Peak vs Continuous Wattage Help!

[MDH]

I just watched the video

and Linus talks about how you should only buy a power supply that has a continuous wattage rating instead of a peak rating. So I decided to look at some different PSU's and I can't tell the difference between a PSU's that have a peak or continuous rating, they all seem to just give a wattage rating. For example, this is my PSU - Thermaltake 700W LT-700AL2NL - I can't tell if it's 700W peak or continuous 700W.

Any help would be greatly appreciated, thanks.

 

[DXMember]

http://www.tomshardware.co.uk/forum/id-2547993/psu-tier-list.html

http://www.jonnyguru.com/forums/showthread.php?t=11031

[Mr.Meerkat]

peak wattage is where the power supply can deliver a wattage rating for a short period of time (maybe a few seconds or a few mins) and continuous rating is where it can deliver the specified wattage forever with no issues ...or in theory it shouldn't blow up if it's not made using shitty components. 

 

For your question about your PSU, I don't know  and too lazy right now after I completely rebuilt my PC (which seem to have solved the black screening and power surge issues ). 

[MDH]

7 minutes ago, DXMember said:

http://www.jonnyguru.com/forums/showthread.php?t=11031

 

 

The OP mentioned that the PSU is no longer rated at 500W CONTINUOUS but instead rated at 450W CONTINUOUS, how did he know it was continuous wattage instead of peak wattage?

[MDH]

9 minutes ago, Mr.Meerkat said:

peak wattage is where the power supply can deliver a wattage rating for a short period of time (maybe a few seconds or a few mins) and continuous rating is where it can deliver the specified wattage forever with no issues ...or in theory it shouldn't blow up if it's not made using shitty components. 

 

For your question about your PSU, I don't know  and too lazy right now after I completely rebuilt my PC (which seem to have solved the black screening and power surge issues ). 

 

I understand the difference Linus explained that well, but what I don't understand is how to tell the difference between a PSU rated at X watts continuous or X watts peak.

[Mr.Meerkat]

2 minutes ago, MDH said:

I understand the difference Linus explained that well, but what I don't understand is how to tell the difference between a PSU rated at X watts continuous or X watts peak.

I'm unsure as some companies are sneaky and doesn't say whether it's continuous or peak...this usually requires some research  

[quan289]

A proper, continuous rated 700w PSU would not have the 12V rail rated under 50A / 600w.

 

Anyways, here (scroll down to the power distribution chart ) : http://www.thermaltake.com/products-model.aspx?id=C_00001776

[MDH]

7 minutes ago, Mr.Meerkat said:

I'm unsure as some companies are sneaky and doesn't say whether it's continuous or peak...this usually requires some research  

 

Research as in asking in forums looking at reviews etc.?

[Mr.Meerkat]

2 minutes ago, MDH said:

Research as in asking in forums looking at reviews etc.?

Yah, asking forums is good and I would do some for you but I'm too lazy right now  

[MDH]

1 minute ago, Mr.Meerkat said:

Yah, asking forums is good and I would do some for you but I'm too lazy right now  

Oh haha. I've been looking everywhere and no luck so far.

[Quaker]

I'm not 100% sure on this, but I think that 80+ rated power supplies must give the continuous power output.

[Mr.Meerkat]

1 minute ago, MDH said:

Oh haha. I've been looking everywhere and no luck so far.

 

9 minutes ago, quan289 said:

A proper, continuous rated 700w PSU would not have the 12V rail rated under 50A / 600w.

 

Anyways, here (scroll down to the power distribution chart ) : http://www.thermaltake.com/products-model.aspx?id=C_00001776

It says it's peak 700W but thing is, there's technically 52Amps on the 12V rail so...I guess it could be 700W continuous  (as that includes the 3.3V and 5V outputs).

[MDH]

15 minutes ago, quan289 said:

A proper, continuous rated 700w PSU would not have the 12V rail rated under 50A / 600w.

 

Anyways, here (scroll down to the power distribution chart ) : http://www.thermaltake.com/products-model.aspx?id=C_00001776

 

So this PSU is a proper continuous rated 700W PSU?

[DXMember]

22 minutes ago, MDH said:

 

The OP mentioned that the PSU is no longer rated at 500W CONTINUOUS but instead rated at 450W CONTINUOUS, how did he know it was continuous wattage instead of peak wattage?

tested it or looked at manufacturers product page

[quan289]

1 minute ago, Mr.Meerkat said:

 

It says it's peak 700W but thing is, there's technically 52Amps on the 12V rail so...I guess it could be 700W continuous  (as that includes the 3.3V and 5V outputs).

No. The 30A and 22A rating are not additive; otherwise, that would be like saying the Antec High Current Pro 850 Platinum can output 160A off of the 12V rail (1920W) because it has four 40A.

 

That 30A and 22A rating are like virtual limitation set by a set of protection (Over Current Protection). It's a safety feature to ensure that a certain group wires doesn't draw more than it should in an event of a short.  That rating doesn't tell you the actual 12V rating.

 

7 minutes ago, MDH said:

So this PSU is a proper continuous rated 700W PSU?

No, it is not.

[Mr.Meerkat]

2 minutes ago, quan289 said:

No. The 30A and 22A rating are not additive; otherwise, that would be like saying the Antec High Current Pro 850 Platinum can output 160A off of the 12V rail (1920W) because it has four 40A.

 

That 30A and 22A rating are like virtual limitation set by a set of protection (Over Current Protection). It's a safety feature to ensure that a certain group wires doesn't draw more than it should in an event of a short.  That rating doesn't tell you the actual 12V rating.

whoops, forgot about how they don't add up...not dealt with a multi-rail PSU for too long  

[MDH]

3 minutes ago, quan289 said:

No. The 30A and 22A rating are not additive; otherwise, that would be like saying the Antec High Current Pro 850 Platinum can output 160A off of the 12V rail (1920W) because it has four 40A.

 

That 30A and 22A rating are like virtual limitation set by a set of protection (Over Current Protection). It's a safety feature to ensure that a certain group wires doesn't draw more than it should in an event of a short.  That rating doesn't tell you the actual 12V rating.

 

No, it is not.

 

Could it safely run a system at 620-650 watts? If not, could you give an estimate at what max wattage would be safe?