Is it possible to buy a future-proofed power supply?

[tigersty1e]

Basically, I want a PSU that is future proofed that could possibly go in my next rig in a couple of months and then be used again in 2-3 years when I rebuild. Is this possible or do they always throw in some gimmick to make older PSU units unusable?

For instance, I've seen older PSUs that were rated 500watts and above, but because it lacks the necessary wattage in the 12v cable, they can't be used with today's video cards.

What's your suggestion for a good future proofed PSU that can be used in a medium-high end rig in about 3-4 years from now?


Also, what kind of features should I be looking into? How many total watts? How many watts in the 12v cable? Any other specs I should pay attention to?

 

[KeithTalent]

I purchased my most recent one with this intention, but I also purchased my previous one (500W Seasonic) with the intention of keeping it for a couple years and it was sold within 9 months.

I think you are probably just better off getting what you need now and upgrading down the road if you need to. I was expecting power requirements to go down or stay relatively the same, but they have actually gone up. Morseo in the GPU area, but still.

Cheers,
KT

 

[mpilchfamily]

There will always be changes to the needs of the PSU. The most recent addition has been the PCI-e2.0 specification that basicly added a new 8pin PCI-e connector to the PSUs. Future cards will require the use of the 8 pin connector. Currently the 2900 can use 2 x 6pin or if you want full functinality of the card then you need 1 x 6pin and 1 x 8pin. So if you want future proof the PSU needs to have at least 1 x 8pin PCI-e connector. Check the link below.

http://www.xcpus.com/forums/showthread.php?t=110

There you will find a list of top quality PSUs and there key features. Any that have 8pin of 6+2pin, same connector, will be you more future proof options. But who knows waht the future power needs of your system will be. For all we know this time next year they make a breakthrough cutting the power consumption of CPUs and GPUs in half. You just never know.