I'm using Antec TPN for both work and home PC and were/are the best PSUs (price/performance/features wise) in their category. I think the internals are from seasonic M12. It's a DC-DC PSU with 5 year warranty and half the cabling is modular.
I would say just buy whatever everyone else is getting at time of purchase or whatever is known to be most compatible with your motherbaord (for home use that is).
Funny, my last system was an Antec Neopower480w that lasted through 2 builds and is currently at my dad's as a last-gen gaming rig. All systems were pretty heavily OC'd and it hasn't ever given me a problem.
I built my last system with a Tuniq and it's a piece of crap (bought it while "initial" reviews showed it to be good). :(
"As you may have heard, NVIDIA is launching a brand new pair of graphics cards tomorrow: the GeForce GTX 480 and GTX 470. In preparation for tomorrow's review we needed to update our GPU testbed power supply, in case a pair of these cards ended up pushing the limits of our existing 850W PSU."
WHat you meant to say is, "They called up and said, 'hey, the new cards out tomorrow so push our product and we'll provide the Green $$$'"
Anand posted a perfectly reasonable justification for this article in the first two sentences of his posting:
[quote]I'm trying my hands at a new feature here on AnandTech called This Just In. The idea is simple: when something that's not under NDA shows up at my doorstep, I'll snap some pics and post it for you all to see.[/quote]
Is this really SO IMPLAUSIBLE that you felt you needed to be a snide asshole about it?
I'm curious about noise. I know that the primary purpose of a 1200W supply is not to be silent. However, it's curious that it uses an 80mm fan. My Corsair HX620 uses a 120mm... and is beautifully silent. (And enough for many demanding video cards, if not pairs.)
High efficiency means lower heat output, so this 1200W PSU at 90% efficiency and 900W output (1000W input) will generate just as much heat as a hypothetical 500W PSU running at 400W output (and 500W input) at 80% efficiency.
As for noise, it wouldnt be so much if the fan is specified for "hot running" (hot internal temperature makes better heat transfer to the cooling air, so it will need less air and make less noise).
By the way, I love my 350W, 120mm fan PSU (Seasonic I think) - it runs completely silent. I wouldn't want noisy fans again
Out of curiosity, what Seasonic PSU do you have? I have a SS-350ET in my HTPC, and my ASUS motherboard complains about surges on startup. I RMAed it and the replacement came back doing the same thing (along with having a cut-off screw in one of the PSU mounting holes) so I am not sure if it is a problem with the PSU design in general or a motherboard problem.
I like the idea of the "This just in". Look at it this way, I didn't even know about this product....now I do. We're (mostly) all smart around here, if we're interested in something, we'll go research it :)
It's poor design, or at least lame design, to not fit the filter caps inside the case. And then it gets marketed as something special - 'PowerCache.' I pray that other companies don't pick up on this b.s., I don't want crap like this that should be inside the PSU on the cables instead just making assembly more of a pain.
I don't know if they are really needed - but if they're needed, the perfect position is just before the place where power is consumed.
That's why you saw power filtering capacitors near the CPU socket when the CPU coolers were small
Are they really needed? Graphic cards do have their own power modulation system and power filtering capacitors near the GPU chip... so this might help just for getting that 140% to 142% performance.
Correct, they are in the best position. Putting caps that close eliminates most of the cable inductance which can cause voltage overshoot/undershoot during fast transitions from low current to high current and vice-versa. With the amount of power video cards are drawing these days this is becoming more and more important. This is not power filtering but rather ensuring there is an ample amount of energy stored near the card for quick power increases/decreases. It's amazing how much ringing you get in a cable that's only 6-12in long when 20+ amps are thrown around.
Just to let you know Anand, there are a lot of spam comments above that somehow got through the filter, you should delete them. I hate it as much as the next person, especially when it has nothing to do with the article!
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DeathRayLoveMachine - Saturday, March 27, 2010 - link
WHY NO LOVE FOR EARTH?!semo - Friday, March 26, 2010 - link
I'm using Antec TPN for both work and home PC and were/are the best PSUs (price/performance/features wise) in their category. I think the internals are from seasonic M12. It's a DC-DC PSU with 5 year warranty and half the cabling is modular.I would say just buy whatever everyone else is getting at time of purchase or whatever is known to be most compatible with your motherbaord (for home use that is).
7Enigma - Friday, March 26, 2010 - link
Funny, my last system was an Antec Neopower480w that lasted through 2 builds and is currently at my dad's as a last-gen gaming rig. All systems were pretty heavily OC'd and it hasn't ever given me a problem.I built my last system with a Tuniq and it's a piece of crap (bought it while "initial" reviews showed it to be good). :(
Franson - Sunday, March 28, 2010 - link
That post from rarson sounded more like a competitor trying to spread some bad reputation. Unfortunately too often these days.7Enigma - Friday, March 26, 2010 - link
I'm refreshing the main page waiting for the review Anand! :)damianrobertjones - Friday, March 26, 2010 - link
"As you may have heard, NVIDIA is launching a brand new pair of graphics cards tomorrow: the GeForce GTX 480 and GTX 470. In preparation for tomorrow's review we needed to update our GPU testbed power supply, in case a pair of these cards ended up pushing the limits of our existing 850W PSU."WHat you meant to say is, "They called up and said, 'hey, the new cards out tomorrow so push our product and we'll provide the Green $$$'"
:)
DeathRayLoveMachine - Saturday, March 27, 2010 - link
Anand posted a perfectly reasonable justification for this article in the first two sentences of his posting:[quote]I'm trying my hands at a new feature here on AnandTech called This Just In. The idea is simple: when something that's not under NDA shows up at my doorstep, I'll snap some pics and post it for you all to see.[/quote]
Is this really SO IMPLAUSIBLE that you felt you needed to be a snide asshole about it?
neogodless - Thursday, March 25, 2010 - link
I'm curious about noise. I know that the primary purpose of a 1200W supply is not to be silent. However, it's curious that it uses an 80mm fan. My Corsair HX620 uses a 120mm... and is beautifully silent. (And enough for many demanding video cards, if not pairs.)Calin - Friday, March 26, 2010 - link
High efficiency means lower heat output, so this 1200W PSU at 90% efficiency and 900W output (1000W input) will generate just as much heat as a hypothetical 500W PSU running at 400W output (and 500W input) at 80% efficiency.As for noise, it wouldnt be so much if the fan is specified for "hot running" (hot internal temperature makes better heat transfer to the cooling air, so it will need less air and make less noise).
By the way, I love my 350W, 120mm fan PSU (Seasonic I think) - it runs completely silent. I wouldn't want noisy fans again
strikeback03 - Friday, March 26, 2010 - link
Out of curiosity, what Seasonic PSU do you have? I have a SS-350ET in my HTPC, and my ASUS motherboard complains about surges on startup. I RMAed it and the replacement came back doing the same thing (along with having a cut-off screw in one of the PSU mounting holes) so I am not sure if it is a problem with the PSU design in general or a motherboard problem.jackylman - Thursday, March 25, 2010 - link
1.21 gigawatts?!Yeah, I know, but someone had to post it..
Meaker10 - Thursday, March 25, 2010 - link
I see no capacitors on the cables? Only ferite rings.Christoph Katzer - Thursday, March 25, 2010 - link
Ferrite? Where... I see only a plastic cap as it is a plastic cap. And oh wonder, there is a capacitor underneath...Meaker10 - Thursday, March 25, 2010 - link
They are not capacitors, they are usually used to dampen oscillations so are more like inductors or even resistors IIRC.TheUsual - Thursday, March 25, 2010 - link
Man, you've got me excited about tomorrow now. Hope I can sleep.Chapbass - Thursday, March 25, 2010 - link
I like the idea of the "This just in". Look at it this way, I didn't even know about this product....now I do. We're (mostly) all smart around here, if we're interested in something, we'll go research it :)Great idea, Anand!
blyndy - Thursday, March 25, 2010 - link
"large capacitors at the end of the PCIe power cables"capacitors?
I think you mean chokes.
ahar - Thursday, March 25, 2010 - link
"...rather than waiting until 2AM the morning..."Better than waiting for 2AM in the afternoon. ;)
nylint - Thursday, March 25, 2010 - link
Are those caps at the end of the PCI-E cables? They don't look like them at all...more like standard ferrite beads.nubie - Thursday, March 25, 2010 - link
Indeed the first thing I thought of was "ferrite", but it is not that or chokes, but a 16v 2200uf capacitor:http://www.jonnyguru.com/forums/showpost.php?p=580...">http://www.jonnyguru.com/forums/showpost.php?p=580...
(or you can google for antec truepower capacitor yourself and find it.)
MadMan007 - Thursday, March 25, 2010 - link
It's poor design, or at least lame design, to not fit the filter caps inside the case. And then it gets marketed as something special - 'PowerCache.' I pray that other companies don't pick up on this b.s., I don't want crap like this that should be inside the PSU on the cables instead just making assembly more of a pain.Calin - Friday, March 26, 2010 - link
I don't know if they are really needed - but if they're needed, the perfect position is just before the place where power is consumed.That's why you saw power filtering capacitors near the CPU socket when the CPU coolers were small
Are they really needed? Graphic cards do have their own power modulation system and power filtering capacitors near the GPU chip... so this might help just for getting that 140% to 142% performance.
jkostans - Friday, March 26, 2010 - link
Correct, they are in the best position. Putting caps that close eliminates most of the cable inductance which can cause voltage overshoot/undershoot during fast transitions from low current to high current and vice-versa. With the amount of power video cards are drawing these days this is becoming more and more important. This is not power filtering but rather ensuring there is an ample amount of energy stored near the card for quick power increases/decreases. It's amazing how much ringing you get in a cable that's only 6-12in long when 20+ amps are thrown around.oc3an - Thursday, March 25, 2010 - link
I agree. They look like ferrites.However they truly are capacitors. :)
Makes no sense to have ferrites there anyway.
-Patrick
GeorgeH - Thursday, March 25, 2010 - link
"in case ... that's not to say ... in case"Is NVIDIA's NDA Hit Squad really that scary? With a little more "badda-boom" and "youse guys" we'd have a Sopranos episode here. ;)
annihilat0r - Thursday, March 25, 2010 - link
850w not enough for Enrico Fermi Thermonuclear Meltdown?landerf - Thursday, March 25, 2010 - link
I'd be interested in seeing that pitted against the ABS Majesty 1100w, with the 80+ Gold rating. They're about the same price.simontay1984 - Wednesday, March 31, 2010 - link
Just to let you know Anand, there are a lot of spam comments above that somehow got through the filter, you should delete them. I hate it as much as the next person, especially when it has nothing to do with the article!