1000W-1200W Roundup: Five High-End PSUs
by Martin Kaffei on December 9, 2010 1:20 PM ESTCooler Master Silent Pro Gold 1200W Noise
| Sound Pressure Level | |
| Load | dB(A) |
| 10% | 22 |
| 20% | 22 |
| 50% | 24 |
| 80% | 30 |
| 100% | 37 |
| 110% | 45 |
"Silent" Pro? That may be the most unsuitable name for a PSU like this. At high load the Cooler Master is as loud as the old PC Power and Cooling Turbo Cool 1000W. Even at low load Cooler Master is no match for the other PSUs in this roundup. 30 dBA at 80% load is far too much for a "silent" PSU; they really need a new brand name for their higher wattage PSUs. It's no secret that such power supplies need more cooling than smaller units, and no one expects silence from a 1200W PSU.
Efficiency and PFC
| 230VAC, 50Hz | ||
| Load | Efficiency | PFC |
| 10% | 83% | 0.840 |
| 20% | 90% | 0.877 |
| 50% | 91% | 0.930 |
| 80% | 91% | 0.952 |
| 100% | 89% | 0.958 |
| 110% | 89% | 0.962 |
| 115VAC, 60Hz | ||
| Load | Efficiency | PFC |
| 10% | 82% | 0.941 |
| 20% | 88% | 0.949 |
| 50% | 90% | 0.976 |
| 80% | 88% | 0.983 |
| 100% | 87% | 0.985 |
| 110% | 86% | 0.986 |
While the other results are somewhat disappointing, Cooler Master shows a high efficieny at 230VAC. Starting from 20% the efficiency is above 89%. As usual, 115VAC is slightly lower, particularly from 80% to 110% load. The results at 10% are also decent, coming in above 80% in both our tests.
To answer our question from the last page, then, the Silent Pro Gold 1200W does end up with better results than the Cougar GX, at least in the efficiency department. Let's see how our final PSU compares before coming to a conclusion.
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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 OCZZ1000