Possible power supply issues for Intel Haswell CPUs

Subject: Cases and Cooling, Processors | May 1, 2013 - 03:07 PM | Ryan Shrout
Tagged: power supply, Intel, idle, haswell, c7, c6

I came across an interesting news story posted by The Tech Report this morning that dives into the possibility of problems with Intel's upcoming Haswell processors and currently available power supplies.  Apparently, the new C6 and C7 idle power states that give the new Haswell architecture benefits for low power scenarios place a requirement of receiving a 0.05 amps load on the 12V2 rail.  (That's just 50 milliamps!)  Without that capability, the system can exhibit unstable behavior and a quick look at the power supply selector on Intel's own website is only listing a couple dozen that support the feature. 

This table from VR-Zone, the source of the information initially, shows the difference between the requirements for 3rd (Ivy Bridge) and 4th generation (Haswell) processors.  The shift is an order of magnitude and is quite a dramatic change for PSU vendors.  Users of Corsair power supplies will be glad to know that among those listed with support on the Intel website linked above were mostly Corsair units!

A potential side effect of this problem might be that motherboard vendors simply disable those sleep states by default.  I don't imagine that will be a problem for PC builders anyway since most desktop users aren't really worried about the extremely small differences in power consumption they offer.  For mobile users and upcoming Haswell notebook designs the increase in battery life is crucial though and Intel has surely been monitoring those power supplies closely. 

I asked our in-house power supply guru, Lee Garbutt, who is responsible for all of the awesome power supply reviews on pcper.com, what he thought about this issue.  He thinks the reason more power supplies don't support it already is for power efficiency concerns:

Most all PSUs have traditionally required "some load" on the various outputs to attain good voltage regulation and/or not shut down. Not very many PSUs are designed yet to operate with no load, especially on the critical +12V output. One of the reasons for this is efficiency. Its harder to design a PSU to operate correctly with a very low load AND to deliver high efficiency. It would be easy just to add some bleed resistance across the DC outputs to always have a minimal load to keep voltage regulation under control but then that lowers efficiency.

Win FREE Stuff! Seasonic M12II 850 watt and 750 watt PSU up for grabs!!

Subject: Editorial, Cases and Cooling | February 5, 2013 - 12:55 PM | Ryan Shrout
Tagged: seasonic, PSU, power supply, m12ii, giveaway, contest

We know that our readers love to win free stuff, and who can blame you?  Building PCs can sometimes be a burden on your wallet and we do our best to help that by showing you the best deals and occasionally having contests like this!

Our good friends at Seasonic wanted to offer up a couple of power supplies for our community and we were obviously excited to facilitate!  Here are the goods you can win:

Seasonic M12II SS-850AM 850 watt Power Supply ($130 value - Newegg Link)

Seasonic M12II SS-750AM 750 watt Power Supply ($120 value - Newegg Link)

Seasonic M12II Bronze Series has been the ever-popular power supply series of the semi modular category. Now Seasonic extends the semi-modular series by introducing M12II Bronze 650/750/850 to provide consumers a larger selection in the entry level 80PLUS Bronze certified category.

The M12II Bronze new models have built in a full protection feature including OCP, OPP,OTP, OVP, SCP & UVP and meet worldwide safety and environmental standards. The all-new M12II-650/750/850 units are the new leaders in the 80 PLUS Bronze category and another great addition to the Seasonic Retail power supply family.

If you are looking to build a new PC or upgrade your current system, either of these two power supplies will make a great backbone for all the other components. 

How do you win? 

1. Visit your favorite PC Perspective pages like our YouTube channel, Facebook page and Twitter account.  You should subscribe, like and follow us, you know...if you want to.  We'd appreciate it!
2. Also, stop by the Seasonic Facebook page and give it a look - they are always posting contests and giveaways there!!
3. Leave a comment here on this post telling us what you would be able to do better if your system was powered by one of these power supplies!

We'll pick a winner on Wednesday the 13th of February, so get your entries in NOW!  A big thank you goes out to Seasonic for supporting PC Perspective and for supporting our loyal readers!

Rosewill Announces 1600W Hercules PSU

Subject: Cases and Cooling | December 3, 2012 - 08:56 PM | Tim Verry
Tagged: rosewill, PSU, power supply, 80 PLUS Silver, 1600w

Rosewill recently took the wraps off of a monster of a power supply that is rated to deliver 1600W of power. The Hercules 1600W PSU is an 80+ Silver design that will provide efficient power for quad CrossFire X or Nvidia SLI multi-GPU setups. It measures 5.9” x 3.4” x 9.5” and should fit within most full ATX cases without issue.

Other features include sleeved cabling and a 135mm “silent” fan that has an automatically adjusting RPM setting as well as a Turbo button that will spin the fan up to its maximum speed.

Where the PSU really stands out though is in the sheer wattage and number of PCI-E power cables. It features two 12 volt rails at 110A and 50A each. Rosewill has divided the rails such that 12V1 handles all of the PCI-E power connectors (up to 1320W) and the 12V2 rail rated at a maximum of 600W and is used for all the other 12V connections.

The included power cables are as follows:

• 16 x 6+2 pin PCI-E
• 16 x SATA power
• 6 x 4 pin molex
• 2 x 4 pin floppy power
• 1 x 8 pin EPS
• 1 x 4+4 pin EPS
• 1 x 24 pin ATX

Needless to say, it has an impressive number of power cables. You might have a hard time finding enough graphics cards to use even half of the PCI-E power cables, for example. Fortunately, it has a semi-modular design (the ATX and CPU power cables are non-removable) so that you will not have to find enough room to hide all of the excess cables in the 5.25” bays (heh).

The 1600W Hercules power supply is available now with a price of $399 USD. While it will be overkill for most computers, it is impressive nonetheless and would be well suited to powering a rig with dual Powercolor Devil 13 7990 GPUs.

EVGA Launches NEX1500 Classified PSU, Overclocks to 1650W

Subject: General Tech | August 23, 2012 - 10:31 AM | Tim Verry
Tagged: PSU, power supply, evga, 80 Plus Gold, 1650W

EVGA, a company most well-known for its line of graphics cards and enthusiast motherboards, has rounded out its computer offerings by announcing a power supply product. The NEX1500 Classified power supply (PSU) is a first for the company, and is released under the company’s high-end “Classified” series.

The NEX1500 Classified is a fully modular power supply that is able to run off of 110 or 230 VAC. When run on 110 volt, the PSU is rated to provide up to 1500 watts. Even better, EVGA claims an efficiency rating of 80 PLUS Gold. Interestingly, the PSU is “overclockable,” in the sense that it can deliver up to 1650 watts when hooked up to a 230 volt circuit. The overclocking is done in a piece of SuperNOVA software. The software allows the following monitoring and adjustment functions:

• Monitor voltage
• Monitor current draw for each rail
• Monitor power used
• Monitor efficiency
• Change fan profile
• Adjust the +12V rail (and configure single or multi rail mode) 

Other features of the EVGA power supply includes Japanese capacitors throughout and a fully modular design–even the 24-pin ATX cable is modular which is nice to see.

The cables are all sleeved in the black and red EVGA color scheme. It comes with the following cables:

• 1 x 24-pin ATX
• 2 x 8-pin EPS12V (the CPU power socket on the motherboard)
• 16 x 6+2-pin PCI-E
• 3 x 6-pin PCI-E
• 12 x SATA
• 8 x Molex
• 2 x Floppy
• 1 x USB (that’s one I’ve not seen before on a PSU!)

The EVGA NEX1500 is packed with lots of features that enthusiasts like to see, but it will cost you. It has an MSRP of $449.99 USD and will be available later this month (August 2012). Fortunately, EVGA seems confident that this will be the only PSU you will need for a while as it comes with a 10 year warranty. You can find more information and photos on the EVGA product page.

The EVGA SuperNOVA software for monitoring the PSU

It is interesting that the company’s debut product is one on the very high end of the market. It could be a good thing, however. If reviewers find it to be a quality product, it will be the ideal platform for the company to work from to create lower cost (and lower wattage) models for the rest of the computer market. 

Cooler Master Announces Silent Pro M2 Power Supplies

Subject: General Tech | June 29, 2012 - 09:30 AM | Tim Verry
Tagged: silent pro m2, PSU, power supply, cooler master

Cooler Master, a company known for its computer cases and heat sinks has announced an update to its Silent Pro M-series power supplies with the Silent Pro M2 line. Coming in 620 watt, 720 watt, and 1500 watt models, the company has reportedly implemented improvements in every aspects of the PSUs. The 620W and 720W power supplies utilize a single 12V rail capable of delivering 50A and 58A respectively. The 1500W PSU further implements dual 12V rails pushing 70A on one rail and an additional 55A on the other.

All three power supplies are modular, minus the ATX power cable which is permanent. The 620W and 720W models are 80 PLUS Bronze certified while the 1500W model is rated at 80 PLUS Silver. The Silent Pro M2 line is RoHS and ERP 2010 compliant, as well. Further, they have an improved 3.3V DC-to-DC converter and larger capacitors that enable hold-up times greater than 17ms. A 135mm fan with hydraulic bearing aims to keep the power supplies cool.

While Cooler Master has not announced pricing, they are set to be available for purchase sometime in June 2012. You can find more information on the Silent Pro M2 PSUs on the company's product pages.

Corsair announces AX1200i DSP-based fully modular power supply

Subject: Cases and Cooling | June 4, 2012 - 06:01 PM | Ryan Shrout
Tagged: power supply, corsair, computex, ax1200i

As Computex continues into its first full day over in Taiwan, Corsair has a few things to show you, starting with a new high-end power supply called the AX1200i, a completely digitally-controlled unit.

The new AX1200i is rated at 80 PLUS Platinum levels of efficiency thanks in part to the digital power control technology to provide stable voltages, low ripple and low noise levels.  A new circuit board layout and reduced component count also aid in the ability for this Corsair unit to hit efficiency as high as 92% and to operate in a fanless, silent mode up to 40% utilization.

"Corsair has earned a reputation as one of world’s best providers of enthusiast PSUs, and with the AX1200i, we have raised the technology and performance bar far above anything the market has seen,” said Ruben Mookerjee, VP and General Manager of the Components Business Unit at Corsair. “By designing the first DSP-based enthusiast PSU and integrating our unique Corsair Link technology, we can offer enthusiasts a PSU with a matchless combination of performance and customizable features.”

AX1200i’s DSP-based design, combined with Corsair Link technology, provides enthusiasts with unprecedented control over the features and performance characteristics of their PSU. This includes real-time monitoring of temperature, current draw, and power efficiency, as well as the ability to adjust the speed of the internal 140mm fan. These features also allow for a unique level of customization, such as the ability to switch from the default single +12V rail configuration to a tailored “multi-rail” mode, with the ability to set over current protection set-points on a per-rail basis.

The new Corsair AX1200i power supply will be available in August and will ship with a 7-year warranty.  Pricing is unknown.