Question About EVGA G2 1300w Capacitors

[FinTheHuman]

Hi everyone! I had a quick question that hopefully someone knows the answer to. I'm thinking about getting a G2 1300w for my rig. I read a few reviews back from 2013 and I know the unit has undergone some changes since then (for example, the GPU ports were red on the unit and now they are black. There is now an eco mode switch where there previously wasn't one on the 2013 version.). Back then they were using CapXon capacitors on the modular board. That's a turn off to me even though the modular board capacitors are under less load than the mainboard capacitors. Have they switched over to Nippon Chemi-Con on the modular board nowadays? The unit I was eyeing in-store had a copyright date on it of 2016, so I'd assume the manufacture date would have been 2016 or later. Note that the box does say "100% Japanese Capacitors."

 

TL;DR: The unit used to use CapXon on the modular board in 2013. Did this ever change to Nippon Chemi-Con?

 

@LukeSavenije I've seen that you know your stuff on this kind of nitty gritty detail. Any idea?

@jonnyGURU I'm sure you would know if I get lucky enough to get a response from you!

[Guest]

I can't answer the capacitor question, but what are you powering that needs 1300W ? 

[FinTheHuman]

9 hours ago, lee32uk said:

I can't answer the capacitor question, but what are you powering that needs 1300W ? 

EVGA RTX 3090 FTW (max stable OC)

9900K @5.2GHz

32GB RAM @3600MHz (4 DIMMS)

Z390 Aorus Ultra

H150i Cooler

3x PCI-e M.2 drives (3TB total)

1x M.2 SSD (1TB total)

5x Additional RGB fans

And a BD-RW drive

 

Also several USB devices:

Mouse

Keyboard

Dedicated Microphone

Webcam

Joystick

Phone often charging from the front panel

 

I've had peak loads from the wall at 660w. And with transient peak loads well above that I'm no longer comfortable on my 750w unit.

[Juular]

On 9/30/2020 at 1:38 AM, FinTheHuman said:

The unit used to use CapXon on the modular board in 2013. Did this ever change to Nippon Chemi-Con?

These are polymer capacitors, they ain't going to fail as fast as electrolytics, not that it really matters, CapXon it is or NCC even with electrolytics.

11 hours ago, FinTheHuman said:

I've had peak loads from the wall at 660w. And with transient peak loads well above that I'm no longer comfortable on my 750w unit.

Sure, get 850W, you don't need 1300W PSU.

[cheesytacopastaman]

You do not need 1300w for even that. Get a quality 850w and save some money and you'll get the same experience.

[Guest]

If your current 750W is working ok then I would just carry on using it. So as long as you are not getting any shutdowns then I wouldn't worry about it. As mentioned above though, you def don't need 1300W.

 

[FinTheHuman]

5 hours ago, Juular said:

Sure, get 850W, you don't need 1300W PSU.

 

3 hours ago, cheesytacopastaman said:

You do not need 1300w for even that. Get a quality 850w and save some money and you'll get the same experience.

 

The price difference between the 850 and 1300 is only $40, though. For that I think I'd rather have the higher capacity for future upgrades plus the benefit of running at 50% capacity for lower temps and noise and highest efficiency (IIRC 50% load is the highest efficiency on the efficiency curve).

 

2 hours ago, lee32uk said:

If your current 750W is working ok then I would just carry on using it. So as long as you are not getting any shutdowns then I wouldn't worry about it. As mentioned above though, you def don't need 1300W.

 

Well, it works. It just runs hot and louder now. It's also almost 7 years old and the 12V rail is already down to a measured 11.86V (IIRC it was 12.18 out of the box). It does have a 10 year warranty but I don't think I can make a claim based on the 12V rail being too close to minimum spec (which I think was 11.80 at minimum?).

 

 

[Juular]

34 minutes ago, FinTheHuman said:

It's also almost 7 years old and the 12V rail is already down to a measured 11.86V (IIRC it was 12.18 out of the box). It does have a 10 year warranty but I don't think I can make a claim based on the 12V rail being too close to minimum spec (which I think was 11.80 at minimum?).

11.86V is 1.1% off nominal, it's normal, even if you were measuring this with multi-meter, not through software, since software voltage readings are often inaccurate. But if you want quieter PSU it's fine, although, again, you don't need 1300W PSU and more wattage doesn't always mean less noise, including EVGA G2 where 1300W is way louder than 750W at the same load and i wouldn't call the latter being very quiet in the first place. Spend these 40$ for actually better and quieter 850-1000W unit instead.

[Guest]

54 minutes ago, FinTheHuman said:

 

 

The price difference between the 850 and 1300 is only $40, though. For that I think I'd rather have the higher capacity for future upgrades plus the benefit of running at 50% capacity for lower temps and noise and highest efficiency (IIRC 50% load is the highest efficiency on the efficiency curve).

 

 

Well, it works. It just runs hot and louder now. It's also almost 7 years old and the 12V rail is already down to a measured 11.86V (IIRC it was 12.18 out of the box). It does have a 10 year warranty but I don't think I can make a claim based on the 12V rail being too close to minimum spec (which I think was 11.80 at minimum?).

 

 

I mean if you want a solid replacement then the unit below would be a good choice. A 1300W makes no sense even if it is only $40 more. You just don't need that sort of wattage for a single gpu system. 

 

PCPartPicker Part List

Power Supply: Corsair 850 W 80+ Platinum Certified Fully Modular ATX Power Supply  ($222.94 @ Office Depot) 
Total: $222.94
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2020-10-01 17:29 EDT-0400

[FinTheHuman]

24 minutes ago, Juular said:

11.86V is 1.1% off nominal, it's normal, even if you were measuring this with multi-meter, not through software, since software voltage readings are often inaccurate. But if you want quieter PSU it's fine, although, again, you don't need 1300W PSU and more wattage doesn't always mean less noise, including EVGA G2 where 1300W is way louder than 750W at the same load and i wouldn't call the latter being very quiet in the first place. Spend these 40$ for actually better and quieter 850-1000W unit instead.

I am using a multi-meter to measure yes. But it's dropped from 12.18 to 11.86, which works out to a 0.046V drop per year. So at this rate, the PSU will be below spec before another 2 years (spec being 11.80V at minimum). As for the noise, doesn't the 1300W only have the fan come on at 40C? If the load is 50% or less, will the unit even hit 40C ever? I would think the fan would never come on. Unless I'm wrong about how that all works?

[FinTheHuman]

12 minutes ago, lee32uk said:

I mean if you want a solid replacement then the unit below would be a good choice. A 1300W makes no sense even if it is only $40 more. You just don't need that sort of wattage for a single gpu system. 

 

PCPartPicker Part List

Power Supply: Corsair 850 W 80+ Platinum Certified Fully Modular ATX Power Supply  ($222.94 @ Office Depot) 
Total: $222.94
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2020-10-01 17:29 EDT-0400

I appreciate the help! My only concern is that I plan to keep this PSU for at least another 7 years if not 10. I don't know if I'll ever move on to a dual GPU setup or a more power hungry CPU. I tend to upgrade almost my entire system every 2 years (motherboard, CPU, GPU). RAM, SSDs, and the PSU tend to be the things that stick around for more than that. Back when I bought this 750W PSU people said the same thing: "that's WAY overkill, just get a solid 500W." But if I had done that I wouldn't have gotten as far along as I have now with this PSU.

[cheesytacopastaman]

34 minutes ago, FinTheHuman said:

I appreciate the help! My only concern is that I plan to keep this PSU for at least another 7 years if not 10. I don't know if I'll ever move on to a dual GPU setup or a more power hungry CPU. I tend to upgrade almost my entire system every 2 years (motherboard, CPU, GPU). RAM, SSDs, and the PSU tend to be the things that stick around for more than that. Back when I bought this 750W PSU people said the same thing: "that's WAY overkill, just get a solid 500W." But if I had done that I wouldn't have gotten as far along as I have now with this PSU.

sorry but thats probably why they told you not to go 750w, because it is not a good idea to try to keep a psu for that long regardless of the unit. watts mean absolutely nothing in the context of the actual quality of the unit, even if its from the same manufacturer. If you at this moment thing you will need that 1200w capacity in the near future go for it. But for what you need right now you need no more than a good rated 850w unit and there isn't a reason to be doing a full system upgrade every two years anymore anyways. Especially when you build so high end its a complete waste of money unless you really absolutely need the best of the best all the time.

[Guest]

39 minutes ago, FinTheHuman said:

I appreciate the help! My only concern is that I plan to keep this PSU for at least another 7 years if not 10. I don't know if I'll ever move on to a dual GPU setup or a more power hungry CPU. I tend to upgrade almost my entire system every 2 years (motherboard, CPU, GPU). RAM, SSDs, and the PSU tend to be the things that stick around for more than that. Back when I bought this 750W PSU people said the same thing: "that's WAY overkill, just get a solid 500W." But if I had done that I wouldn't have gotten as far along as I have now with this PSU.

The Corsair has a 10 year warranty.

 

Also SLI is pretty much dead for gaming, so unless you need a 2nd gpu for something else then you are more than covered with 850W.

[FinTheHuman]

2 minutes ago, lee32uk said:

The Corsair has a 10 year warranty.

 

Also SLI is pretty much dead for gaming, so unless you need a 2nd gpu for something else then you are more than covered with 850W.

I use my system for both gaming and heavy Blender/Maya (that's my job, I do have a dedicated work machine, but I bring a lot of work home, too).

[FinTheHuman]

Also I would not have bought a 3090 just for gaming!  

[Guest]

Just now, FinTheHuman said:

Also I would not have bought a 3090 just for gaming!  

I wouldn't (If I had the cash) but some just want the 'fastest' and don't care about cost. 

 

Assuming Blender/Maya can take advantage of a 2nd gpu ? then there is no harm going with more than 850W. The Corsair unit I linked above is available in 1200W.

[FinTheHuman]

5 minutes ago, lee32uk said:

Assuming Blender/Maya can take advantage of a 2nd gpu ? then there is no harm going with more than 850W. The Corsair unit I linked above is available in 1200W.

Yes, especially in Blender. I'm actually between the 1200W Corsair and the 1300W EVGA. I tend to lean EVGA because I've found their RMA process easier and faster when I've needed it, but I'm also open to Corsair. Both units seem great. I just wish I could find an answer to the caps question I originally posted for. If the box is right and they are now doing 100% Jap Caps I'd pull the trigger in a heartbeat. If I don't find an answer, though, I'll probably go with the Corsair.

[Juular]

9 hours ago, FinTheHuman said:

I am using a multi-meter to measure yes. But it's dropped from 12.18 to 11.86, which works out to a 0.046V drop per year. So at this rate, the PSU will be below spec before another 2 years (spec being 11.80V at minimum). As for the noise, doesn't the 1300W only have the fan come on at 40C? If the load is 50% or less, will the unit even hit 40C ever? I would think the fan would never come on. Unless I'm wrong about how that all works?

First, PSU aging doesn't work this way lol. If you're getting significant voltage drop then check the cables, spray the contacts with isopropyl alcohol and plug-unplug cables several times to get rid of stuff that raises resistance. Second, spec is 5%, i.e 11.4 to 12.6. Third, static voltage regulation is much less important than dynamic, under transient load, which can be affected by aging although you can't measure it with a multimeter. What 750W PSU do you have rn anyway ?

And 1000/1300W EVGA G2 doesn't have zero-rpm mode, 750W does. You can't just assume that higher wattage PSU would run quieter, you need to look at actual data.

8 hours ago, FinTheHuman said:

I use my system for both gaming and heavy Blender/Maya (that's my job, I do have a dedicated work machine, but I bring a lot of work home, too).

Still, if you don't need a second 3090 then you're good with 850/1000W unit.

8 hours ago, FinTheHuman said:

I'm actually between the 1200W Corsair and the 1300W EVGA.

Which Corsair model ? Where you are from ?

[FinTheHuman]

10 minutes ago, Juular said:

First, PSU aging doesn't work this way lol. If you're getting significant voltage drop then check the cables, spray the contacts with isopropyl alcohol and plug-unplug cables several times to get rid of stuff that raises resistance. Second, spec is 5%, i.e 11.4 to 12.6. Third, static voltage regulation is much less important than dynamic, under transient load, which can be affected by aging although you can't measure it with a multimeter. What 750W PSU do you have rn anyway ?

And 1000/1300W EVGA G2 doesn't have zero-rpm mode, 750W does. You can't just assume that higher wattage PSU would run quieter, you need to look at actual data.

Still, if you don't need a second 3090 then you're good with 850/1000W unit.

Which Corsair model ? Where you are from ?

I currently have the EVGA 750w G2. I've actually already sprayed both ends of all cables with 91% isopropyl (I do this every year in the spring). The 1300w G2 I'm looking at actually does have 0 RPM mode. They added an eco switch to that model and switching it to on puts the fan at 0 RPM until the unit gets to 40C. That's what I was saying in my original post, though. The unit has undergone several changes and hence my original question about the capacitors. I had noticed the box from 2013 says "100% Japanese Capacitors on Main Board" whereas the 2016 version says "100% Japanese Capacitors." The corsair model I was looking at was of course the AX1200i. I'm from the USA and I live near both a Microcenter and a Fry's.

[FinTheHuman]

24 minutes ago, Juular said:

-snip-

Here's a picture of the updated unit with the eco switch.

 

https://www.evga.com/products/product.aspx?pn=120-g2-1300-xr#images-4

 

That's one of several changes. Other changes include:

 

- Addition of Eco Switch which puts the fan in 0 RPM mode until 40C and has a gradual ramp up through 50C

- Color of VGA ports changed from red to black and the arrangement is slightly altered

- The VGA cables were red and are now black

- Possibly changed modular board's CapXon capacitors to Nippon Chemi-Con

- Possibly changed the in-line cable capacitors form CapXon to Chemi-Con

[Juular]

20 minutes ago, FinTheHuman said:

That's one of several changes. Other changes include:

Well, that's good to know but i can't find any reviews of this revision.

30 minutes ago, FinTheHuman said:

I'm from the USA

How about Corsair HX ?

[FinTheHuman]

18 minutes ago, Juular said:

Well, that's good to know but i can't find any reviews of this revision.

How about Corsair HX ?

I think the HX series is pretty good, but I did read that they downgraded their modular board capacitors to Taicon in a later revision (which I trust even less than CapXon). I understand that they're polymer caps under far less stress, but even so I really don't trust any capacitors on a PSU that aren't from Japan. It's also kinda cool that the AXi is multi-rail (although I don't have any hardware that would tangibly benefit from having a multi-rail unit).

[Juular]

9 minutes ago, FinTheHuman said:

I really don't trust any capacitors on a PSU that aren't from Japan.

You think Corsair would put failing capacitors there still providing you with 10 years warranty ? Even Taiwanese electrolytics are more than fine for modular board, not to mention polymers.

9 minutes ago, FinTheHuman said:

but I did read that they downgraded their modular board capacitors to Taicon in a later revision

No idea where did you read that but i guess we can just bother @jonnyGURU

[FinTheHuman]

4 minutes ago, Juular said:

You think Corsair would put failing capacitors there still providing you with 10 years warranty ? Even Taiwanese electrolytics are more than fine for modular board, not to mention polymers.

No idea where did you read that but i guess we can just bother @jonnyGURU

I had read it here (and a few other places). It could be wrong, but several people who bought the unit confirmed and noted differences even between lots. One guy said:

 

"So I ended up with two AX1200i. One I purchased off of Amazon and another off of newegg because of the nice new 299.99 sale that they had. The newegg (Lot #12349520) one is mixed bags. Has two taicon caps at SATA 1 and 2. The Amazon (Lot #12359526) one is pure Taicon."

 

https://www.techpowerup.com/forums/threads/corsair-ax1200i-psu-unknown-taicon-capacitors.174779/page-2

 

--edit-- I just noticed the above is actually for the AXi, not the HXi. When I first read this, I would have sworm it was for HX, but I guess I mis-read.

[Juular]

I couldn't care less about Taiwanese in-cable capacitors, you're too fixated on Jap-caps.