[PLUS] PSU comparison test: 12 models with 1,000 watts

Believe us, we find the ongoing trend of increasing power requirements for new PC hardware in the light of skyrocketing energy prices at least as questionable as you do. Nevertheless, the new generations of processors and especially graphics cards are already knocking on the door and proudly demand a lavish electricity tribute, which is why we are now focusing on the 1,000 watt class in this power supply comparison test. The problem between the disappearance of crypto mining of Ethereum coins, huge stocks of older graphics cards and new hardware generations on the horizon is the sometimes chaotically opaque market between older and new models, which is why we try to at least go through important power supply information in an explanatory manner.

Power supply updates

There is a mood of upheaval in the power supply segment. Not only because we have completely revised our online power supply purchasing advice for you and have re-equipped it with all sorts of information including tests (to be found at www.pcgh.de/netzteile), but because with Intel’s new ATX 3.0 specification and the first PCI -E 5.0 GPUs usher in a different era. The short version: High-quality ATX 2-series power supplies should continue to serve you well, and adapters should also make it possible to get PCI-E 5.0 GPUs with the new 12VHPWR/16-pin connector to work. Incidentally, the connection is not reserved for ATX 3-series devices, but is either included with some high-quality, newer ATX 2-series power supplies in the form of adapters or native 12VHPWR cables or can be ordered separately. Anyone aiming for a completely new system with a likely more expensive ATX 3.0 power supply will have to wait until the first quarter of 2023, depending on the manufacturer. At this point in time, no ATX 3.0 power supplies are commercially available. This means that high-quality or high watt classes are the only option in the test sights thanks to TDP specifications of up to 600 watts per graphics card. With already existing, high-class electricity dispensers one should be able to get by for a few more years. Whether AMD, like Nvidia, is aiming for the 12VHPWR connector is still pending.

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