How future-proof are PSU's?

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kipling100

Weaksauce
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I'm looking to upgrade my video card to a GTX 260 core 216. My PSU is currently a 500W Enermax Liberty, running an 8800 GTS 640, E6600 @ 3.4, one hard disk, and a dvd drive.

Because the recommended amps for the 260 is 36A on the 12V rails, and the Enermax has only 32A, I'm looking to upgrade the PSU as well.

However, I don't want to buy a new PSU if I decide to go all out in a couple years and set up a tri-sli system, etc. So my question is if I make the $200-$240 investment for a Corsair HX 1000, which I believe comes with a 5 year limited warranty, how long would something like that last me in terms of accommodating any future upgrades? Is that a smart thing to do in my situation?

Thanks for any input.
 
FYI you don't need a new PSU. Your PSU will power that card just fine. I had the PSU and ran a GTX260 vanilla and later a GTX285. The card doesn't use anywhere near 36A.

I got a Corsair HX1000 because it was a good deal at the time ~$170. It supports 8pin power cables for video cards which are starting to see more and more use. Beyond that you'll need some sort of adapter and hopefully not a new psu.

The Enermax Revolution 1050w looks very future proof since it could possibly support 12pin if we ever get there. However its warranty period isn't nearly as long though. I think its only 1 year. If I had to buy a PSU today it would be the Enermax Revolution 1050w for ~$230.
 
Yea, the only one I've seen that is really future-proof is the Revolution series...

$235 AR on Newegg for the 1050, $200 for the 850...

Seems like I'll just get the 1050 and be done for a few years (Hopefully?)

For some reason I doubt power usage will ever require much past a kilowatt, everything gets faster and more efficient (typically) each generation... sometimes we get a big bump in performance at the cost of heat/power, but then the next generation goes faster and uses less power. (Talking GPU's mainly, but CPU's too)

Future-proofing with computer parts is idiotic though...
 
seems to me like the only main difference will occur when the new 4/8 pin cables come to power video cards or cpu's, or perhaps the main mobo cable changes

rest should be pretty good
 
A good quality large capacity PSU will last several years. A 1kW PSU will be enough to handle single and dual-card high-end graphics setups for at least another generation or two.
 
I've had the same 450w antec PSU for about 7 years now, surprised how long it lasted me. Currently running e8400 4870 and p5q pro.

I just ordered a 620w corsair after seeing a sweet deal posted here so hopefully that will last a bit longer
 
It all depends what you want to run, I don't intend on running anything past single socket/single card combo so this HX620 should last me till I feel like replacing it or it starts to die, I've had it for over 2 years already.
 
Blazestorm said:
Future-proofing with computer parts is idiotic though...
Click to expand...

That's mostly true, though there are certain things that should last you a lot longer than others, like PSU, Case, Sound Card. Unless of course the industry decides to go with a new standard, in which case everyone is screwed.
 
I got 620HX a couple of years ago, hoped it'll last me a while. No dice, had to get Rev 1050 now, lol
 
nsx241 said:
That's mostly true, though there are certain things that should last you a lot longer than others, like PSU, Case, Sound Card. Unless of course the industry decides to go with a new standard, in which case everyone is screwed.
Click to expand...

Which is my point ;) luckily standard's are usually slow migrations... ATX has been around for a long time, I remember Intel trying to push BTX and everyone else was like... nothx...

When PCI-E 6pin cables came out, if you had an older (but still powerful power supply) you had to use adapters for everything. same with the 8pin connections, 8pin ATX, and 24pin ATX.

They're slow progressions, the point with the Enermax Revolution is that they're able to adapt their modular cables to newer formats if the industry moves to it (10pin and 12pin ATX or PCI-E cables) which is awesome, they might send some cables for free, or let you order them cheap... either way it's something other PSU's can't really do, sure you will probably be able to use adapters when those come out, but this will be able to do it without modifying.

But in my opinion, lasting 3-5 years isn't really "future proof"... sure you could use a HDD from 10 years ago, but the capacity would be so small and it would be so slow it'd be silly to use it... same applies to pretty much anything related to computers... Cases can last through a few builds, but what kind of nice cases were even available 5-7 years ago that'd you want to use? Fan sizes, layouts, and features have all drastically improved since then..

The only item that could have lasted 15+ years is the IBM Model M keyboard :D
 
Well, 5 years ago most cases probably had 80mm fans and people prefer 120mm fans to keep noise down nowdays, but other than that the layouts are similar at the low-end... 'Course we're talking about mid-to-high end stuff here that you'd wanna keep for a few gens, and it usually just doesn't work out like that, heh. Monitors are the one thing I think have the most longevity, my 19" 1280x1024 CRT still makes for a fine secondary display and it was my primary 'till a few months ago... It's 8 or 9 years old now.

There hasn't been much innovation in cases over the last 3-4 years tho, I think something like an expensive Silverstone case today could last you for ages and three or four builds. You might see some frills like SATA backplates or kooky layouts but that's about it. I'd be using my old 4 year old modded Antec Super Lanboy for my current build if my GTX 260 fit inside it, almost went for a 4870 instead (because it'd fit fine) but I got a great deal on the GTX 260 + two games so I swapped cases with a friend instead.

Anyway, I wouldn't invest huge on a 1KW PSU that you really don't need unless you think you're likely gonna build some sorta tri-SLI super rig in the foreseeable future. Your current PSU should work ok...
 
Just my opinion but I would guess any High quality PSU above 750 will last you as long as
the PS can live usually 5+ years.


Everything is taking less and less power to run now days and that trend is only going to continue so if your PSU can handle the computers of today is should be able to handle the ones in future.
 
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