It has been a while since they did a large mid-range PSU roundup, but different people are in the market for different products.
The thing is that the vast majority of mid-range power supplies ARE perfectly adequate for the vast majority of users in that market segment. Some are better, some are worse, but everything will generally come out okay. But if you're going to drop +$200 on a power supply it BETTER damn well perform! Of course if someone is looking to spend $20 on a 500W PSU for a gaming rig then they'll get what they're paying for.
Minion, Taft, those are good responses but don't really address Martin's point: Why would I, a reasonable enthusiast who has a quad core CPU, a decent single GPU, a hard drive or two and a DVD burner, really care about what's going on in the 1000w+ PSU market? Other than pure curiosity? I need a 550w power supply at worst, and I too would like to see more reviews reflect the need of the majority of users. This article was interesting, but it's ultimately useless for ~95% of the readers viewing it.
Totally agree. Xmas is coming n we're all shopping, n they do a 1000wt psu review? This review is for da .01% of users out there, by da reviewers own admission, why even bother?
Ditto! I have bought nothing but Corsair powersupplies for quite some time. I got tired of my Antec supplies dieing out on me so I switched to some of the others (Seasonic) but once I found the new (at the time) Corsair's lineup... There was no competition. And generally speaking, I don't buy their ram or other products, but their power supplies are rock solid.
Well, we can't test all brands out there, but we've already reviewed the AX 750, which is a very good PSU and this roundup wasn't the last one. I'm sure, Corsair will send more samples, if you are interested.
The AX 750 and the AX1200 are hardly comparable. You can't just assume by the model line, especially with corsair. They're not made by the same manufacturer. The AX is considered "god" tier at the moment, so it'd be expected to be in any such comparison.
I also have a few corairs and would have liked to see the AX1200 set along side the enermax Revolution 1250 or Galaxy 1000(that I also have both of) the REAL top end players seem to be missing from 1000W+ review.
...it's good to expose that some known and unknown brands have mediocre PSU quality. Now days you need to consider accurate PSU reviews on the specific model PSU you are considering purchasing as the quality and performance can vary drastically from one PSU model to another of the same brand.
Even the Corsair CMPSU-1000HX or CMPSU-950TX would have been interesting in the mix. Let alone the AX1200 monster.
But still, the majority of users who aren't running tripple SLI won't need anything more than a 600-900W unit depending. It would be more interesting to see a good comparison of say the ~750W range. That'll hold most systems even with two GPUs in many cases. But no problem at all with any single GPU as the majority of users run.
nice roundup though the outcome was predictable. I would have like to see some other heavy hitters other than antec included, i.e. mainly corsair, but also enermax, pc p&c, and maybe silverstone.
I've been using mostly antec psus in my builds for a while. I like their low end series supplies, and the earthwatts series. I am running the SG850 in my personal rig. For my next personal workstation I plan to go bigger (dual socket). The antec hcp 1200 performs great by all accounts, but I have to say I would prefer a fully modular supply on a high end unit. The only thing I disliked about my SG850 was the cabling; it was also a pain to re-sleeve.
It would be nice to have a psu I didn't feel like re-sleeving. The sleeving on my sg850 was pretty atrocious. The hcp 1200 is a bit better.
I'd also like fully modular because it's easier for me to make custom length cables, and not have to deal with hiding extraneous hard wire cables. My sg850 has both 4 pin and 8 pin 12v eps cables. Who needs a 4 pin eps cable on a high end power supply? At least make it a single 4pinx2 connector.
The other advantage to fully modular cabling could be in balancing load across the rails as I need or want.
I'd be happy paying a premium for an hcp1200 with fully modular connectors.
The other comments are right, seems like a bunch of bigger names often synonymous with quality are missing from this review. You guys only review what the manufacturers send over for free now or what? I don't think I would buy any of these...
Thought it was kind of interesting that while the article mentioned the AeroCool's amazing carbon fiber exterior more than once, there were no pictures of that exterior in the whole article. Maybe that was to dissuade us from buying a terrible power supply based on looks? :)
Also, in the Cooler Master review, it says that the fan has 7 blades, when in the picture it has 11 or something like that.
I took the plunge and bought 3x 27.5" 1920 * 1200 monitors for use in an NVIDIA 2D Surround View setup and it's rejuvenated my love for gaming. I have 2x GTX 470s in SLI and need to add a third to be able to play all the games I want to in full triple monitor 6180 x 1200 resolution (bezel adjusted).
I need to upgrade my PC Power & Cooling 750W PS to accommodate the extra power for the third card and this review couldn’t have come at a better time for me.
I’m not a trust fund baby, just a lowly network administrator at an upstate NY community college who decided to invest a few extra $$hundred (okay, maybe a couple “few extra $$hundred) and try the world of Surround View gaming. I can’t recommend it highly enough if you’re a PC gamer.
I'm sure there are more good PSUs and there will be more roundups in future. Maybe there is a PSU, which is better than Antec. Who knows. But I have to say, Delta is actually a very good manufacturer. So it is more the work of Delta I like, not the ideas from Antec. The cable management needs some improvements.
Kind of a dark horse pick I guess but I'd really just like to see some more 'ink' on Powercolor's 1000w design because well, I haven't heard a bad thing about it yet, and the price is right.
Any PSU review without obvious king of the market (Corsair) is completely pointless.
Who, in the right frame of mind, will buy AeroCool, Cooler Master or OCZ when Corsair cost is exactly the same or much less (at least where I live), Corsair offers superior performance in every price range when compared to any competitor, absolutely astonishing customer care and equally superior quality. It is complete no-brainer!
In all honestly I would buy Tagan, Thermaltake or Enermax (even if I had some issues with them) over AC, CM or OCZ every single time.
Corsair supplies are great and should have been included in any review. You make it sound like Corsair makes their own supplies but they don't. The AX series is made by Seasonic and based on the X series. Their other supplies are made either by CWT or Seasonic. Both of which make great supplies. So in reality any PSU comparison review must include supplies built by Seasonic and CWT.
Actually the AX1200 that is the king of the desktop power supplies right now is made by Flextronics. Corsair uses 2 different OEMs in their AX line up. This is why the AX1200 is the only model from the AX line I would consider. I already have a HX850 so would gain next to nothing with a AX850
If a midtier review is being considered, please include some push/pull designs, or at least some high quality PSU's with an open grate in the front, and a fan in the back. Some of us are stuck with cases with wind tunnels like an antec p180 and the like, these do not lend well to a top/bottom mounted fan.
When you perform a more thorough review, please include the "Thermaltake ToughPower 80 Plus Power Supply". I just purchased one and would love to know how it stacks up vs. the competition.
I'd also appreciate a bit more detail regarding the comment that a 1200 is overkill for most people. While I'm sure that's true, if you run some of the powersupply estimators availble online it's somewhat surprising how much power they suggest (I run two GTX 580's (not 3) to my HP ZR30W and they suggested a 1075 psu minimum with my setup.)
Alot of people asked for ax1200 for good reason. Jonnyguru has a very complete test of this psu. It is rated very high on efficiency. No mention of it there but more than a few buyer reviews complain of coil whine. There is also a youtube vid displaying this. Still my choice and arrives tomorrow. Btw another site successfully ran four gtx 480s on it. Impressive but point of diminishing returns. Good luck with your choices. If this post stays up I will continue to visit this site. New here.
Anandtech has run tests on mainstream PSUs recently - and runs more of them than on these kinds of PSUs. As far as people like you it's an obvious waste of time anyway, I doubt you'd actually read the articles if you found them.
It would be great if Anandtech could do a roundup of a few 550w to 750w PSU units, as most mainstream users are using PSU units within this wattage range.
We’ve updated our terms. By continuing to use the site and/or by logging into your account, you agree to the Site’s updated Terms of Use and Privacy Policy.
Facebook
Twitter
RSS
44 Comments
Back to Article
Marlin1975 - Thursday, December 9, 2010 - link
How about more reviews on items that most would use, not a very small subset.I have a 600wat power supply and only bought that due to sale/coupon over the 500watt. My HTPC has a 380 etc...
Test the PS's that are lowwer priced but still 80% rated and see if they really hold up for most builders.
Minion4Hire - Thursday, December 9, 2010 - link
It has been a while since they did a large mid-range PSU roundup, but different people are in the market for different products.The thing is that the vast majority of mid-range power supplies ARE perfectly adequate for the vast majority of users in that market segment. Some are better, some are worse, but everything will generally come out okay. But if you're going to drop +$200 on a power supply it BETTER damn well perform! Of course if someone is looking to spend $20 on a 500W PSU for a gaming rig then they'll get what they're paying for.
Taft12 - Thursday, December 9, 2010 - link
If modular is a requirement (and it should be for mid-range+) Seasonic M12II 520W or 620W is probably the best you can do in the $75-100 range.michaelheath - Thursday, December 9, 2010 - link
Minion, Taft, those are good responses but don't really address Martin's point: Why would I, a reasonable enthusiast who has a quad core CPU, a decent single GPU, a hard drive or two and a DVD burner, really care about what's going on in the 1000w+ PSU market? Other than pure curiosity? I need a 550w power supply at worst, and I too would like to see more reviews reflect the need of the majority of users. This article was interesting, but it's ultimately useless for ~95% of the readers viewing it.MeanBruce - Friday, December 10, 2010 - link
Useless is right!AnandTech for SSDs and Smartphones and Applegear.
JonnyGuru.com for Power Supplies.
Tom Logan at Overclock3D for cases, cooling, and motherboards.
Experience is Everything!
Experience is Everything!
poohbear - Sunday, December 12, 2010 - link
Totally agree. Xmas is coming n we're all shopping, n they do a 1000wt psu review? This review is for da .01% of users out there, by da reviewers own admission, why even bother?Martin Kaffei - Monday, December 13, 2010 - link
3x 550http://www.anandtech.com/show/3985/three-550w-psus...
1x 460
http://www.anandtech.com/show/3962/seasonic-x460fl...
1x 380
http://www.anandtech.com/show/3902/antec-earthwatt...
1x 300
coming soon
RagingForces - Thursday, December 9, 2010 - link
Thanks for the article. I am in the market for these type PSUs and am glad to see a roundup article. This is why I come to Anandtech :)Vicey - Thursday, December 9, 2010 - link
I'm surprised that the AX1200 by Corsair wasn't included as to be honest that is the only PSU in the 1200W range I'd consider buying.dajeepster - Thursday, December 9, 2010 - link
I'm surprised too... I have both the Corsair AX1200 and the OCZZ1000SirGCal - Thursday, December 9, 2010 - link
Ditto! I have bought nothing but Corsair powersupplies for quite some time. I got tired of my Antec supplies dieing out on me so I switched to some of the others (Seasonic) but once I found the new (at the time) Corsair's lineup... There was no competition. And generally speaking, I don't buy their ram or other products, but their power supplies are rock solid.Squuiid - Thursday, December 9, 2010 - link
+1Where's the Corsair?!
aandea - Thursday, December 9, 2010 - link
+1Where's the Corsair?!
Martin Kaffei - Friday, December 10, 2010 - link
Well, we can't test all brands out there, but we've already reviewed the AX 750, which is a very good PSU and this roundup wasn't the last one. I'm sure, Corsair will send more samples, if you are interested.landerf - Friday, December 10, 2010 - link
The AX 750 and the AX1200 are hardly comparable. You can't just assume by the model line, especially with corsair. They're not made by the same manufacturer. The AX is considered "god" tier at the moment, so it'd be expected to be in any such comparison.landerf - Friday, December 10, 2010 - link
Meant AX1200Havor - Friday, December 10, 2010 - link
Still the AX1200 belongs among the tested products as its the only one that is in the same range as the Antec High Current Pro 1200WJerricho24 - Friday, December 10, 2010 - link
I also have a few corairs and would have liked to see the AX1200 set along side the enermax Revolution 1250 or Galaxy 1000(that I also have both of)the REAL top end players seem to be missing from 1000W+ review.
Beenthere - Thursday, December 9, 2010 - link
...it's good to expose that some known and unknown brands have mediocre PSU quality. Now days you need to consider accurate PSU reviews on the specific model PSU you are considering purchasing as the quality and performance can vary drastically from one PSU model to another of the same brand.SirGCal - Thursday, December 9, 2010 - link
Even the Corsair CMPSU-1000HX or CMPSU-950TX would have been interesting in the mix. Let alone the AX1200 monster.But still, the majority of users who aren't running tripple SLI won't need anything more than a 600-900W unit depending. It would be more interesting to see a good comparison of say the ~750W range. That'll hold most systems even with two GPUs in many cases. But no problem at all with any single GPU as the majority of users run.
mattgmann - Thursday, December 9, 2010 - link
nice roundup though the outcome was predictable. I would have like to see some other heavy hitters other than antec included, i.e. mainly corsair, but also enermax, pc p&c, and maybe silverstone.I've been using mostly antec psus in my builds for a while. I like their low end series supplies, and the earthwatts series. I am running the SG850 in my personal rig. For my next personal workstation I plan to go bigger (dual socket). The antec hcp 1200 performs great by all accounts, but I have to say I would prefer a fully modular supply on a high end unit. The only thing I disliked about my SG850 was the cabling; it was also a pain to re-sleeve.
Antec_Jessie - Thursday, December 9, 2010 - link
Am I to understand that you want the fully modular cables for ease of sleeving?Thanks for the feedback!
mattgmann - Thursday, December 9, 2010 - link
It would be nice to have a psu I didn't feel like re-sleeving. The sleeving on my sg850 was pretty atrocious. The hcp 1200 is a bit better.I'd also like fully modular because it's easier for me to make custom length cables, and not have to deal with hiding extraneous hard wire cables. My sg850 has both 4 pin and 8 pin 12v eps cables. Who needs a 4 pin eps cable on a high end power supply? At least make it a single 4pinx2 connector.
The other advantage to fully modular cabling could be in balancing load across the rails as I need or want.
I'd be happy paying a premium for an hcp1200 with fully modular connectors.
sirmixmasta - Thursday, December 9, 2010 - link
The other comments are right, seems like a bunch of bigger names often synonymous with quality are missing from this review. You guys only review what the manufacturers send over for free now or what? I don't think I would buy any of these...racerx_is_alive - Thursday, December 9, 2010 - link
Thought it was kind of interesting that while the article mentioned the AeroCool's amazing carbon fiber exterior more than once, there were no pictures of that exterior in the whole article. Maybe that was to dissuade us from buying a terrible power supply based on looks? :)Also, in the Cooler Master review, it says that the fan has 7 blades, when in the picture it has 11 or something like that.
CTMorseJr - Thursday, December 9, 2010 - link
I took the plunge and bought 3x 27.5" 1920 * 1200 monitors for use in an NVIDIA 2D Surround View setup and it's rejuvenated my love for gaming. I have 2x GTX 470s in SLI and need to add a third to be able to play all the games I want to in full triple monitor 6180 x 1200 resolution (bezel adjusted).I need to upgrade my PC Power & Cooling 750W PS to accommodate the extra power for the third card and this review couldn’t have come at a better time for me.
I’m not a trust fund baby, just a lowly network administrator at an upstate NY community college who decided to invest a few extra $$hundred (okay, maybe a couple “few extra $$hundred) and try the world of Surround View gaming. I can’t recommend it highly enough if you’re a PC gamer.
cactusdog - Friday, December 10, 2010 - link
Did Antec pay for this review? Seems odd to include only bad PSUs for comparison. I.m guessing Antec chose the PSUs to test.Martin Kaffei - Friday, December 10, 2010 - link
Not true.In a payed review you would see a Gold Award. ;)
I'm sure there are more good PSUs and there will be more roundups in future. Maybe there is a PSU, which is better than Antec. Who knows. But I have to say, Delta is actually a very good manufacturer. So it is more the work of Delta I like, not the ideas from Antec. The cable management needs some improvements.
squidyj - Friday, December 10, 2010 - link
Kind of a dark horse pick I guess but I'd really just like to see some more 'ink' on Powercolor's 1000w design because well, I haven't heard a bad thing about it yet, and the price is right.ypsylon - Friday, December 10, 2010 - link
Any PSU review without obvious king of the market (Corsair) is completely pointless.Who, in the right frame of mind, will buy AeroCool, Cooler Master or OCZ when Corsair cost is exactly the same or much less (at least where I live), Corsair offers superior performance in every price range when compared to any competitor, absolutely astonishing customer care and equally superior quality. It is complete no-brainer!
In all honestly I would buy Tagan, Thermaltake or Enermax (even if I had some issues with them) over AC, CM or OCZ every single time.
dubyadubya - Friday, December 10, 2010 - link
Corsair supplies are great and should have been included in any review. You make it sound like Corsair makes their own supplies but they don't. The AX series is made by Seasonic and based on the X series. Their other supplies are made either by CWT or Seasonic. Both of which make great supplies. So in reality any PSU comparison review must include supplies built by Seasonic and CWT.scook9 - Friday, December 10, 2010 - link
Actually the AX1200 that is the king of the desktop power supplies right now is made by Flextronics. Corsair uses 2 different OEMs in their AX line up. This is why the AX1200 is the only model from the AX line I would consider. I already have a HX850 so would gain next to nothing with a AX850brotj7 - Friday, December 10, 2010 - link
If a midtier review is being considered, please include some push/pull designs, or at least some high quality PSU's with an open grate in the front, and a fan in the back. Some of us are stuck with cases with wind tunnels like an antec p180 and the like, these do not lend well to a top/bottom mounted fan.Wander7 - Friday, December 10, 2010 - link
I've had 2 Antec Neos die on me the last three years. Hope no one else has my luckvol7ron - Friday, December 10, 2010 - link
Cougar has a CMX 1000w PSU, does anyone know how this compares to the GX 1050?Martin Kaffei - Monday, December 13, 2010 - link
It's a little bit worse.Same fan, less 8-pin PCIe connectors, less efficiency.
TechieFan - Saturday, December 11, 2010 - link
When you perform a more thorough review, please include the "Thermaltake ToughPower 80 Plus Power Supply". I just purchased one and would love to know how it stacks up vs. the competition.I'd also appreciate a bit more detail regarding the comment that a 1200 is overkill for most people. While I'm sure that's true, if you run some of the powersupply estimators availble online it's somewhat surprising how much power they suggest (I run two GTX 580's (not 3) to my HP ZR30W and they suggested a 1075 psu minimum with my setup.)
METALMORPHASIS - Sunday, December 12, 2010 - link
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N8...I don't need anything bigger to start my car with yet.
And thats more than enough for my rig today.
JimDDuncan - Monday, December 13, 2010 - link
Alot of people asked for ax1200 for good reason. Jonnyguru has a very complete test of this psu. It is rated very high on efficiency. No mention of it there but more than a few buyer reviews complain of coil whine. There is also a youtube vid displaying this. Still my choice and arrives tomorrow. Btw another site successfully ran four gtx 480s on it. Impressive but point of diminishing returns. Good luck with your choices. If this post stays up I will continue to visit this site. New here.Sabresiberian - Wednesday, December 15, 2010 - link
Anandtech has run tests on mainstream PSUs recently - and runs more of them than on these kinds of PSUs. As far as people like you it's an obvious waste of time anyway, I doubt you'd actually read the articles if you found them.JimDDuncan - Tuesday, December 21, 2010 - link
who is your post aimed at sabresberi?mapesdhs - Monday, December 20, 2010 - link
Martin,
Just curious, how do these PSUs compare to existing units which have been out for
a while, eg. the Thermaltake Toughpower 1000W Modular? Any thoughts?
Ian.
Martin Kaffei - Monday, December 20, 2010 - link
Hey,apart from the fact that the Thermaltake (CWT 2x 500W Design) is less efficient than most actual PSUs, the voltage quality is almost perfect.
DC-DC, good caps and filtering, not faraway from Corsair HX. A proven design.
Cooling could be better, since many components are close together. However, still uncritical temps.
ghanz - Monday, January 17, 2011 - link
It would be great if Anandtech could do a roundup of a few 550w to 750w PSU units, as most mainstream users are using PSU units within this wattage range.