Is buying a 1200W PCP&P just stupid?

[garritynet]

Originally posted by: Zepper
When talking 650W and up, it is really hard to get a decent quality unit for cheap bucks. You may get an Apevia, Coolmax or other third- or fourth-string box for cheap, but they'd not be what a gamer or technical user or seasoned hobbyist would want.

.bh.

Depends on what you mean by cheap. If you are willing to spend $500 on a PSU I bet you can find lots of 650watt+ PSUs that could be considered cheap in comparison.

 

[JEDIYoda]

Originally posted by: BTRY B 529th FA BN
Enermax Revolution 1250w ; 92% efficiency ; state of the art ; their own PSU maker etc etc.

sorry Enermax does not manufacture there own PSU`s!
You are completely wacky if the sole criteria you have for buying a PSU is based on efficiency!!

Efficiency is NOT a reflection of build quality!

 

[Jessica69]

Originally posted by: JEDIYoda

Originally posted by: BTRY B 529th FA BN
Enermax Revolution 1250w ; 92% efficiency ; state of the art ; their own PSU maker etc etc.

sorry Enermax does not manufacture there own PSU`s!

And, for that matter, PCPower&Cooling doesn't manufacture anything either.....they are just a rebrander and wiring modifier of power supplies other OEM's build like Enermax, if you're going down that road.

At least Enermax does try to do positive fixes on their power supplies, such as finally replacing the conductive caulking that was used in the original Liberty power supplies, which was causing the one-year-and-it-explodes syndrome, with non-conductive caulking.....

Contrast that to a very well known and high end power supply designer that completely fubar'd their tri-rail 1Kw power supply design (underpowered the cpu's rail then stupidly put all the PCI-e, Molex, SATA connectors on the +12V3 rail, then only gave it 36A avail. on that rail.....which caused the inevitable failures/shutdowns of the power supply when being used to power two high end/high draw video cards in SLI/Crossfire. Rail distribution was 16A/16A/36A across the +12V1, V2, V3 rails respectively. Disaster waiting to happen....horrible distribution!)

Their fix? Rather than redistribute the amperage better, they just dumped the multi-rail design for a single massive rail. I guess it was just easier to make a single rail than properly design a multi-rail power supply that wouldn't overload when asked to do what it should have done with ease.....power two 8800GTX/9800GTX video cards in SLI. Amazing that other power supply designers are able to do just that, but this particular one seemed incapable of properly designing one.

Hmmmmm.......and then the cherry on top of the cake is to start spreading marketing FUD about how horrible multi-rail designs are, despite the fact that their failure in multi-rail design was their own design fault, not from any inherent design "flaw" of multi-rail power supplies.

 

[OddJensen]

Hum.... I was always under the impression that Enermax did their own units. But who is their OEM if they're not making them?

 

[HOOfan 1]

Originally posted by: OddJensen
Hum.... I was always under the impression that Enermax did their own units. But who is their OEM if they're not making them?

Enermax designs their own units...but they contract out to build them...I don't know who though, it might even change.

Just like Impervio design their own units but they are built by IS Quasar...and sometimes Etasis.

 

[Jessica69]

Originally posted by: HOOfan 1

Originally posted by: OddJensen
Hum.... I was always under the impression that Enermax did their own units. But who is their OEM if they're not making them?

Enermax designs their own units...but they contract out to build them...I don't know who though, it might even change.

Just like Impervio design their own units but they are built by IS Quasar...and sometimes Etasis.

And there's absolutely nothing wrong with doing that......but you get some people who insist particular brands build their ps's themselves when it's a known fact they're built by other OEM's....to the spec of the designer company, of course.

Corsair does this, too.....Seasonic and Channel Well are their two OEM's....but while built by those OEM's on existing designs, the basic design is tweaked by Corsair to their own specs......

 

[OddJensen]

Well, I figgered the platform was their own design. JEDIYodas statement just puzzled me a bit, it seemed to me that he was implying it was not. Thanks for the clarification.

 

[JAG87]

Originally posted by: BTRY B 529th FA BN
Enermax Revolution 1250w ; 92% efficiency ; state of the art ; their own PSU maker etc etc.

What he said, except the 1250w model is only for europe (240v). The 1050w model is currently the best psu on the market.

It has 2x 8 pin CPU, and 8x pci-e 6/8 pin. Funny thing there are two native plugs and four modular 12P plugs (each plug branches into 2x pci-e plugs). You only get 3 modular plugs in the box, but you can call enermax and buy a fourth cable if you need to (I have spare cables from my Pro 82+ psu) and you have 10x pci-e 6/8 pin. So technically you can power FIVE top of the line GPUs. Pointless? Definitely for now, but no other psu can claim that. And on top of that it's incredibly efficient, quiet, and looks aesthetically amazing. I got one sitting on my floor, waiting... waiting... staring at me with puppy eyes.

So to answer your original question, Yes. Buying a 1200W PCP&C is stupid. Not because it's a bad product (god forbid), but because there is something better that is even cheaper.

 

[Evenkeel]

Okay... been pondering, and doing some reading/research as time permits. HOOfan mentioned the BFG ES-800--I've done a little reading on this, and it seems like a decent unit.

But...

I wondered why I didn't see it on Newegg. Look at this:

ES-800 deactivated?!?

I thought this was a brand new unit. Tho there were about the usual number of DOA and/or "it blew up" complaints on Newegg's reviews, it seems odd that this new unit is pulled already. On the "HardwareLogic" website review of this item, the only seller they mention is... Dell?!? Huh?

Does anyone know what's going on w/this unit?

Additional: Ands at the price it was selling for--around $210-$230--a PCP&C 860 runs $239 right now, before a $30 MIR. Amazon has it for $215 before the same rebate. Since my current rig has been running a PCP&C 860 for the past year w/no probs, unless someone has another unit that might blow my socks off--non-explosively, I mean--I might go w/the 860. Comments?

 

[HOOfan 1]

Well again the 860 is a server grade unit and as such costs a ton.

The Antec Signature 850 is also server grade...but quieter....although probably about the same price.

Jonnyguru who works for BFG said he saw more newegg reviews about DOA unit than RMAs coming in...meaning either these people are not RMAing, or a bunch of those reviews are full of it. As to why it is deactivated I am not sure. BFG got a license from Ultra to make Modular supplies and when someone asked Jonny whether there would be a modular version of the ES800 or not he said "not until all of the non-modular units are gone"....perhaps that has something to do with it (pure speculation).

Other than that...Enermax Revolution as already stated or Seasonic M12D 850W...of course both are extremely expensive as well.

Corsair HX1000 cheaper than all of them, rock solid, Corsair support, 5 year warranty. It isn't server grade like the Antec Signature or PC Power and Cooling though.

Seriously though, there are plenty of PSUs that would suit your needs.

 

[Evenkeel]

I've read thru the stickies, and--tho I probably missed how to do it--how does one exactly calculate the total power draw for a new build, to know how large a PSU to get, while still allowing some headroom?

I'm still speccing out my new build, but for example, let's say it will have a Core i7 940, X58-chipset-based mobo w/two x16 PCI-e slots, two 1 TB HDs, and for a GPU (today, at least) a Radeon 4870X2. What, roughly, would the power draw be on that?

Let's say I went crazy and wanted to add a second 4870X2--what does that take us up to then? How about a little OC'ing?

And would something like the PCP&C 860 or equivalent be able to handle all that w/out strain?

 

[HOOfan 1]

There are power calculators out there like extremeoutervision...but it is really hard to figure out just how much power the system really will draw. There are articles out there and graphs showing total system draw with various configurations, but there is no telling if all components are getting stressed to their maximum.

I wouldn't think that dual HD4870X2s and a moderatly overclocked CPU would draw more than 650W-700W although it is suggested that you keep your PSU below 70% of rated draw. However I am sure the PC P&C 860 and Antec Signature 850 wouldn't even blink at that. For a single HD4870X2.....they would absolutely laugh at it.

 

[Woofmeister]

Originally posted by: garritynet

ETA: Quad 295 SLI at 650 watts under load. That is 76% load for a 850 watt PSU.

Yes, but that's only with a test system consisting of a QX9650, 4 GB of RAM and a single 150 GB Raptor Hard Drive.

The Core i7 draws more power at load and most of us who are considering 1200W PSUs are running three or more hard drives.

A good 1000w PSU should be more than sufficient but I'd be cautious about running Quad 295 SLI in a real-world i7 system with 850 watts if you hope to hit the 80% efficiency sweet spot.

 

[Evenkeel]

Okay, how does everyone feel about the ENERMAX REVOLUTION85+ ERV1050EWT 1050W? (Forget the price for now.)

What I am slowly learning about good PSUs seems to be present in this unit: Japanese caps, the new DC-to-DC topology, big quiet fan, big but still shorter than the 1200W PCP&C by almost 2", part hardwired and part modular, stable at both low and high loads, etc.

I know it's a bit pricey, and probably overkill for my initial speccing--i7 920, 6GB RAM, at least two 1TB HDs, two Radeon 4870X2 GPUs, etc. But I want to have some fun w/this build--I've been the cautious type in the past--and I'd maybe like to add some other goodies later. My QX9650 rig is still running fine (knock wood), so I'd have plenty of time to play and experiment.

But as I said, I'm the cautious type, and breaking away from my tried-and-true PCP&C units is a step for me, but I'd like to sample some other "cuisine", if you know what I mean. My question: is this Enermax unit going to last, or do they have a high DOA rate like I've read about on some other makers? If there is a problem, how responsive are they? As I said, I've been dealing w/PCP&C for awhile, and we all know they are very responsive.

The review here on AT is very positive; about the only ding they give it is on the price, but they qualify that by saying that it offers a whole lot for that high price. So again, forget the price, forget that it might be overkill at the moment, and just tell me: is this a good, reliable unit?

 

[HOOfan 1]

The last generation of Enermax units was known for getting great reviews but only lasting a year. This is a new unit, so its longevity is an unknown factor. I have heard Enermax support up in Canada is non-existent, although in America I believe it is supposed to be good.

Every company has DOAs though...even PC P&C and the new Antec Signature. Of course the people who get DOA units are going to be the ones who talk the loudest about the units.

 

[Woofmeister]

I'm trying to think of a 1000 watt PSU that's been better reviewed than the Revolution and nothing really comes to mind. I suppose the real question is does the difference in quality and 50 watts in maximum rated ouuput justify the $75 premium over the Corsair 1000HX?

Hint, go to this thread over at hot deals and see who low the price on the 1000HX can really be and then answer the question.

 

[Evenkeel]

Okay, so putting price aside--i.e., don't factor it into the decision--which PSU would everyone choose: the Corsair 1000HX, or the Enermax Revolution85+ 1050?

It did bother me a bit that the Enermax--even w/all its hype--only has a 3-yr. warranty, while I notice the Corsair has 5, but again, what would you choose?

P.S. Does the Corsair unit have all Japanese caps?

 

[HOOfan 1]

Originally posted by: Evenkeel

P.S. Does the Corsair unit have all Japanese caps?

Yes

 

[JAG87]

Anandtech Review

Even though these power supplies are anything but cheap, we are confident in making the statement that the Enermax Revolution 85+ is currently the most advanced consumer power supply available. It offers exceptional efficiency, voltage regulation, temperatures, and has very good build quality. It doesn't necessarily surpass the competition in every area, but it's always at the top of the charts. Ultimately, the innovations, feature set, and performance impress us so much that we are pleased to award the Enermax Revolution 85+ our Gold Editors' Choice Award. It's entirely possible that if you purchase the 1050W model, you could end up running the same PSU for the next couple of presidential elections -- and you can do so knowing your PC will be as green as a hybrid SUV.

I don't think it can be any clearer.