Excess PSU power help

[EarthDog]

LOL... most people don't have 20 working PCs in their house. Anyone can make a point with an unrealistic scenario.

Even if you have 4/5 (like I do.. a couple for review, one for the kids, one for the wife), I still went modular on all of them. The cables go in the psu box and in storage.

If you don't want to store them or take a chance at losing them, get non modular... but then you run the minor risk of warming things up a bit because of all the cables manipulating airflow and being another dust catch. Again.. minor, minor, issue, but if it can be used as a talking point for a modular psu, it can be used against a non modular as well.

 

[cornemuse]

Its like in the marines, 'You cant have too much ammunition'

-c-

 

[slozomby]

heck with 20 working pc's its time to learn about virtualization. the power bill alone will pay for a new 20 core xeon within a year.

 

[Bill_Bright]

e.g a 80+ bronze rated 600W psu thats only under ~400W of load might reach 80+ silver levels of efficiency

Ummm, sorry, but not really making sense there. If it doesn't reach Bronze levels (which are 82% efficiency at 20% load, 85% efficiency at 50% load, and 82% at 100% load), then it fails certification testing and will NOT be allowed to "wear" the Bronze logo.

80 PLUS Silver is a higher certification level than Bronze and requires 85% efficiency at 20% load, 88% efficiency at 50% load, and 85% at 100% load. So if a Bronze supply is hitting Silver levels, that's a good thing, not bad.

 

[EarthDog]

Sometimes X rated psus can hit X+1 ratings here and there (but still fall short of the 'true' requirement for the next tier...for example, may not hit 10% threshold for platinum, but hits the rest of the measure points). Seen it several times on JG. It is not common though. Manufacturers want the highest rating they can get.

 

[Bill_Bright]

Sometimes X rated psus can hit X+1 ratings here and there (but still fall short of the 'true' requirement for the next tier...for example, may not hit 10% threshold for platinum, but hits the rest of the measure points). Seen it several times on JG.

This is true, and when that happens during certification testing with both units that go in for testing, and the goal is that higher cert, they will not pass certification and will be forced to take the next lower rating - or withdraw that supply from certification, go back to the drawing board, make the necessary adjustments, then re-submit the supply for recertification testing.

And that's how it should be. Supplies should not get a higher cert if they don't meet or beat the minimum requirements.

The problem with JG and other testing sites is they only test one unit. It would be good if these testing facilities had the resources ($$$) to go buy several samples (the more the better) "off the shelf" from multiple vendors such as from Amazon, Newegg, Best Buy and Frys, then test to make sure all samples passed. That would reveal any trends or patterns (good and bad) in the product. I note that many of these test samples come directly from the manufacturers who submit them to JG or TPU for review testing. The reviewers (and us readers) must assume these samples are not "cream of the crop" samples that were cherry picked to earn top review points.

Now personally, I trust JG and TPU in terms of reviewer integrity. But it is not uncommon that reviewers get to keep the products they review. This can lead to at least the "appearance of impropriety" and bias in the reviews - either in good reviews for the generous makers, or poor reviews for those less generous.

 

[EarthDog]

Cynical... but ok.

 

[64K]

This is true, and when that happens during certification testing with both units that go in for testing, and the goal is that higher cert, they will not pass certification and will be forced to take the next lower rating - or withdraw that supply from certification, go back to the drawing board, make the necessary adjustments, then re-submit the supply for recertification testing.

And that's how it should be. Supplies should not get a higher cert if they don't meet or beat the minimum requirements.

The problem with JG and other testing sites is they only test one unit. It would be good if these testing facilities had the resources ($$$) to go buy several samples (the more the better) "off the shelf" from multiple vendors such as from Amazon, Newegg, Best Buy and Frys, then test to make sure all samples passed. That would reveal any trends or patterns (good and bad) in the product. I note that many of these test samples come directly from the manufacturers who submit them to JG or TPU for review testing. The reviewers (and us readers) must assume these samples are not "cream of the crop" samples that were cherry picked to earn top review points.

Now personally, I trust JG and TPU in terms of reviewer integrity. But it is not uncommon that reviewers get to keep the products they review. This can lead to at least the "appearance of impropriety" and bias in the reviews - either in good reviews for the generous makers, or poor reviews for those less generous.

I trust Jonny Guru and TPU for PSU reviews. If they give me a reason to end that trust then that will be a mess for me because that leaves me with depending on ratings/reviews from buyers on Amazon and Newegg and how trustworthy are those or I would have to go with my own buying experiences and as everyone knows even a great PSU can have some defective units though they might be few on any particular model.

 

[Bill_Bright]

Cynical... but ok.

I think it is realistic, not cynical. Ever heard of Consumer Reports? The reason it is the most trusted review organization in the world is it is entirely non-profit. Their magazines and articles have no product or service advertisements. They send out "secret shoppers" to buy several test samples off-the-shelf from local retailers around the country. They do this so there is absolutely no way (or even the appearance) any company can cherry pick units for review, or can influence the reviewer (even subconsciously).

And as always, the more samples taken, the more accurate the results.

Even their "user reviews" can be trusted because (1) they survey millions of subscribers and (2) the surveys are taken after at least 1 year (3 or more with big items like cars and kitchen appliances) of ownership to see how the products have held up over time and extended use. And again, the greater the sampling, the more accurate the results.

I trust Jonny Guru and TPU for PSU reviews.

As I noted, I trust them too. But as you correctly noted, even a great PSU maker can have some defective units (or some that perform abnormally great compared to others of the same model). And since JG and TPU don't test several samples of the same models (typically just one sent by the manufacturer), we can still trust TPU and JG methods and integrity, but must be cautious about the results. This is why I read both JG and TPU and other reviews, not just one.

 

[sneekypeet]

This can lead to at least the "appearance of impropriety" and bias in the reviews - either in good reviews for the generous makers, or poor reviews for those less generous.

You really have no clue!

I think it is realistic, not cynical. Ever heard of Consumer Reports? The reason it is the most trusted review organization in the world is it is entirely non-profit. Their magazines and articles have no product or service advertisements. They send out "secret shoppers" to buy several test samples off-the-shelf from local retailers around the country. They do this so there is absolutely no way (or even the appearance) any company can cherry pick units for review, or can influence the reviewer (even subconsciously).

And as always, the more samples taken, the more accurate the results.

Even their "user reviews" can be trusted because (1) they survey millions of subscribers and (2) the surveys are taken after at least 1 year (3 or more with big items like cars and kitchen appliances) of ownership to see how the products have held up over time and extended use. And again, the greater the sampling, the more accurate the results.

As I noted, I trust them too. But as you correctly noted, even a great PSU maker can have some defective units (or some that perform abnormally great compared to others of the same model). And since JG and TPU don't test several samples of the same models (typically just one sent by the manufacturer), we can still trust TPU and JG methods and integrity, but must be cautious about the results. This is why I read both JG and TPU and other reviews, not just one.

So you are actually silly enough to think nobody at consumer reports collects a pay check? We are asked by you to believe that hundreds, maybe thousands of employees work there out of the kindness of their hearts? I literally lol'd when reading your last two posts.

Also since we are now way of the original topic of this thread and so much "stuff" is flying around at this point, I think it is about time we just close up shop!