend risking it, comes too close in my opinion.
As mentioned above, get either a Seasonic 620w or an XFX TS Gold 650w. Both are great.

Nice catch ... I missed the Freesync part which means no ULMB .

With 7xx and 2xx series, 2GB handled 1080p just fine despite claims to the contrary, testing showed no performance difference betwenn 2 Gb and 4 GB. Thru the nvidia 9xx and AMD 3xx series, the only way you could break 4 GB was to use settings @ 4k resolution that made the game unplayable (< 30 fps). Hence I always said phooey to claims that said 4 GB was not enough at 1440p ...

http://www.extremetech.com/gaming/213069-is-4gb-of-vram-enough-amds-fury-x-faces-off-with-nvidias-gtx-980-ti-titan-x

... will that hold for the 10xx / RX series ? I don't know.

I'm confident that 4 GB will hold for 1080p, 8GB seems to be what's needed for 2160p, so where will 1440p wind up with next generation games. The question is, will AIB partners invest the money in componentry and bring cool running, quiet, decent overclocking cards out on a 4 GB model ? I agree with TPU that the MSI 480 is the 1st card that competes with the 480 but that is a 8GB card .... it's $40 more than the Nitro; how much of that is the extra 4 GB and how much of that is everything else that finally made the MSI 480 competitive ? Will AIB partners decide "well I invested xx bucks to get low noise, low heat, higher power, good overclocking, it doesn't make sense not to throw another yy bucks at it".

If we can get a $219 card that quieter, cooler and OCs like the MSI 8GB one, that's a great 1080p solution ... will it be a great 1440p solution ? I can't be sure until we see how two comparable cards (4 GB / 8 GB ) perform at this resolution.

Today, I'd be a lot more comfortable using one 4 GB 480 at 1080p than I would be using two in Crosssfire at 1440p

 

[ShockInfantry]

Wow, thanks for all the quick replies, I didn't expect so much so quickly.

As regards to my choices, yes they are not optimal, but I believe that buying a good 1440p w/ freesync monitor would mean I am more or less set for monitors for quite awhile. I have been gaming basically on 1080p 60hz with a cheap Acer monitor for the longest of time and I am thinking it would be a long while before I would need to upgrade monitors again. Worst come to worst, AMD dies off and I would be left without freesync, but I think the rest of the monitor specs would make it still good.

For graphics card, I am not expecting that cards to push 144hz at max settings, I am just looking more along the lines of prehaps 60hz+ on medium-high settings. Basically there to tide over, until later on I can afford cards that can start taking full advantage of the monitor. I have been hearing about the 1060s, but I am mostly worried over the price being jacked up much over msrp, much like the new cards this year been subjected too. Would a 1060 be that much better compared to a RX480 or 390x even with freesync to their favor? Just mainly aiming for a card under $300 for now.

 

[turkey3_scratch]

I am well aware that capacitors wear out over time but you guys still don't get it. You keep thinking that power will hit some kind of maximum. That doesn't happen. It's why we have overpower protection and overcurrent protection. Yes, capacitors failing will increase ripple. But that has nothing to do with "wattage going down". I'd recommend you both read this http://www.jonnyguru.com/forums/showthread.php?t=13311

 

[JackNaylorPE]

I have been hearing about the 1060s, but I am mostly worried over the price being jacked up much over msrp, much like the new cards this year been subjected too. Would a 1060 be that much better compared to a RX480 or 390x even with freesync to their favor? Just mainly aiming for a card under $300 for now.

Again... the 480 / 1060 are ideal 1080 cards.... but you want 1440p. Will you n=be satisfied with these fps ?

Anno 2025 24.9
Assassins Creed; Syndicate 28.0
BF3 77.0
BF4 46.5
Batman: Arkham Knight 73.5
COD: Black Ops 3 51.5
Crysis 3 26.5
Fallout 4 68.9
Far Cry Primal 43.4
GTAV 51.3
Hitman 44.0
Just Cause 3 59.1
Rainbow Six Siege 75.9
Rise of the Tomb Raider 45.9
Witcher 3 41.3

That's the test results from TechPowerUps 15 game test suite. Recognize however that:

a) The Nitro won't score as well as MSI Gaming X
b) The MSI 480 Gaming X is $50 more than the Nitro

However, what is interesting is that the MSI 1060 and 480 Gaming X's have the exact same cost per fps of $0.036 so on the cost per frame basis Out of the box), it's a wash. The 1060 ($0.31) does a bit better then the 480 ($0.33) when both cards are overclocked. Overclocked, the 1060 averages 11% faster but costs 7% more. So the two cards are actually very competitive, .... but here you have the FreeSync monitor so the 480 is pretty much a no brainer.

However, given that the average fps is just 50 fps, w/ 20% of the games below 30 fps and another 33% are in the 40s, I would proceed as follows....

1. Get a solid AIB RX 480 ... there's a lot of difference between which one you choose ... the Nitro performs alower than the reference cards

http://www.legitreviews.com/sapphire-nitro-radeon-rx-480-4gb-video-card-review_184553/11

On paper the Sapphire Nitro Radeon RX 480 looks to be a damn near perfect custom designed card by a board partner. After using the Nitro Radeon RX 480 4GB for a very short period of time it left me feeling like I boarded the hype train. For starters the performance of this factory overclocked card is lower than that of the Radeon RX 480 8GB reference card despite having a higher boost clock speed of 1306MHz. I

The Asus Strix was 6 % faster than the reference card, the MSI Gaming X was 12% faster.


2. Once ya wallet recovers from the 480, grab a 2nd one along with new PSU ... keep in mind that the AIB cards will be drawing close to 200 watts each ...An EVGA B2 750, usually available for about $50-$60, should do just fine.

The other option of course is to wait for the 490

 

[atomicWAR]

I am well aware that capacitors wear out over time but you guys still don't get it. You keep thinking that power will hit some kind of maximum. That doesn't happen. It's why we have overpower protection and overcurrent protection. Yes, capacitors failing will increase ripple. But that has nothing to do with "wattage going down". I'd recommend you both read this http://www.jonnyguru.com/forums/showthread.php?t=13311

That did zero to affect my opinion FYI. It's not what i was taught in the navy or any tech school i went to for that matter. And while in theory you are correct about the wattage not dropping in a huge way (in practice the change would be very small)...it will affect you amperage and volts....both of which incorrectly delivered can damage components, regardless of safeties/protections in place, because those can fail too. So while i am guilty of not getting into the more technically correct wordage (note i didn't say wrong), your agruement is still null and void in my head on the larger scale of things. Regardless I am done hijacking this thread for something we clearly don't see eye to eye on. Though for the record most posts i see you make on toms, I do agree with. Let bigons be as it were 😉

 

[turkey3_scratch]

I am well aware that capacitors wear out over time but you guys still don't get it. You keep thinking that power will hit some kind of maximum. That doesn't happen. It's why we have overpower protection and overcurrent protection. Yes, capacitors failing will increase ripple. But that has nothing to do with "wattage going down". I'd recommend you both read this http://www.jonnyguru.com/forums/showthread.php?t=13311

That did zero to affect my opinion FYI. It's not what i was taught in the navy or any tech school i went to for that matter. And while in theory you are correct about the wattage not dropping in a huge way (in practice the change would be very small)...it will affect you amperage and volts....both of which incorrectly delivered can damage components, regardless of safeties/protections in place, because those can fail too. So while i am guilty of not getting into the more technically correct wordage (note i didn't say wrong), your agruement is still null and void in my head on the larger scale of things. Regardless I am done hijacking this thread for something we clearly don't see eye to eye on. Though for the record most posts i see you make on toms, I do agree with. Let bigons be as it were 😉

Okay, we'll move on

 

[JackNaylorPE]

I am well aware that capacitors wear out over time but you guys still don't get it. You keep thinking that power will hit some kind of maximum. That doesn't happen. It's why we have overpower protection and overcurrent protection. Yes, capacitors failing will increase ripple. But that has nothing to do with "wattage going down". I'd recommend you both read this http://www.jonnyguru.com/forums/showthread.php?t=13311

I don't see that thread supports the issue as stated...but I think we are dealing with a semantic issue There are many reviews that have shown that a cheap PSU can not actually supply their rated rated power. A quality PSU will deliver more. But no, a PSU will not just reach certain limit and not supply any more .... but it can shut down. Your GFX card9s) may cease to properly function of they can't get enough power. You can also exceed the PSU's actual power capability within which it can provide stable voltages within a certain range or noise may range to a point where MoBo and / or GPU VRMs will "have objection".

Here's Jonny himself chiming in "

http://www.jonnyguru.com/forums/showpost.php?p=31828&postcount=6

I thought Cap aging affected the voltage and not the wattage. I thought cap aging affected the voltage stability and the ripple

.

Affect the voltage; affect the wattage. And by wattage I was assuming he meant "at greater loads." We've all seen Antecs with failed caps that worked fine up until a graphics card upgrade.

Also in same thread ... and I couldn't agree more

And capacitor aging IS a serious problem... with certain power supplies. If he gets a quality unit, it won't be an issue.

So yes, no worry about capacitor aging with a good quality unit, but on a low quality unit, there is reason to be concerned ... and with both the impact on voltage and wattage.