To handle power issues such as spikes, consider a PSU with an ATX 3.0 (Thermaltake) or greater wattage (Silverstone).
To handle power issues such as spikes, consider a PSU with an ATX 3.0 (Thermaltake) or greater wattage (Silverstone).
Background: when playing Greedfall with autosave enabled, my PC shuts down completely and fails to restart until I reconnect the power cable. I believe this is due to my old 660W PSU struggling with power spikes. Even without that assumption, upgrading seems necessary.
I considered a Thermaltake Toughpower GF3 1200W because it supports ATX 3.0 and is meant for better power spike handling. However, the Thermaltake is delayed, and I recently received a Silverstone DA1650 Gold for around 200 €. Both options seem excessive for my current setup. Will either provide sufficient protection against power issues?
Assuming a 13700K processor and a 3080 GPU, it’s not exactly what I currently have. Still, I plan to use the PSU for the next 7-10 years and typically shop in that price range.
No, PSUs with 12-pin connectors now have wider tolerances for transient spikes and power overload. PSUs lacking a 12-pin connector can still meet lower tolerances and remain certified as ATX 3.0. These units aren't ideal for high-power GPUs, but low-end PSUs are likely to appear in the market soon. The 12-pin connector isn't essential; most PSUs offer 8 pins for PCIe.
According to the ATX 3.0 guidelines, those higher transient spikes are managed by PSUs equipped with a PCIE 5.0 12V HW connector. Therefore, ATX 3.0 without that connector doesn't need to address transient spikes—it can simply be rebranded as ATX 2.x with just added ALPM mode. ToughPower is approved to manage transient spikes effectively.
Do you grasp that the ATX 3.0 enhancement for spikes only applies to the main connector and doesn't affect the others, meaning it's essentially the same as the previous standard for the rest? And how can you determine the capability of a specific PSU to manage those spikes? Is there a way to check this information? Would you like to compare the Silverstone's performance with this in mind?
no, pcs with 12pin connectors now allow higher tolerance for voltage spikes and power surges
pcs lacking a 12pin connector can have significantly tighter tolerances while still meeting atx 3.0 certification
these units aren't ideal for high-power GPUs but low-end models should eventually enter the market
12pin connectors aren't mandatory, as most pcs offer 8pin for PCIe interfaces
according to atx 2.x guidelines, a PSU should be roughly twice the size needed for transient spikes up to twice the GPU's maximum power
a 300watt GPU requires about 600watts total during spikes plus roughly 150w for the CPU and other components
this adds up to around 850watts with atx 2.x standards
with atx 3.0 (which includes 12pin connectors), the requirement drops to 300 + 150 + 100 = 550watts
both options work well, toughpower offers better long-term viability since atx 3.0 also introduces ALPM, a very low-power idle mode
The idle mode isn't unimportant at all, as the PC will be used extensively as an office machine, leaving the PSU with little use.
The Silverstone appears only on the list because I received it for 40 € less despite its larger size, and I got it now instead of (hopefully) in a month.