FSP Hydro Ti Pro 1000 Watt PSU mini-review - was Trying to Decide on a New Power Supply. I've narrowed down to 3.

kamikazi · Apr 16, 2024

I'm building my daughter a parts PC and I decided to move my 850 watt Seasonic Prime GX over to her machine and get a new one for myself. See my sig for my machine (5950X with PBO and a 3090 with two DDC pumps and tons of fans). It is capable of pulling in the upper 700 watt range, so I figure it's a good excuse to upgrade and get some future proofing for upgrades. I hate that we're kind of in the ATX 3.0 to ATX 3.1 crossover period, but it seems that 3.1 specs are actually a little looser. Hold-up time is lowered to 12ms instead of 17ms for one. Also, the GPU High power cable isn't any different, just the connecter on the GPU. ATX 3.0 vs. ATX 3.1 So, I've gotten some analysis paralysis. The three I've chosen are the:

FSP Hydro Ti 1000 watt: Review on hwbusters.com which ranks it #1
MSI Meg Ai1000P 1000 watt: Review on hwbusters.com Review on Toms Hardware which ranks it as best 1000 watt power supply
Corsair HX1000i (also would consider the 1200i here): Review on hwbusters.com (it has been updated to include a 12 pin high power cable and meet ATX 3.0 since the review. Also, Intel lists this as an ATX 3.1 unit on their website) Review on Tom's Hardware 4/5 stars.

If you didn't already know, the same guy reviews for hwbusters and Tom's Hardware as well as testing for Cybenetics on power supplies.

It seems that the FSP is the most efficient and quietest of all 100 watt power supplies. It's also the most expensive by around $25 over the MSI. I would turn off the eco feature as I like the fan to always run, but I believe it would still be pretty silent. There doesn't appear to be any aftermarket support with custom cables for this PSU. That is not an issue now, but could be down the road if/when I upgrade my system.

The MSI is a CWT unit, but also very efficient. It uses a 120mm fan, so it can get a little louder at higher loads. However, it wouldn't be hitting those levels very often and when I did, my radiator fans and pump would also be making some noise after a few minutes. The MSI also has a USB-C out, which would be cool for getting real-time data on the psu. I think you can also use their software to change fan curves. I don't know if HWMonitor will pick it up natively. Cablemods makes aftermarket cables for this PSU.

The Corsair is the cheapest of the 3 and seems to sit between the two others on sound. It's the lowest performer. It's a CWT unit that is only used for Corsair and it seems like an older design that just got ATX 3.0/3.1 support in the latest iteration. That said, it still seems to be a pretty good PSU and it also has a USB-C cable for monitoring it and changing fan curves, etc, but it uses...shudder...icue. I don't know if hwmonitor can pick it up natively.

I really wanted another seasonic as I already have custom cables, but the only ATX 3.0 units are the Focus and Vertex, which are both step down in tier from my current Prime, or the new Prime ATX 3.0 units that are only available in PX and TX 1300 and 1600 watt sizes that are in the $400 range. I'm really leaning toward the FSP.

So, thoughts, or any other gem of a power supply under $300 that I've overlooked? Do I need to look at 1200 watt units?

Tsumi · Apr 17, 2024

I would stick to a 1000w PSU given your system specs. You honestly don't need it unless you plan to go Intel or Threadripper. Unless of course you manage to find an equal quality 1200w PSU for the same price as the 1000w units you're looking at.

At the price range you're looking at, $25 honestly isn't much. I would go with the best out of the group, which is the FSP.

Domingo · Apr 17, 2024

As someone who had to RMA that Corsair unit because of issues with their 12-pin cable, I'd take a look at their Shift line instead.

kamikazi · Apr 17, 2024

Tsumi said:
I would stick to a 1000w PSU given your system specs. You honestly don't need it unless you plan to go Intel or Threadripper. Unless of course you manage to find an equal quality 1200w PSU for the same price as the 1000w units you're looking at.

At the price range you're looking at, $25 honestly isn't much. I would go with the best out of the group, which is the FSP.

I think making this thread helped me make up my mind and your post is right on. I have the FSP on the way.

Domingo said:
As someone who had to RMA that Corsair unit because of issues with their 12-pin cable, I'd take a look at their Shift line instead.

I did look at the Shift line pretty carefully. My computer is currently in a Praxis WetbenchSX and there is a middle support that only gives you about an inch of space on the side of the power supply mounting point, so I wouldn't be able to use it. I do think it's a really cool design for a standard case.

kamikazi · Apr 22, 2024

Mini non-scientific review:

I got the new power supply installed yesterday. I actually needed all but two cables, the 12VHPWR and one of the PCI-E VGA cables. My 3090 takes 3 PCI-Express cables, so I used the cables that only have one connector on the end. There is a 4th cable that has a pigtail with 2 connectors. I can't see a situation where anyone would need to use that one. I quickly ran the computer through 3DMark a couple of times and for whatever reason, got my highest score. I can't be certain as I hadn't measured it with my decibel meter in the past and I may have confirmation bias, but it did seem that the coil whine on my 3090 wasn't as bad as it used to be. I haven't played any games or taxed the video card in a while, so I can't say definitively; I guess I should have run a test before I swapped the supplies, but oh well. The power supply is silent even though I turned off the eco mode. I feel more secure knowing that the power supply fan is always turning. I measured output to the PC through a kill-a-wat while I was running 3DMark. I would get as high as 580+ watts from the wall. HWInfo64 showed my cpu peaking at 170 watts and my 3090 at 390 watts. That's 560 watts right there and I have 2 DDC pumps and 18 fans in the system, so it doesn't quite add up. I'm guessing the kill-a-wat is missing peak voltages. If I can get flight simulator going, I think that will show the true max wattage my computer draws a little more consistently.

As compared to the Seasonic Gold 850 watt it replaced, it's smaller and weighs almost exactly the same. I weighed them both: Seasonic - 1.98 kg, FSP - 1.90 kg. As you see in the picture, it appears The FSP seems to have fewer, but larger, more pitched blades on the fan as compared to the Seasonic.

Both PSUs have roughly the same equivalent of ports for cables and have the same type of stock cables when it comes to the insulation on the cables. Both are sufficiently long enough to get the job done. The one con for the FSP as compared to the Seasonic is the ATX 24 pin cable (and the 12VHPWR cable that the Seasonic doesn't have). The FSP 24 pin cable does have caps where the Seasonic does not. It makes for an ugly cable with a large wrap where it connects to the physical adapter. Here's a picture of the 12VHPWR and one of the PCI-E VGA cables for comparison. The ATX 24 pin has the same sleeving as the 12VHPWR.