EVGA Platinum Vs EVGa Gold, Why?

[AVE-Services]

We've been having issues with one of our office PCs, it would randomly restart during broadcasts, lockup, freeze etc. It was a fault that was a pain to try and replicate, unless the system was being used for a critical project!

We changed the PSU over to a EVGA Platinum, money wasn't an issue as long as it solved the problem.
Unfortunately, the issue carried on and we ended up with an entirely new system (using the EVGA Platinum)

So, onto the new setup...
While rendering videos, our i7 8700k would reach around 69 deg C - occasionally switching off the whole system, but I don't think that was heat related as we've gone much higher without issue!

So, I've swapped out the PSU again, this time for a EVGA Gold - the CPU now hangs around 56 deg C, on the same premier pro exports?!  The system hasn't reset, doesn't seem to freeze up anymore and is generally more stable.
When I was changing the PSU, keeping all the Platinum braided cables, we were able to get the motherboards LEDs to light up but nothing else - We've found that the platinum braided cables for SATA, didn't like the new Gold PSU. 

I'm confused about the results!
Better CPU Temp
Non-compatible PSU Cables
Higher CPU speed 

This is not an over clocked setup, and all performance mods are disabled

Did I have a failing PSU with a bad batch of cables?
 

[OrionFOTL]

Freezes and lockups aren't caused by the PSU, so you were replacing the wrong component all the time.

 

"EVGA Gold" or "EVGA Platinum" isn't a power supply, it's like saying "ASUS nVidia graphics card".

 

Power supply cables aren't interchangeable unless they explicitly say they are compatible between models and series. Always use the cables you got with the particular PSU if you aren't sure other cables are compatible.

[AVE-Services]

7 hours ago, OrionFOTL said:

Freezes and lockups aren't caused by the PSU, so you were replacing the wrong component all the time.

 

"EVGA Gold" or "EVGA Platinum" isn't a power supply, it's like saying "ASUS nVidia graphics card".

 

Power supply cables aren't interchangeable unless they explicitly say they are compatible between models and series. Always use the cables you got with the particular PSU if you aren't sure other cables are compatible.

We only had issues at one of our customers sites - in the office, we were unable to replicate the problem 100%. The only difference between office and our clients site was power - unstable power CAN cause all of the above.
We replaced the PSU, and used a power conditioner - our problems were not as regular. We went from being unable to open any applications without constant reboots, to being able to hit stream and go live for 2-3 minutes.

We then focused on the Graphics card, changing our GTX 760 to a GTX 1050ti. 
We then changed our RAM sticks, and removed all PCIE cards.

We changed everything, other than the CPU and motherboard for obvious reasons.
Power supply was first, being the cheapest, and most likely cause with the symptoms we faced.


  "EVGA Gold" or "EVGA Platinum" isn't a power supply, it's like saying "ASUS nVidia graphics card".
No, but its a base model of quality/spec that EVGA sell - both were 750W versions, one Platinum grade and one gold grade.
Full model
EVGA SuperNOVA 750 P2, 80+ PLATINUM 750W
EVGA SuperNOVA 750 G2 80+ GOLD 750W

Power supply cables aren't interchangeable unless they explicitly say they are compatible between models and series. Always use the cables you got with the particular PSU if you aren't sure other cables are compatible.

I'm unsure how or why EVGA would change the pin-out of a cable, in fact, I'm going to test each one to see - I very much doubt they'd do that. Mostly because it would in the end cost them more
No need - 
EVGA already state they are interchangeable 
https://www.evga.com/products/product.aspx?pn=220-T2-0750-X1

[STRMfrmXMN]

7 hours ago, AVE-Services said:

No need - 
EVGA already state they are interchangeable 
https://www.evga.com/products/product.aspx?pn=220-T2-0750-X1

EVGA doesn't make their own PSUs. They have OEMs to do that. So no, don't try doing that. The cables in a T2 are not compatible with the pinout of the GQ, for example, because they're made by Super Flower and FSP respectively. It doesn't cost EVGA any more money to change the pinouts. 

Quote

 "EVGA Gold" or "EVGA Platinum" isn't a power supply, it's like saying "ASUS nVidia graphics card".
No, but its a base model of quality/spec that EVGA sell - both were 750W versions, one Platinum grade and one gold grade.
Full model
EVGA SuperNOVA 750 P2, 80+ PLATINUM 750W
EVGA 750 GQ, 80+ GOLD 750W

OK, so clearly you don't quite understand PSUs, but that's alright, you're in the right place.

 

Gold and Platinum just refer to 80 PLUS efficiency, which doesn't directly correlate to quality. Sure, most 80 PLUS Bronze units are worse than most 80 PLUS platinum units, but that's because of a target market and price point each manufacturer wants to hit. EVGA could tell Seasonic to make an absolutely dogshit 80 PLUS Titanium unit if they wanted, but there's no market for it.

 

The GQ just so happens to be a much lesser unit than the P2, not because of efficiency, but because the P2 performs better electrically. EVGA also has about 1500 different units of different model names that are 80 PLUS Gold and 80 PLUS Platinum respectively.

[AVE-Services]

On 6/25/2018 at 12:57 PM, STRMfrmXMN said:

EVGA doesn't make their own PSUs. They have OEMs to do that. So no, don't try doing that. The cables in a T2 are not compatible with the pinout of the GQ, for example, because they're made by Super Flower and FSP respectively. It doesn't cost EVGA any more money to change the pinouts. 

OK, so clearly you don't quite understand PSUs, but that's alright, you're in the right place.
 

Gold and Platinum just refer to 80 PLUS efficiency, which doesn't directly correlate to quality. Sure, most 80 PLUS Bronze units are worse than most 80 PLUS platinum units, but that's because of a target market and price point each manufacturer wants to hit. EVGA could tell Seasonic to make an absolutely dogshit 80 PLUS Titanium unit if they wanted, but there's no market for it.

 

I'm not entirely sure how you came to that conclusion - better efficiency, better components. 

There is a correlation between quality and efficiency - especially on power output capabilities. 

 

Quote

The GQ just so happens to be a much lesser unit than the P2, not because of efficiency, but because the P2 performs better electrically.

Right, so - how did I get the results that I found? the P2 gave worse results than the G2. This is my point.

 

On 6/25/2018 at 12:57 PM, STRMfrmXMN said:

EVGA doesn't make their own PSUs. They have OEMs to do that. So no, don't try doing that. The cables in a T2 are not compatible with the pinout of the GQ, for example, because they're made by Super Flower and FSP respectively. It doesn't cost EVGA any more money to change the pinouts. 

The spec says they're interchangeable, my pinout test also indicates they are the same.

 

Also just realised that I pasted the wrong PSU model, which may explain your reply..! 
Should have been EVGA SuperNOVA 750 G2, 80+ GOLD 750W NOT GQ

 

Oh man... I need to stop using my ipad to reply.. what a mess. Sorry all! 

[STRMfrmXMN]

10 minutes ago, AVE-Services said:

The spec says they're interchangeable, my pinout test also indicates they are the same.

Where on the spec page does it show they're interchangeable? Am I blind?

 

11 minutes ago, AVE-Services said:

I'm not entirely sure how you came to that conclusion - better efficiency, better components. 

There is a correlation between quality and efficiency - especially on power output capabilities. 

 

Right, so - how did I get the results that I found? the P2 gave worse results than the GQ. This is my point.

That isn't true at all though. Better efficiency doesn't necessarily mean better all-around components. You could put subpar capacitors in a high-efficiency unit, as an example, and it wouldn't affect efficiency. You could completely remove all protections from the PSU and it could still be very efficient.

 

12 minutes ago, AVE-Services said:

Also just realised that I pasted the wrong PSU model, which may explain your reply..! 
Should have been EVGA SuperNOVA 750 G2, 80+ GOLD 750W NOT GQ

OH LOL

 

Yeah, the G2 and GQ are very comparable and might use similar pinouts, but I would doubt that they're all the same.

https://www.evga.com/products/product.aspx?pn=100-CU-1300-B9

 

This cable kit doesn't seem to work for the GQ, so I doubt the whole of their pinouts is identical.

[AVE-Services]

2 minutes ago, STRMfrmXMN said:

OH LOL

 

Yeah, the G2 and GQ are very comparable and might use similar pinouts, but I would doubt that they're all the same.

https://www.evga.com/products/product.aspx?pn=100-CU-1300-B9

 

This cable kit doesn't seem to work for the GQ, so I doubt the whole of their pinouts is identical.

I've got the G2 and P2
*Edited first post to show the two full and correct models

So, pinout is the same going by the cable you posted - both on the compat list
 

[STRMfrmXMN]

16 minutes ago, AVE-Services said:

I've got the G2 and P2
*Edited first post to show the two full and correct models

So, pinout is the same going by the cable you posted - both on the compat list
 

Yes, the P2 and G2 should have identical pinouts.

[Guest]

If you're comparing the G2 and P2, then the cables are compatible.   They're not with the GQ.  The only reason I can think of the one cable not working is because either it wasn't plugged in correctly or the port on the PSU is dead (like a broken solder joint, bad solid cap on the PCB, etc.)

 

As for the temperatures and the CPU speed:  Obviously the CPU is not going to throttle if it's running cooler, so that explains why the CPU is running "faster", but the only explanation I can think of for the cooler temperatures is that the fan on the G2 is running faster at the same load as the fan in the P2.  You do have the PSU mounted so the fan is facing inward (towards the motherboard) and not away, correct?

 

Keep in mind that the fan controller in the PSU is designed to move the fan to keep the PSU cool.  Not the rest of your PC.  So a more efficient Platinum PSU does not require as much fan rotation as a lesser efficiency Gold PSU.

 

This tells me this:  The ventilation in your PC is shit if it's relying so heavily on the PSU's fan to exhaust heat.  What chassis is this?  What other fans are in the chassis?  Intake and exhaust and where are they located?

[awesomegamer919]

18 hours ago, AVE-Services said:

I'm not entirely sure how you came to that conclusion - better efficiency, better components. 

There is a correlation between quality and efficiency - especially on power output capabilities. 

Correlation =/= Causation, there are *plenty* of examples where a lower rated PSu is better than a higher rated one - a Corsair CX grey label is better than an EVGA NexG Gold, and an Antec Signature is better than most, if not all gold rated unit on the market despite only being bronze rated (TBF it's been EOL a long time and was $300, but it was a damn good PSU).

[AVE-Services]

21 hours ago, jonnyGURU said:

If you're comparing the G2 and P2, then the cables are compatible.   They're not with the GQ.  The only reason I can think of the one cable not working is because either it wasn't plugged in correctly or the port on the PSU is dead (like a broken solder joint, bad solid cap on the PCB, etc.)

 

As for the temperatures and the CPU speed:  Obviously the CPU is not going to throttle if it's running cooler, so that explains why the CPU is running "faster", but the only explanation I can think of for the cooler temperatures is that the fan on the G2 is running faster at the same load as the fan in the P2.  You do have the PSU mounted so the fan is facing inward (towards the motherboard) and not away, correct?

 

Keep in mind that the fan controller in the PSU is designed to move the fan to keep the PSU cool.  Not the rest of your PC.  So a more efficient Platinum PSU does not require as much fan rotation as a lesser efficiency Gold PSU.

 

This tells me this:  The ventilation in your PC is shit if it's relying so heavily on the PSU's fan to exhaust heat.  What chassis is this?  What other fans are in the chassis?  Intake and exhaust and where are they located?

It was all three cables, as soon as they were connected to the drives the PSU turned off. New cables are all good

CPU wasn't thermal throttling going by the stress tests - when using my water cooling kit, temps were a lot nicer (in the 50C range while exporting) idle around 19C. Besides, I can't imagine a CPU throttling at 69C, especially as that was its peak temperate before dropping slightly
Bare in mind, I'm rendering 150mbps 4K footage, around 3/4 hour file lengths.
The CPU idles at a faster speed too, not just while rendering.
 

The PSU isn't mounted in the case - airflow and temps have never been an issue, the temps above are purely because i'm running a bog standard cooler while testing again.
Room temperate is around 13 deg C as its in my closed off concrete unit - Mobo/GPU/Drives etc all hang very low
 

[Guest]

Then nobody can explain your issue.

 

We can assume the PSU or the cables or both were defective.  That happens.  But certainly I cannot see how one PSU versus another would allow a CPU to run cooler and faster when the ventilation typically created by the PSU fan isn't playing a part.

 

Weird.