Battle of the titans Tt vs. Ultra vs. ABS, which one?

Ok, This is my problem and it has been thus far the most stressing one of them all. I've been racking my brain trying to choose a PSU for about 3 months now and have finally narrowed it down to 3. All three are 1200w or more and some might say it's an overkill, but I'm also thinking along the lines of future upgrading. First, I'll list the rig..


My rig thus far consists of the following:

Intel E8500 or Q9450 (Still undecided)

EVGA 790i Ultra Mobo

OCZ Platinum 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) Model# OCZ3P16004GK

Thermalright IFX-14 CPU cooler w/ 2 Scythe Slipstream 120mm fans

Dual Western Digital VelociRaptor 300Gb (When available)

Dual EVGA GeForce 9800 GX2 SSC (Maybe, may wait for GTX200's to come out)

Thermaltake Armor+ full tower.

Cooling, air-cooling all the way baby since my room temp rarely goes above 21°C


Now for the PSU's I've narrowed down to... Keep in mind, my highest priority is quality and long-term dependability.

1) Thermaltake 1200W Toughpower Modular.

http://www.frozencpu.com/products/5..._Ready_Power_Supply_W0156RU.html?tl=g11c26s87

The least expensive of the 3, so far this one's the slight front runner, mainly because it has the most reviews of them, and the only of the 3 to have been reviewed on Johnny GURU. But of the 3, it's also the least aesthetically pleasing, not a huge issue, but an issue nonetheless.


2) Ultra X3 1600W

http://www.frozencpu.com/products/5...Ready_Power_Supply_ULT40070.html?tl=g11c26s87

This one is the biggest and most powerful of the 3, sort of.. I hear it only runs at 1200w on a standard outlet, which puts it about on par with the Thermaltake. If I ever need to go up to 1600w, it won't be too much a problem since my buddy is an electrician and tells me the conversion is rather simple. Of the 3, this is the cleanest looking PSU and has the most compact modular cables. Not much in reviews aside from Tigerdirect blog and 3DGameMan, but I don't trust them, Tiger is marketing it, and it seems as though everything 3DGameMan reviews is a "Kickass Product", lol.

And finally...

3) ABS Tagan BZ Series BZ1300 1300W Piperock Modular

http://www.newegg.com/product/product.aspx?item=N82E16817814011

The most expensive the 3, not only does this one have the highest power output for a standard outlet but it's also the only one that is lighted. It's also the most unique looking giving it a high cool factor. But there's nothing review wise about it aside from a few customer reviews on Newegg and other retail sites.


Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated, even alternatives to the one listed are welcome.

Thanks in advance,

ZenDigital

That's not overkill, that's obscene overkill

#3 doesn't belong in the same room with the other two - you'll be disappointed with that one. Of the other two, grab the one you like best - they're pretty close to each other in build quality.

You will indeed need a 20A circuit and 12/2 wiring to run the Ultra up to full power, but you won't need to do that for that rig.

If your gonna go with the Tagan, the BZ series look and works great. But if you wanna go that high in watts you might want to get the ITZ series instead of the BZ. The ITZ series are maybe a little more price wise, but they are built better than the BZ's. I just heard the BZ's use slightly generic Caps.

I can't complain about mine, though I get weird power readings from different programs. Everest Free says my +12v is at 9.61v, OCCT says 12.9v, and PC Probe II says 12.25v.

I don't know about the TT or the Ultra. Have you looked up Pc Power and Cooling (PP&C) PSU's? I heard they are near top of the line in quality and power.

As far as your CPU goes, look into the E8400 instead of the E8500, about $90 less and almost identical performance.

Sarsbaby said:

Have you looked up Pc Power and Cooling (PP&C) PSU's? I heard they are near top of the line in quality and power and the ability to double as a leaf blower.

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Fixed

My opinion is the same as Wolf's. The X3 or the TT.

May I suggest Corsair HX1000? It's more human for your 500W DC power consumption.
It's a damn good PSU.

Get a nice 750W or so.

Oklahoma Wolf said:

That's not overkill, that's obscene overkill

#3 doesn't belong in the same room with the other two - you'll be disappointed with that one. Of the other two, grab the one you like best - they're pretty close to each other in build quality.

You will indeed need a 20A circuit and 12/2 wiring to run the Ultra up to full power, but you won't need to do that for that rig.

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Thanks for the info, yes it is obscene but I do have plans down the road that will put a 1000w+ PSU through it's paces, can't air cool forever. Looks like Im gonna go with the Ultra since it offers more potential for future insanity.

burebista said:

May I suggest Corsair HX1000? It's more human for your 500W DC power consumption.
It's a damn good PSU.

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Hazaro said:

Get a nice 750W or so.

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I see what you guys are saying, but the Hardware listed above is just the start, I have a few ideas in my warped mind that will eventually require more power in the 1000w+ range. The air cooling is just for the time being.

cooling won't some into it. pumps don't pull much power and if your using anything else, you won't be using your PSU to power it. 1000w is rediculus, but its really the AMPS you want to look for in a system like that. Idealy you want one 12v rail with lots of amps on it, hence a PC Power & Cool is my recomendation. 700 - 800watt range would be enough

All 3 are pulse-poundingly cool, especially the ABS unit. If I was in the market for that sort of wattage I'd most likely pop for the X3 unit, primarily because I've read good things about them. As far as feature set, the ABS unit has me. I'll be looking for a replacement for my Antec towards the end of summer and I'm going to take a serious look at both.

Hipcrostino said:

Idealy you want one 12v rail with lots of amps on it

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That's a myth: http://www.ocforums.com/showthread.php?t=548862