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Roundup: 12 Gaming Power Supplies Compared

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  • Power Supplies
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Anonymous
a b 4 Gaming
a b ) Power supply
December 30, 2010 3:00:04 AM

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

More about : roundup gaming power supplies compared

December 30, 2010 3:29:34 AM

Why not Corsair? I jizz at my tx850w :) 
Score
-4
December 30, 2010 3:38:41 AM

Because it failed a few of the tests.

FLanighanWhy not Corsair? I jizz at my tx850w

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2
Related resources
December 30, 2010 3:40:58 AM

Corsair has a gamer series... whyd they test one of the units from the top line aimed more at enthusiasts?
Score
-3
December 30, 2010 3:45:46 AM

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.
Score
-4
December 30, 2010 3:48:51 AM

V8VENOMOdd, 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.

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.
Score
6
a b ) Power supply
December 30, 2010 3:50:27 AM

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.
Score
5
a b 4 Gaming
December 30, 2010 3:53:23 AM

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 :) 
Score
1
December 30, 2010 4:59:55 AM

V8VENOMOdd, 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.


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-...
Score
6
December 30, 2010 5:12:07 AM

No recommendation for the Seasonic? Am I missing something?
Score
6
December 30, 2010 5:49:17 AM

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.
Score
4
December 30, 2010 7:55:54 AM

Very useful article, thank you so much tomshardware.
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-1
a b ) Power supply
December 30, 2010 8:37:01 AM

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!
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2
a b ) Power supply
December 30, 2010 9:00:27 AM

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?
Score
0
December 30, 2010 9:11:46 AM

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.
Score
6
December 30, 2010 10:12:56 AM

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).
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3
December 30, 2010 11:40:04 AM

Did you test the ripple when the PSU is loaded ? Ripple factor is a function of load
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1
a b 4 Gaming
a c 131 ) Power supply
December 30, 2010 11:58:56 AM

"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.
Score
3
December 30, 2010 12:35:30 PM

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.
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2
December 30, 2010 12:36:23 PM

There are power supply fanbois now? Your beloved Seasonic wasn't recommended so you rant?
Score
-8
December 30, 2010 12:36:53 PM

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.
Score
2
December 30, 2010 12:44:52 PM

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

compare the results yourself, the seasonic is among the best, should be recomended. but the corsair disappointed me, i must say.
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2
a b 4 Gaming
a b ) Power supply
December 30, 2010 12:55:20 PM

Gaming power supply?? What exactly is a gaming power supply?
Score
5
a b 4 Gaming
a c 296 ) Power supply
December 30, 2010 1:06:31 PM

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.
Score
5
December 30, 2010 1:25:09 PM


"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?

;) 
Score
3
December 30, 2010 1:34:31 PM

Remember, the ATX spec says no more than 20A on a 12V line.
Therefore any PSU with 1 single 60-70A+ 12V rail cannot be considered.
Also, a higher delta between incoming and outgoing air would seem to indicate more effective cooling and be preferred.
And quality (not quantity) is key - did you see the Antec graphs? Sweet!
I run an Antec EarthWatts unit myself,
L8R
Score
2
December 30, 2010 1:35:08 PM

All Toms needs to do is add some sound benchmarks and we got a very good summation, though Johnny Guru is still nice.
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2
a b 4 Gaming
a c 296 ) Power supply
December 30, 2010 1:45:05 PM

The_OGS said:
Remember, the ATX spec says no more than 20A on a 12V line.
Therefore any PSU with 1 single 60-70A+ 12V rail cannot be considered.
Also, a higher delta between incoming and outgoing air would seem to indicate more effective cooling and be preferred.
And quality (not quantity) is key - did you see the Antec graphs? Sweet!
I run an Antec EarthWatts unit myself,
L8R


As of ATX V2.3 that limit is no longer in place so it is allowed.
Score
1
a b 4 Gaming
a c 131 ) Power supply
December 30, 2010 1:51:53 PM

I agree with you, Gulli. Just the other day some newcomer-drone on the forum recommended a 650W PSU for a system that could be handled by a 380W Earthwatts. Another recommended one of the Coolermaster PCAR units.

I just wish 80plus would change their procedures to test at 40C, although the fact that they have a 30 minute warm-up period is good.

So yeah, I'm a PSU fanboy, but I think my preferences are supported by consistent quality competent technical reviews. Lately I've only bought Antec or Seasonic. I've considered a few others (like Corsair), but there's invariably a good deal on one of the first two so I make the known safe choice.
Score
3
December 30, 2010 2:26:55 PM

juuhI call BS. I could run your setup with my PC power & cooling 750w unit.http://www.techspot.com/review/289 [...] page9.html


scook9You 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.


To either of you:

Ok, then buy my used POS PC Power & Cooling 1000 Watt PSU - you can have it for $70. It's not the Wattage rating that is the problem, it's the rapid changes in load that trigger A LOT of noise and hence a system reboot. Took me a long time to figure out the problem, had to buy a Oscilloscope from Fry's to monitor the lines going to the 5870's. If I turned crossfire OFF it could handle it, but still a lot of noise on the line.

Problem was very obvious too, games that would suddenly increase the graphics load would trigger the shutdown. I tried everything else to solve the problem, but finally just swapped out the PC Power and Cooling 1000 Watt for the Silverstone 1500 watt and the exact same hardware and games in crossfire now work PERFECTLY, not a single hickup after many manyu many many hours of solid high load use.

Maybe I got a "bad" PC Power and Cooling PSU ... but at $500 the "test" sheet they include with purchase didn't show any problems. But clearly the unit HAD a problem, soooo -- either way you look at it, PC Power and Cooling isn't the company I thought they were. Eithter their testing is bogus or just not revelant to real world situations.

It's VERY difficult to test a PSU, you really need multiple Osc on ALL the lines at the same time and log all the data while you put the PSU thru load tests. Tom's doesn't do that, in fact, no one does that -- it's every expensive to buy that many quality Oscilloscopes.

The Silverstone 1500 Watt PSU has NOT let me down and it's quiet.
Score
0
December 30, 2010 2:33:51 PM

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


Fanboi?

Seasonic is one of the premeir manufacturers of power supplies. If you dont know that, then you either don't know what your talking about or have been living in a hole for a while.

Antec: Earthwatts, Trio, HE, Neo and the higher powered TP models.. all made by Seasonic.

Corsiar: Most of thier former line-up that They made their name on? Yup, those were Seasonic units. Now, your starting to see more CWT made units in the line-up (builder series anyone?) and they dont perform as well as their prior units.

Some manufaturers, that make some of the best PSUs out there, can be seen time and time again as the OEM. Some of these are Seasonic, FSP, Enhance and even Seventeam.

CWT is hit or miss.. some of the models are very good, but most are average to sub-par.

PC Power&Cooling used to be top rated, but since OCZ took over, the quality has taken a nose-dive. I think anyone in the know, knows this to be true.

This has nothing to do with fanboism... its about performance that has been proven time and time again. People who been up to date in the tech world, know who makes good power supplies and who doesn't. So, don't star calling people fanbois for knowing what they are talking about, when appearently you don't.
Score
4
December 30, 2010 3:10:52 PM

V8VENOMTo either of you:o k, then buy my used POS PC Power & Cooling 1000 Watt PSU - you can have it for $70. It's not the Wattage rating that is the problem, it's the rapid changes in load that trigger A LOT of noise and hence a system reboot. Took me a long time to figure out the problem, had to buy a Oscilloscope from Fry's to monitor the lines going to the 5870's. If I turned crossfire OFF it could handle it, but still a lot of noise on the line.Problem was very obvious too, games that would suddenly increase the graphics load would trigger the shutdown. I tried everything else to solve the problem, but finally just swapped out the PC Power and Cooling 1000 Watt for the Silverstone 1500 watt and the exact same hardware and games in crossfire now work PERFECTLY, not a single hickup after many manyu many many hours of solid high load use.Maybe I got a "bad" PC Power and Cooling PSU ... but at $500 the "test" sheet they include with purchase didn't show any problems. But clearly the unit HAD a problem, soooo -- either way you look at it, PC Power and Cooling isn't the company I thought they were. Eithter their testing is bogus or just not revelant to real world situations.It's VERY difficult to test a PSU, you really need multiple Osc on ALL the lines at the same time and log all the data while you put the PSU thru load tests. Tom's doesn't do that, in fact, no one does that -- it's every expensive to buy that many quality Oscilloscopes.The Silverstone 1500 Watt PSU has NOT let me down and it's quiet.


If you're so sure it's broken, why have you not sent it back? Send it back, and if they send a replacement then I'll buy it for $35 :D 
Score
0
December 30, 2010 3:20:07 PM

Dam I was disappointed with the Cougar, the look was really starting to grow on me but definitely not worth the price. I was impressed with NZXT the most. Seasonic looked the best though.
Score
1
December 30, 2010 4:03:49 PM

Useful article if it weren't so biased. Didn't test Thermaltake or Silverstone at all. FFS you put SPARKLE in your review. Seriously? Why not some more serious contenders?
Score
-2
December 30, 2010 4:04:20 PM

I guess the Seasonic was not recommended because it failed that power on time when power is gone for a short time...

Though I'm puzzled - it says ATX v2.2 standard failed but I don't see any mention of the power supply being ATX v2.2 and I actually can't find any specific time value in the ATX 2.2 standard.

I did find the value of 17ms in the ATX v1.1 standard, and that's chosen because it's a full cycle of power of 60 Hz but nowhere in the ATX 2.2 standard.
Score
0
December 30, 2010 4:09:47 PM

I think these tests focus too much on efficiency. Lots of supplies are being made with an emphasis on efficiency while overlooking more importants things like ripple, and voltage regulation. More exotic loading methods, and cross loading are more likely to expose the pretender power supplies. Also, these units weren't tested at their thermal specification.

Why weren't the internals examined of these supplies? Knowing the components used and their design methods can give hints at long term durability and possible QC issues.


While these tests may be sufficient for normal consumer gear, this test was admittedly for higher end gaming equipment. If you don't have the equipment to test power supplies properly, or the wherewithal to test them vigorously and thoroughly, I don't think you should publish your results.
Score
4
December 30, 2010 4:12:28 PM

clownbaby said:
I think these tests focus too much on efficiency. Lots of supplies are being made with an emphasis on efficiency while overlooking more importants things like ripple, and voltage regulation. More exotic loading methods, and cross loading are more likely to expose the pretender power supplies. Also, these units weren't tested at their thermal specification.

Why weren't the internals examined of these supplies? Knowing the components used and their design methods can give hints at long term durability and possible QC issues.


While these tests may be sufficient for normal consumer gear, this test was admittedly for higher end gaming equipment. If you don't have the equipment to test power supplies properly, or the wherewithal to test them vigorously and thoroughly, I don't think you should publish your results.


+1,000,000
Score
1
December 30, 2010 4:41:52 PM

Would've liked to see the xfx 750w BE tested
Score
0
Anonymous
a b 4 Gaming
a b ) Power supply
December 30, 2010 4:44:25 PM

i use sirtec hp-500-a12s 500W . about 3 years past since then. no problem phenom 2 720 x3 0C and 8800 gts OC ( now i have 5750 vapor-x), 4Gb RAM , raid 0 , asus xonar. still ultra silent and cool
Score
0
December 30, 2010 4:47:31 PM

Got an OCZ ModXstream 700W that I got for 54$... the best damn thing I bought for that price.
Score
0
December 30, 2010 6:31:19 PM

I guess its been mentioned here enough times already, but the Seasonic should have garnered a recommendation. Perhaps its was too expensive? Unless things have changed over the last few months, Seasonic is generally considered by most enthusiasts to be the very best manufacturer of PSUs. The only reason not to buy them is because they can be expensive. And yes, many other vendors sell rebranded Seasonics.
Score
2
December 30, 2010 6:39:17 PM

I've got a Seasonic X-750 just waiting to go into my next build. I bought it when it went on sale at NewEgg, and now I'm just waiting the Sandy Bridge CPUs before I buy the rest of the system. Not sure why Tom's doesn't give this one a recommendation. Everybody else does.
Score
6
Anonymous
a b 4 Gaming
a b ) Power supply
December 30, 2010 7:33:05 PM

I dont get this high Wattage demand.... i have a amd 640 with 8 giggs of ram, radeon 5670 with 2x1TB hdd, 24" lcd and my power draw goes from 130 at idle to 240 when playing gta IV at highest settings available, so what on earth ppl ???
Score
0
December 30, 2010 7:44:41 PM

I would like to know at what load they measured the hold-up time.
Is there a way to know it?
Score
1
December 30, 2010 8:17:34 PM

I don't know what Tom's been smoking but Seasonic X-750 should definitely be on the recommended list.
Score
2
December 30, 2010 8:33:28 PM

While I understand you can't test EVERYTHING but wished there was Thermaltake PSU tested. Granted I've read from other sites the TruePower were excellent during testing I would have love to see them stake up against the rest...

Great article nonetheless!
Score
1
December 30, 2010 8:59:03 PM

Love nzxt rock solid and gold all the way got the 650 tho very good hardware. Thanks Tom for doing a review!
Score
-1
December 30, 2010 9:02:36 PM

To the Tom's Hardware crew that wrote this article:

You have committed a serious mistake in the recommendations, and for a simple reason: this site is read by people all over the world, yet you based you recommendations based on people who use 115v electricity. In many countries (in Europe for example), people use 220-230v.

Take the Corsair as an example: it passes all tests for people living in countries with 220-230v electricity. It is much harder to comply when you only have 115v, but you biased the conclusions because of the US having 115v. You should point that out clearly and make recommendations according to the electricity you have in each part of the world-
Score
1
December 30, 2010 9:17:05 PM

Now, I've been a regular Tom's reader for over a decade and I have to agree. To leave Seasonic out of the recommended list is unforgivable. This is a bad example of a power supply review.
Score
2
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