Is a 1200w PSU really ever needed?

[Johnmini]

I'm going to upgrade my PSU and was thinking about getting the corsair AX860 Platinum PSU, but i am going to start water cooling my CPU soon and will add in GPU/Motherboard when i get the money to and what i'm wondering is if i should spend the extra 130$ on the 1200w version if i am going to be water cooling my system as well as overclocking my CPU and GPU.

I know i should post all the hardwear i have but i will be getting a new cpu/Motherboard when the new Intel chip set comes out if its not a total bust and will be getting either there best 4 core or there 2nd best 6 core so equivalent to the i7-3770k or i7-3930k with an Asus maximus MB most likely. sorry for all the these are going to be the maybe parts lol

[Wauthar]

I do not have a lot of knowledge about this, but I would say 1200w is overkill.

Plus, a platinum/gold/silver etc. PSU is at its most effective area at 50% load (correct me if I'm wrong), so if you don't meet that your are basically not using its full potential.

I hope this helps a bit. :)

[Sghet]

The PSU that are above 1000w are exclusive for overcloking very high end PC or for pc that have a quad-sli/cross and have the gpu and the cpu overclocked. If you have a medium/high end pc you can use a 800w psu with 80 plus silver/gold and you will be okey ;) Good Luck

[Jokrik]

Should really decide the rest of the components first, cant really give suggestion on whats enough mate :)

[Glenwing]

Well if in theory you had say a 3970X (150W) and triple GTX 680s (200W), that would be about 750W if you could manage to put it on full load. Since PSUs get less efficient the closer you get to max rated draw, and are most efficient at 50%, 1200W might be something to consider.

[Guest]

As mentioned if you're doing a fairly big build; 3 or 4 way SLI, OC'd 2011 and some cooling situations you can get up into 6-900w which is where the efficiency of a 1200w or 1500w psu will be at its greatest whereas an 850w would struggle.

[ryanshimia]

Only if you go 3 way sli with a water cooling system or quadfire or quadsli

[Johnmini]

ok thanks for the feedback. i don't have the money for 3 or 4 way sli so i should be good with 860:)

[killerx525]

A high quality and efficient 860W power supply is always better.

[Pyromaniacc]

Unless you're running tri-sli/crossfire an 860 watt is probably overkill as well

[Alexdaman]

I have a 3930k and dual 680gtx's and it consumes arround 560watts , with an oc I get like 740watts .

And I use the AX1200i , and yes its a bit of overkill , but i rather dont stress a component to its limit , and it gives me a lot of headroom for future upgrades .

[s0nrise]

the era were more powerful and newer components is almost over, every new interaction of graphics cards (for example), consume less and less power, so i dont really think buying a high wattage psu is now needed to future proof yourself

[Dim]

1200W will not be used, even with quad-SLI generally.

However, if you want to future-proof your PSU, the upmarket 1200W PSUs such as the AX1200i pretty much never die.

If you have the money, go for it!

[Dim]

The AX860i will last as long as the 1200i ^ I forgot to mention.

But the reality is, you're future-proofing more with more watts.

1.2KW is a LOT and you will be safe no matter what for the rest of your life, really!

[Money]

Maybe with a server set-up that has loads of HDD's, but for a general rig, it's very overkill.

[Glenwing]

Well it would be hard to max out a 1200W PSU yeah, but you don't want to run it at 90% load anyway. When your system draw is like 700W+, that's when a 1200W PSU might start being a consideration. Power supplies are not that efficient at high draw. Around 50% is where the goal is.

[Pyromaniacc]

The AX860i will last as long as the 1200i ^ I forgot to mention.

But the reality is, you're future-proofing more with more watts.

1.2KW is a LOT and you will be safe no matter what for the rest of your life, really!

Were at the point now where each generation draws less power than the last so a 1200w power supply is kind of the opposite of future proofing

[Pyromaniacc]

Well it would be hard to max out a 1200W PSU yeah, but you don't want to run it at 90% load anyway. When your system draw is like 700W+, that's when a 1200W PSU might start being a consideration. Power supplies are not that efficient at high draw. Around 50% is where the goal is.

Actually efficiency at 100% load is very close to efficiency at 50%

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/80_PLUS

[Dim]

The AX860i will last as long as the 1200i ^ I forgot to mention.

But the reality is, you're future-proofing more with more watts.

1.2KW is a LOT and you will be safe no matter what for the rest of your life, really!

That is true, however future improvements may yield the ability for hexa-fire, hexa-sli, etc. which would use more power.

You can only make the next generation draw less power to a certain extent and new coolers and liquid cooling mean that eventually, with overclocks in the 5+, 6+ GHz level would result in much greater power consumption.

My opinion: might as well if you've got the cash.

[Helltech]

1200W will not be used' date=' even with quad-SLI generally. However, if you want to future-proof your PSU, the upmarket 1200W PSUs such as the AX1200i pretty much [b']never die. If you have the money, go for it!

That isn't entirely true....

http://www.guru3d.com/articles_pages/geforce_gtx_480_4_way_sli_review,8.html

[Caesar]

1200W will not be used' date=' even with quad-SLI generally. However, if you want to future-proof your PSU, the upmarket 1200W PSUs such as the AX1200i pretty much [b']never die. If you have the money, go for it!

That isn't entirely true....

http://www.guru3d.com/articles_pages/geforce_gtx_480_4_way_sli_review,8.html

Yeah...you're cheating with the GTX480 :P

[Reconciliasion]

complete your list of components, weigh it up by then

over 1000W is for major overclocking in my opinion your gonna want to burn the remaining watts on watercooling :-)

[christoi]

Well it would be hard to max out a 1200W PSU yeah, but you don't want to run it at 90% load anyway. When your system draw is like 700W+, that's when a 1200W PSU might start being a consideration. Power supplies are not that efficient at high draw. Around 50% is where the goal is.

Yes, but at high loads like that you are more likely to kill it faster. More head produced and more strain on the internals, 50-70% of the max load is usually a better choice.