Is this Gold-PSU w/o OCP okay?

[Ludwig]

Hey guys, so my Corsair SF450 decided to go boom (honestly, it was my fault) and I was in the market for a new power supply.

Did a little research and went go on the "Thermaltake Toughpower GX1 600W" PSU illustrated below:

 

Reference: Thermaltake Website

 

Come to find out, the PSU is a single rail unit without OCP.

So my question is, should i be worried about boom-ing my 2nd power supply and potentially boom-ing the rest of my rig with it?

I live in Malaysia, where thunderstorms are pretty much a daily occurrence.

 

I've only recently recieved the Thermaltake PSU in the mail moments ago, still could return it and get back on the market for some more worthy options.

Could be eyeing the Corsair RM650x PSU as it seems like it has a few major accolades. 

 

Reference: Corsair Website

Do let me know what i should do, thanks!

 

For reference, here's my current rig: (PSU Calculator says around 500W-550W Load)

Intel i5 6600k @ 4.2Ghz

2x 8GB DDR4 Klevv Bolt X 3200Mhz RAM

AMD R9 390 (Upgrading to a 1080ti soon)

4x 120mm PWM Fans

1x PWM Fan Controller

1x 4TB WD Black 

1x 256GB Sandisk SSD

1x 512GB Adata XPG SX8200 PRO

 

[Skiiwee29]

without hesitation return it and get the RM650x its leagues better. 

 

 

[Sakkura]

On a single rail PSU, OPP does the same job OCP would have. It's not a big deal.

 

The Thermaltake PSU is decent, but the Corsair RMx is better.

 

Here is a review of the 700W version.

[Spotty]

40 minutes ago, Ludwig said:

so my Corsair SF450 decided to go boom (honestly, it was my fault)

What happened? How was it your fault?

Importantly: Do you require an SFX power supply? The Thermaltake Toughpower GX1 and Corsair RMx are ATX sized power supplies - much larger. Might not fit in smaller cases that require SFX power supplies.

 

40 minutes ago, Ludwig said:

Come to find out, the PSU is a single rail unit without OCP. 

...

I've only recently recieved the Thermaltake PSU in the mail moments ago, still could return it and get back on the market for some more worthy options.

Could be eyeing the Corsair RM650x PSU as it seems like it has a few major accolades. 

The RM650x is also a single rail PSU without OCP on the 12v rail.
OCP on the 12v on single rail PSUs isn't necessary as they use OPP (Over Power Protection) instead.

 

If you want a multi-rail PSU with OCP then you will need to look for something else. No point buying an RMx. Check out the Bitfenix Whisper M if it's available in your area.

 

30 minutes ago, Skiiwee29 said:

without hesitation return it and get the RM650x its leagues better. 

Looking at reviews it seems the Thermaltake Toughpower GX1 Gold uses the CWT GPS platform. Not a horrible design. The RMx is technically better, but I wouldn't describe it as "leagues better" as if the Thermaltake was some 10 year old group regulated unit. The Toughpower GX1 Gold should still be suitable for OPs needs.

Quote

Once we open the Thermaltake Toughpower GX1 700W, we see what looks like a slightly tweaked CWT GPS platform based unit which makes this unit relatively modern (LLC resonant based primary and a synchronous rectification with DC-DC VRM based secondary) but not quite top of the line. From the top we notice that the unit is built on a single layer PCB with just one real heatsink (and two small ones) in the unit and one add-in PCB. The fan is said to be a Hong Hua FDB fan rated at 0.45A at 12v. When we flip the single layer PCB over, we find the 12v power components and the soldering here is generally neat overall.
https://www.hardocp.com/article/2018/10/01/thermaltake_toughpower_gx1_700w_power_supply_review/3

[Ludwig]

1 minute ago, Spotty said:

What happened? How was it your fault?

450W PSU with =>500W-550W components issa not gud tiem.

s/o procrastination boys

 

1 minute ago, Spotty said:

The RM650x is also a single rail PSU without OCP on the 12v rail.
OCP on the 12v on single rail PSUs isn't necessary as they use OPP (Over Power Protection) instead.

Mind explaining a little bit more about this in layman's terms? My general understanding is that OCP trips when the system is trying to draw more power than what the PSU can offer (e.g 700W from a 600W PSU). (Please do explain what "peak output power" means as well, thanks!)

 

My concern is that IF my system does end up drawing more wattage from the PSU, and it doesn't have OCP, will this cause my components to go...boom? Illustrated below for more detail:

 

1 minute ago, Spotty said:

If you want a multi-rail PSU with OCP then you will need to look for something else. No point buying an RMx. Check out the Bitfenix Whisper M if it's available in your area.

Not really concerned about single-rail vs multi-rail PSUs, just want something something that wont explode dramatically when im asleep at night. 

Did a quick search, wasn't able to find the PSU you recommended  

 

1 minute ago, Spotty said:

Looking at reviews it seems the Thermaltake Toughpower GX1 Gold uses the CWT GPS platform. Not a horrible design. The RMx is technically better, but I wouldn't describe it as "leagues better" as if the Thermaltake was some 10 year old group regulated unit. The Toughpower GX1 Gold should still be suitable for OPs needs.

Thanks loads for the thorough explanation so far! I did read up a little bit on Thermaltake's line of Toughpower GX1 PSUs; they're decent with no real outstanding characteristics. 

The lack of OCP is the only thing really that I'm concerned about. But perhaps I'm misconstruing the concept and getting concerned over nothing since people have mentioned that in single-rail PSUs, the OPP is pretty much the...same thing?  

[Spotty]

1 hour ago, Ludwig said:

450W PSU with =>500W-550W components issa not gud tiem.

Hmm, I suppose an R9 390 can draw a hefty amount of power, around 300w+. Could see how you would be over 450w with an overclocked i5 6600K... Not enough to damage the PSU though, it'd run hotter than it should and efficiency would drop, maybe voltage go out of spec a little**... but the SF450 should realistically switch off at around 120% load (~550w) before anything is actually damaged.

 

Edit: *Brain fart... Not at all what I meant to say. I meant voltage regulation and ripple might be a little bit higher than what it would be under typical load range - Not suggesting it would go out of ATX spec. The SF450 is pretty tight on ripple and voltage regulation to begin with, so it should still be well within ATX spec even when over loaded.

 

1 hour ago, Ludwig said:

just want something something that wont explode dramatically when im asleep at night. 

Is that what happened with your Corsair SF450?

 

1 hour ago, Ludwig said:

Mind explaining a little bit more about this in layman's terms? My general understanding is that OCP trips when the system is trying to draw more power than what the PSU can offer (e.g 700W from a 600W PSU).

What you described is essentially "OPP".

 

OCP = Over Current Protection. Trips if the current being delivered on the rails is too high.

OPP = Over Power Protection. Trips if the power being delivered by the entire PSU is too high.

With single rail PSUs, since the 12v power is all on a single rail, it is in essence the entire PSU. Therefore OPP performs the same function as OCP.

It's worth noting that single rail PSUs should still feature OCP on the minor rails (3.3V and 5V). That way you don't have 300A going through the 3.3V rail while OPP is thinking everything is fine

 

That's probably as simple as I could put it. I would recommend checking out the guide to PSU Protections on Tom's Hardware: https://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/power-supplies-101,4193-21.html

 

1 hour ago, Ludwig said:

(Please do explain what "peak output power" means as well, thanks!)

Basically nothing. It's junk. It's lies. It's stupid. It's dodgy. It's whatever the manufacturer wants it to be. Ignore it.

 

1 hour ago, Ludwig said:

The lack of OCP is the only thing really that I'm concerned about. But perhaps I'm misconstruing the concept and getting concerned over nothing since people have mentioned that in single-rail PSUs, the OPP is pretty much the...same thing?  

It's normal for single rails PSUs not to have OCP on the 12v. The function OCP serves is served by OPP instead, so adding OCP isn't really required.

Edited July 16, 2019 by Spotty

[Ludwig]

2 minutes ago, Spotty said:

Is that what happened with your Corsair SF450?

Well, not exactly. Not really, actually.

I came home from work one day and the night before, for some reason, decided to switch my PC off entirely.

I usually have it running  24/7, so it was a little out of the ordinary.

Come to the following day, pressed the power button, and heard a little pop and sizzle from my case.

Diagnosed everything and found that the PSU was the only thing that was fried.

Currently awaiting for RMA confirmations from Corsair. 

 

2 minutes ago, Spotty said:

What you described is essentially "OPP".

 

OCP = Over Current Protection. Trips if the current being delivered on the rails is too high.

OPP = Over Power Protection. Trips if the power being delivered by the entire PSU is too high.

With single rail PSUs, since the 12v power is all on a single rail, it is in essence the entire PSU. Therefore OPP performs the same function as OCP.

It's worth noting that single rail PSUs should still feature OCP on the minor rails (3.3V and 5V). That way you don't have 300A going through the 3.3V rail while OPP is thinking everything is fine

 

That's probably as simple as I could put it. I would recommend checking out the guide to PSU Protections on Tom's Hardware: https://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/power-supplies-101,4193-21.html

 

It's normal for single rails PSUs not to have OCP on the 12v. The function OCP serves is served by OPP instead, so adding OCP isn't really required.

Fantastic! Nothing to be concerned about then.

I guess I should just settle on the Thermaltake PSU i have lying next to me instead of getting an even more excessive unit.

Thanks loads for the help!

[Spotty]

22 minutes ago, Ludwig said:

Come to the following day, pressed the power button, and heard a little pop and sizzle from my case.

Diagnosed everything and found that the PSU was the only thing that was fried.

Currently awaiting for RMA confirmations from Corsair. 

Hmm, yeah. If it went pop when you turned it on I would imagine that it is not related to the peak power draw of your system being too high - especially since when you turn a PC on the system power draw isn't that high, probably only 50-150w or so depending on hardware. There is a very short spike in current from the wall to the PSU though as the caps charge which can cause issues, though the SF450 has inrush current protection to help minimise this. Shouldn't be too much of an issue with a 450w PSU either as the caps aren't as large as they would be in say, a 1000w PSU. Additionally as I touched on earlier the i5 6600K + R9 390 shouldn't really be exceeding 450w, not by much at least.

My guess is just a failure. Sometimes units are just defective and there's no other reason for it.

Since you've already bought a replacement, if/when Corsair sends you a replacement SF450 then I would try and sell it if you don't have any other use for it. Despite your first units failure, the Corsair SF450 is a well regarded SFX power supply. I'm sure someone will be willing to buy it from you.

[Ludwig]

2 hours ago, Spotty said:

Hmm, yeah. If it went pop when you turned it on I would imagine that it is not related to the peak power draw of your system being too high - especially since when you turn a PC on the system power draw isn't that high, probably only 50-150w or so depending on hardware. There is a very short spike in current from the wall to the PSU though as the caps charge which can cause issues, though the SF450 has inrush current protection to help minimise this. Shouldn't be too much of an issue with a 450w PSU either as the caps aren't as large as they would be in say, a 1000w PSU. Additionally as I touched on earlier the i5 6600K + R9 390 shouldn't really be exceeding 450w, not by much at least.

My guess is just a failure. Sometimes units are just defective and there's no other reason for it.

Since you've already bought a replacement, if/when Corsair sends you a replacement SF450 then I would try and sell it if you don't have any other use for it. Despite your first units failure, the Corsair SF450 is a well regarded SFX power supply. I'm sure someone will be willing to buy it from you.

Yeah, you pretty much laid out the general plan. 

Would probably eventually upgrade to a better PSU; namely the RM650x for peace of mind and its benefits (safety, modularity, etc).

Obviously would need to follow my other component upgrades in order for it to be worth the expense.