1000W-1200W Roundup: Five High-End PSUs
by Martin Kaffei on December 9, 2010 1:20 PM ESTCougar GX G1050 Noise
| Sound Pressure Level | |
| Load | dB(A) |
| 10% | 18 |
| 20% | 18 |
| 50% | 19 |
| 80% | 23 |
| 100% | 30 |
| 110% | 36 |
The Cougar is as silent as the OCZ at low loads, but it's louder at 100% and 110%. However, the GX series is still quieter than older designs with common Young Lin fans. It is nice to see less than 20dBA beneath 50% load.
Efficiency and PFC
| 230VAC, 50Hz | ||
| Load | Efficiency | PFC |
| 10% | 75% | 0.886 |
| 20% | 90% | 0.934 |
| 50% | 91% | 0.974 |
| 80% | 90% | 0.985 |
| 100% | 88% | 0.988 |
| 110% | 87% | 0.995 |
| 115VAC, 60Hz | ||
| Load | Efficiency | PFC |
| 10% | 73% | 0.979 |
| 20% | 88% | 0.978 |
| 50% | 90% | 0.993 |
| 80% | 88% | 0.995 |
| 100% | 86% | 0.996 |
| 110% | 84% | 0.996 |
With 89.79 % Cougar doesn't quite reach 80Plus Gold - unless you round up. Overall it does okay, and PFC is very high with both input voltages. The only real point of criticism is the low efficiency at 10% load (about 105W load); we'd recommend running high-end setups that idle at around 200W or more to get optimal efficiency from this PSU.
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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