SladeX
Your corsair psu should be fine. I'm not seeing more than 850w pull from my system overclocked while benching and I have more hdd than you have.
 
The corsair psu is pretty decent, just ensure that you are providing separate sources for pcie power for each port and that the total wattage available exceeds 450w for the 3 plugs combined.

Mathieas
Hi all,
 
I current own a 10year old AX1200 PSU. I am quite uneasy about the age of this even though it has been working perfectly. I have started to look for a new PSU. My first question is, is a 1000W PSU enough for the 3090 FTW3 Ultra? I have seen reports of crazy high power spikes and i worry that 1000W may be insufficient. I am currently running a 6900k @4.2Ghz but plan to upgrade to ether the new Ryzen 5000 series or Intel's next offering Q1 next year in the near future. 
 
 
If 1000W is a reasonable power output max then the current PSU I am looking at is: EVGA SuperNOVA T2 1000W Titanium
 
I was also looking at two different 1200W units to replace my current 1200W unit: EVGA SuperNova P2 1200W Platinum(It is out of stock sadly) or Corsair HX1200 CP-9020140-NA. 
 
Speaking about the Corsair, I am having trouble seeing the point in going for the more expensive AX series again. Is there a benefit here i am missing if I have no interest in software monitoring of the PSU?
 
Thank you all for your help!
 
Mathieas

Dabadger84

HeavyHemi
I'm not sure why you're relating efficiency to overclocking or LN2. It isn't related. Platinum is related to how efficient the PSU is. Those who pay a bit for power, might appreciate the savings. Also more efficient runs cooler.
At $0.05 per KWhr it's not much of a concern for me. For those who pay several times that, it could be worth it. Also, build quality. Attaining that level of efficiency requires quality parts and build.

It's not about the efficiency as why I point out people use those for that, it's because they are the most likely to be able to handle huge load spikes OVER their limit, which LN2 can do.  Granted, I'm pretty sure any Platinum eVGA PSU can handle over it's supposed power output just fine for short periods of time as they're quality PSUs, but that's more of what I was refering to.  I know that Corsair used to brag about the fact that their 1200W PSUs (I'm talkin' back a while, when I had a Dual PSU setup & actually tested a single AX1200W PSU from them & got the draw at the wall well over the 1200+80% efficiency amount) could handle sustained load north of 1200W for an extended period of time.  
Nowadays, that's just expected, but it's not reality, for weaker units, and is there in most Platinum & Titanium level PSUs, because of their superior quality.
It's also about cost up front.  A good Platinum on sale for something like what I got mine for ($200 for the 1200 P2 I think it was, maybe even less) is reeeeeeeeeally unlikely to ever happen on Titanium PSUs because they're high end, not sold that much, and are not expected to sell that much.  And the power savings between a Platinum & a Titanium unless you're actually drawing the full 1200W (in which case you should go to a higher wattage to be safe anyway) is minute unless your electric rates are beyond insane, because you're only talkin' a few percentile points. - but your point about it technically being more cost efficient over time is true, especially if you hold on to it for the full 10 year warranty, it might almost pay for itself if one's electric rates are decently "not cheap".
 
Funny side note, I'm on solar, so if it's sunny I ain't payin' NUTTIN' lol (it's sunny about 270-300 days a year in the hell-hole I live in)
 
Edit: Oh and I would also point out, that AX1200W I had & used for several years... is still in use by the friend that bought it off me, and has been for at least 4 years, so it's goin' on, I think, 10 years old as well, and has not given him any issues... buuuuuuut having said that it's also only powering a system (for him) that draws around 300-450W at high load currently... that'll soon tick up a bit as he's buying my GTX 1080 Ti FTW3 Hybrid soon.  So overall, I would think the AX1200W would be fine, unless he's pushing craaaaazy high OCs.  But, on the safe side, you don't want your PSU going of old age & taking the whole system with it.

jankerson

buttabean
From what I read, a lot of psu that are platinum and titanium are actually upper gold wattage psu. So if you buy a 850 titanium or platinum, you could actually have a 950+ depending on the manufacturer. This allows them to get the much higher efficiency ratings.
 
I was pulling 880 watts with my 1950x threadripper oc to 4.0 with my 3090 stock bios and stock speeds. I lowered my oc to 3.9ghz and tuned in the vcore. Now hitting 600-700 watts from the wall. I have a seasonic platinum 850watt focus px-850. It hasn't shut off yet.
 
As for the age of a power supply. Capacitors tend to swell over time and eventually start to buzz with audio amps which then need to be replaced because they're no longer producing clean power. I would think the same thing will happen with the psu capacitors and probably fail. 

 
They actually aren't.
 
The are different PCB's and or different platforms (Or upgraded) from the GOLD and Platinum normally.
 
 

Dabadger84

HeavyHemi
I'm not sure why you're relating efficiency to overclocking or LN2. It isn't related. Platinum is related to how efficient the PSU is. Those who pay a bit for power, might appreciate the savings. Also more efficient runs cooler.
At $0.05 per KWhr it's not much of a concern for me. For those who pay several times that, it could be worth it. Also, build quality. Attaining that level of efficiency requires quality parts and build.

It's not about the efficiency as why I point out people use those for that, it's because they are the most likely to be able to handle huge load spikes OVER their limit, which LN2 can do.  Granted, I'm pretty sure any Platinum eVGA PSU can handle over it's supposed power output just fine for short periods of time as they're quality PSUs, but that's more of what I was refering to.  I know that Corsair used to brag about the fact that their 1200W PSUs (I'm talkin' back a while, when I had a Dual PSU setup & actually tested a single AX1200W PSU from them & got the draw at the wall well over the 1200+80% efficiency amount) could handle sustained load north of 1200W for an extended period of time.  
Nowadays, that's just expected, but it's not reality, for weaker units, and is there in most Platinum & Titanium level PSUs, because of their superior quality.
It's also about cost up front.  A good Platinum on sale for something like what I got mine for ($200 for the 1200 P2 I think it was, maybe even less) is reeeeeeeeeally unlikely to ever happen on Titanium PSUs because they're high end, not sold that much, and are not expected to sell that much.  And the power savings between a Platinum & a Titanium unless you're actually drawing the full 1200W (in which case you should go to a higher wattage to be safe anyway) is minute unless your electric rates are beyond insane, because you're only talkin' a few percentile points. - but your point about it technically being more cost efficient over time is true, especially if you hold on to it for the full 10 year warranty, it might almost pay for itself if one's electric rates are decently "not cheap".
 
Funny side note, I'm on solar, so if it's sunny I ain't payin' NUTTIN' lol (it's sunny about 270-300 days a year in the hell-hole I live in)
 
Edit: Oh and I would also point out, that AX1200W I had & used for several years... is still in use by the friend that bought it off me, and has been for at least 4 years, so it's goin' on, I think, 10 years old as well, and has not given him any issues... buuuuuuut having said that it's also only powering a system (for him) that draws around 300-450W at high load currently... that'll soon tick up a bit as he's buying my GTX 1080 Ti FTW3 Hybrid soon.  So overall, I would think the AX1200W would be fine, unless he's pushing craaaaazy high OCs.  But, on the safe side, you don't want your PSU going of old age & taking the whole system with it.

HeavyHemi
I have a Corsair AX1200 Gold... I'm not sure what planet you're on sometimes. Most of this post is, forgive the rudeness, nonsense. That you claim PSU's that are certified Gold for efficiency are MORE stable and HIGHER quality output than a Platinum or Ti efficiency rating is absurd. I just had to say this. Your posts are technically wrong and make folks LESS informed.

kevinc313

jankerson

buttabean
From what I read, a lot of psu that are platinum and titanium are actually upper gold wattage psu. So if you buy a 850 titanium or platinum, you could actually have a 950+ depending on the manufacturer. This allows them to get the much higher efficiency ratings.
 
I was pulling 880 watts with my 1950x threadripper oc to 4.0 with my 3090 stock bios and stock speeds. I lowered my oc to 3.9ghz and tuned in the vcore. Now hitting 600-700 watts from the wall. I have a seasonic platinum 850watt focus px-850. It hasn't shut off yet.
 
As for the age of a power supply. Capacitors tend to swell over time and eventually start to buzz with audio amps which then need to be replaced because they're no longer producing clean power. I would think the same thing will happen with the psu capacitors and probably fail. 

 
They actually aren't.
 
The are different PCB's and or different platforms (Or upgraded) from the GOLD and Platinum normally.
 
 

Dabadger84

HeavyHemi
I'm not sure why you're relating efficiency to overclocking or LN2. It isn't related. Platinum is related to how efficient the PSU is. Those who pay a bit for power, might appreciate the savings. Also more efficient runs cooler.
At $0.05 per KWhr it's not much of a concern for me. For those who pay several times that, it could be worth it. Also, build quality. Attaining that level of efficiency requires quality parts and build.

It's not about the efficiency as why I point out people use those for that, it's because they are the most likely to be able to handle huge load spikes OVER their limit, which LN2 can do.  Granted, I'm pretty sure any Platinum eVGA PSU can handle over it's supposed power output just fine for short periods of time as they're quality PSUs, but that's more of what I was refering to.  I know that Corsair used to brag about the fact that their 1200W PSUs (I'm talkin' back a while, when I had a Dual PSU setup & actually tested a single AX1200W PSU from them & got the draw at the wall well over the 1200+80% efficiency amount) could handle sustained load north of 1200W for an extended period of time.  
Nowadays, that's just expected, but it's not reality, for weaker units, and is there in most Platinum & Titanium level PSUs, because of their superior quality.
It's also about cost up front.  A good Platinum on sale for something like what I got mine for ($200 for the 1200 P2 I think it was, maybe even less) is reeeeeeeeeally unlikely to ever happen on Titanium PSUs because they're high end, not sold that much, and are not expected to sell that much.  And the power savings between a Platinum & a Titanium unless you're actually drawing the full 1200W (in which case you should go to a higher wattage to be safe anyway) is minute unless your electric rates are beyond insane, because you're only talkin' a few percentile points. - but your point about it technically being more cost efficient over time is true, especially if you hold on to it for the full 10 year warranty, it might almost pay for itself if one's electric rates are decently "not cheap".
 
Funny side note, I'm on solar, so if it's sunny I ain't payin' NUTTIN' lol (it's sunny about 270-300 days a year in the hell-hole I live in)
 
Edit: Oh and I would also point out, that AX1200W I had & used for several years... is still in use by the friend that bought it off me, and has been for at least 4 years, so it's goin' on, I think, 10 years old as well, and has not given him any issues... buuuuuuut having said that it's also only powering a system (for him) that draws around 300-450W at high load currently... that'll soon tick up a bit as he's buying my GTX 1080 Ti FTW3 Hybrid soon.  So overall, I would think the AX1200W would be fine, unless he's pushing craaaaazy high OCs.  But, on the safe side, you don't want your PSU going of old age & taking the whole system with it.

Please be aware that "The Average" Titanium or Platinum PSU is likely better than "The Average" Gold PSU, only because they just don't build Ti or Plat on lower end platforms, and they build plenty of marginal Gold PSU's.  However, when you compare across the same platform, the Gold PSU performs better because it doesn't have to sacrifice performance for efficiency.  The Gold will have better voltage regulation and transient response.  Also, bigger PSU's typically perform better.
  
The EVGA T2, P2, and G2 are all Superflower Leadex I platform.  The Gold performs the best, slightly.  The 1600w G2 is an absolute unit.
 
The Seasonic Prime Platinum and Gold are very similar, but the Gold performs slightly better.
 
The Corsair AX series has great performance but I don't think they have a gold or platinum equivalent.
 
IMHO the two best performing PSU's made are the 1600w G2 and 1300w Prime Gold.  Followed by the AX1600i Titanium.

kevinc313

jankerson

kevinc313

jankerson

buttabean
From what I read, a lot of psu that are platinum and titanium are actually upper gold wattage psu. So if you buy a 850 titanium or platinum, you could actually have a 950+ depending on the manufacturer. This allows them to get the much higher efficiency ratings.
 
I was pulling 880 watts with my 1950x threadripper oc to 4.0 with my 3090 stock bios and stock speeds. I lowered my oc to 3.9ghz and tuned in the vcore. Now hitting 600-700 watts from the wall. I have a seasonic platinum 850watt focus px-850. It hasn't shut off yet.
 
As for the age of a power supply. Capacitors tend to swell over time and eventually start to buzz with audio amps which then need to be replaced because they're no longer producing clean power. I would think the same thing will happen with the psu capacitors and probably fail. 

 
They actually aren't.
 
The are different PCB's and or different platforms (Or upgraded) from the GOLD and Platinum normally.
 
 

Dabadger84

HeavyHemi
I'm not sure why you're relating efficiency to overclocking or LN2. It isn't related. Platinum is related to how efficient the PSU is. Those who pay a bit for power, might appreciate the savings. Also more efficient runs cooler.
At $0.05 per KWhr it's not much of a concern for me. For those who pay several times that, it could be worth it. Also, build quality. Attaining that level of efficiency requires quality parts and build.

It's not about the efficiency as why I point out people use those for that, it's because they are the most likely to be able to handle huge load spikes OVER their limit, which LN2 can do.  Granted, I'm pretty sure any Platinum eVGA PSU can handle over it's supposed power output just fine for short periods of time as they're quality PSUs, but that's more of what I was refering to.  I know that Corsair used to brag about the fact that their 1200W PSUs (I'm talkin' back a while, when I had a Dual PSU setup & actually tested a single AX1200W PSU from them & got the draw at the wall well over the 1200+80% efficiency amount) could handle sustained load north of 1200W for an extended period of time.  
Nowadays, that's just expected, but it's not reality, for weaker units, and is there in most Platinum & Titanium level PSUs, because of their superior quality.
It's also about cost up front.  A good Platinum on sale for something like what I got mine for ($200 for the 1200 P2 I think it was, maybe even less) is reeeeeeeeeally unlikely to ever happen on Titanium PSUs because they're high end, not sold that much, and are not expected to sell that much.  And the power savings between a Platinum & a Titanium unless you're actually drawing the full 1200W (in which case you should go to a higher wattage to be safe anyway) is minute unless your electric rates are beyond insane, because you're only talkin' a few percentile points. - but your point about it technically being more cost efficient over time is true, especially if you hold on to it for the full 10 year warranty, it might almost pay for itself if one's electric rates are decently "not cheap".
 
Funny side note, I'm on solar, so if it's sunny I ain't payin' NUTTIN' lol (it's sunny about 270-300 days a year in the hell-hole I live in)
 
Edit: Oh and I would also point out, that AX1200W I had & used for several years... is still in use by the friend that bought it off me, and has been for at least 4 years, so it's goin' on, I think, 10 years old as well, and has not given him any issues... buuuuuuut having said that it's also only powering a system (for him) that draws around 300-450W at high load currently... that'll soon tick up a bit as he's buying my GTX 1080 Ti FTW3 Hybrid soon.  So overall, I would think the AX1200W would be fine, unless he's pushing craaaaazy high OCs.  But, on the safe side, you don't want your PSU going of old age & taking the whole system with it.

Please be aware that "The Average" Titanium or Platinum PSU is likely better than "The Average" Gold PSU, only because they just don't build Ti or Plat on lower end platforms, and they build plenty of marginal Gold PSU's.  However, when you compare across the same platform, the Gold PSU performs better because it doesn't have to sacrifice performance for efficiency.  The Gold will have better voltage regulation and transient response.  Also, bigger PSU's typically perform better.
  
The EVGA T2, P2, and G2 are all Superflower Leadex I platform.  The Gold performs the best, slightly.  The 1600w G2 is an absolute unit.
 
The Seasonic Prime Platinum and Gold are very similar, but the Gold performs slightly better.
 
The Corsair AX series has great performance but I don't think they have a gold or platinum equivalent.
 
IMHO the two best performing PSU's made are the 1600w G2 and 1300w Prime Gold.  Followed by the AX1600i Titanium.

 
Gold performs better how exactly?
 
Compared to similar model Plat and Ti models?
 
Personally I have never seen that happen, not even once.

 
Enjoy!
 
https://www.techpowerup.c...pernova-t2-1600/8.html
 
https://www.techpowerup.c...pernova-g2-1600/8.html
 
(both these are SF Leadex I)
 
In this case the G2 1600w walks all over the T2 1600w in ATR.  Voltage load regulation too.  Pretty significant difference.  There are 1600w P2 figures there too.
 
The 1000w P2 does very slightly edge out the 1000w G2. There is a smaller difference between Plat and Gold, very very similar.  Really need to watch out for giving up performance with the Ti.
 
So no, it's not a hard and fast rule, just generalized guidance and only applicable when comparing the same platform and size.