MSI MEG Ai1000P PCIe 5 ATX v3.0 Power Supply Review

MSI enters the high-end club with the MEG Ai1000P PCIe 5 power supply.

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MSI MEG Ai1000P PCIe5 ATX v3.0
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(Image: © Tom's Hardware)

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MSI has a strong entry in the high-end category, with the MEG Ai1000P PCIe 5, which as its code name implies comes with a 12VHPWR connector. This is a true ATX 3.0-ready PSU, able to keep up with the demands of the new generation GPUs and most likely with the upcoming ones, too, since the RTX 4090 doesn't require an ATX 3.0 or PCIe 5.0 ready PSU to operate correctly. It just needs a powerful unit, especially if you plan to push its power limit up to 600 watts. 

(Image credit: Tom's Hardware)

The MSI MEG Ai1000P PCIe 5 is a fine PSU, topping our performance charts. Its main competitors are the Seasonic Prime 1000 Platinum and the EVGA 1000 P6, none of which are ATX 3.0 and PCIe 5.0 ready.

Even if you plan on getting an Nvidia GeForce RTX 4090, you don’t need an ATX 3.0, PCIe 5.0 ready PSU. Older but strong PSUs will deliver the necessary power, though you'll have to deal with unwieldy (and possibly dangerous) adapters. So if you're spending well over  $1,000 on a new high-end graphics card, you may want to invest in one of these new power supplies. Even if you don't plan on buying a high-end GPU in the near future, if you're buying a new PSU now that you plan to use for several years, it's at least worth considering buying one that supports the latest standard.

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Disclaimer: Aris Mpitziopoulos is Tom's Hardware's PSU reviewer. He is also the Chief Testing Engineer of Cybenetics and developed the Cybenetics certification methodologies apart from his role on Tom's Hardware. Neither Tom's Hardware nor its parent company, Future PLC, are financially involved with Cybenetics. Aris does not perform the actual certifications for Cybenetics.

Aris Mpitziopoulos
Aris Mpitziopoulos
Contributing Editor

Aris Mpitziopoulos is a contributing editor at Tom's Hardware, covering PSUs.

9 Comments Comment from the forums
  • tummybunny
    Thanks for a fantastic and very detailed review. Something that isn't mentioned though is one of the really interesting new features of ATX 3.0.

    https://www.techpowerup.com/292563/intel-atx-3-0-16-pin-power-connector-for-pcie-gen5-is-smart-has-four-power-delivery-variants?cp=2

    "The 12VHPWR connector has 12 electrical pins and 4 side-band pins, for a total of 16 pins. The side-band pins enable low-fi communication between the power-supply and the graphics card, and two of these pins, labeled "SENSE0" and "SENSE1," let the graphics card know what kind of connector is plugged in, so it can accordingly adjust its power-management."

    What difference does this make to GPU performance? Perhaps you could argue it's something better discussed in a GPU review but I would like to hear about it one way or another.
    Reply
  • Hresna
    Great PSU coverage… although the standard formula I think misses some aspects of a complete review…

    For instance this model offers an MSI feature they all “gaming intelligence” via the USB connector… no mention of this in the article or how it works, what it does.

    I’ve been a longtime fan of Corsairs ‘i’ series which also use USB as the enabler, for the simple fact that it gives power output readings in hwinfo64 which is a fanstastic tool for dialing in power budgets, overclocks/undervolts, or just… those of us who like numbers and data. I can do without the iCUe software, which thankfully isn’t needed for this.

    Does MSI’s GI do that also?

    It’s extremely difficult to find PSU models with these sorts of features. At least the ‘i’ thing seems to be catching on and might serve as a semi-reliable indicator between manufacturers.
    Reply
  • halfcharlie
    Hresna said:
    For instance this model offers an MSI feature they all “gaming intelligence” via the USB connector… no mention of this in the article or how it works, what it does.

    What's this on the first page then?
    "there is compatibility with the MSI Gaming Intelligence application, through which you can adjust several settings, like the fan's speed and toggle on/off the single +12V mode while monitoring the PSU's vital functions and power delivery. " Also google exists.
    Reply
  • CheckYourFacts
    The Author asserts: "The four main FETs are installed into a full-bridge topology. " Where does he get that information from when the vendor says its a "LLC Half Bridge Topology with DC-DC module design "
    https://www.msi.com/Power-Supply/MEG-Ai1000P-PCIE5
    Reply
  • bignastyid
    CheckYourFacts said:
    The Author asserts: "The four main FETs are installed into a full-bridge topology. " Where does he get that information from when the vendor says its a "LLC Half Bridge Topology with DC-DC module design "
    https://www.msi.com/Power-Supply/MEG-Ai1000P-PCIE5
    Considering Aris is one of the top experts/reviewers in PSUs and he did a teardown. I'd believe him over the advertised specs any day.
    Reply
  • CheckYourFacts
    bignastyid said:
    Considering Aris is one of the top experts/reviewers in PSUs and he did a teardown. I'd believe him over the advertised specs any day.

    This is not about the authors reputation, which i know nothing about. It is about journalistic work ethics, his claim is in clear contradiction to the vendor claims.
    Reply
  • bignastyid
    CheckYourFacts said:
    This is not about the authors reputation, which i know nothing about. It is about journalistic work ethics, his claim is in clear contradiction to the vendor claims.
    He opened it up and wrote what he found. If anything that would put the companies ethics in question not the reviewers.
    Reply
  • Lutfij
    CheckYourFacts said:
    This is not about the authors reputation, which i know nothing about. It is about journalistic work ethics, his claim is in clear contradiction to the vendor claims.
    You might want to do a bit of digging and see what Kingston did within the last decade. If you can't find it, I'll help you;
    Kingston sent out SSD's to practically every reviewer known to the (tech)community and once sales drove up to remove practically all units off the shelves, people all stated how the speeds weren't the same as seen by reviewers in spite of the advertised material stating otherwise. A further digging by TekSyndicate/Level1 found out about how cherry picked samples were handed out to help garner a better image.

    That being said, please stop with the needless jabbing, the question falls onto the brand that sent the review sample out, not the person who opened up the unit to report what he'd seen. You're also talking about Aris, here. You're sneezing towards the wind.

    If you believe everything that the brand's marketing material states, then AIO coolers MSI released were the best coolers in the world, not the market, the world.
    Reply
  • Hresna
    halfcharlie said:
    What's this on the first page then?
    "there is compatibility with the MSI Gaming Intelligence application, through which you can adjust several settings, like the fan's speed and toggle on/off the single +12V mode while monitoring the PSU's vital functions and power delivery. " Also google exists.
    Okay so I missed that brief description.
    And yes google exists, but my point was, in a review for something, if you’re going to mention a unique feature - something that sets it apart from its competition - might be worthwhile including a fulsome description and reviewing its functionality.
    So I retract that it wasn’t described at all.
    Reply