The MSI MEG Ai1300P PCIE5 1300W PSU Review: The ATX 3.0 Era Has Begun
by E. Fylladitakis on December 8, 2022 11:00 AM EST- Posted in
- Cases/Cooling/PSUs
- PSUs
- MSI
- PCIe 5.0
- ATX v3.0
Cold Test Results (~22°C Ambient)
For the testing of PSUs, we are using high precision electronic loads with a maximum power draw of 2700 Watts, a Rigol DS5042M 40 MHz oscilloscope, an Extech 380803 power analyzer, two high precision UNI-T UT-325 digital thermometers, an Extech HD600 SPL meter, a self-designed hotbox and various other bits and parts. For a thorough explanation of our testing methodology and more details on our equipment, please refer to our How We Test PSUs - 2014 Pipeline post.
The efficiency of the MSI MEG Ai1300P does meet the 80Plus Platinum certification requirements when it is powered from an 115 VAC source. However, when the main’s voltage is 230 VAC, the efficiency is raised by an average of 1%, which is not enough to meet the 80Plus Platinum requirements for that input voltage. The average nominal load efficiency (20% to 100% of the unit's capacity) is 92.1% with the unit powered from a 230 VAC source, and drops down to 91.3% if the unit is powered by a 115 VAC source. It is also interesting to note that its efficiency under very low loads is quite high, at above 83% for a 5% load.
The fan of the MSI MEG Ai1300P PCIE5 is thermally controlled by default, with the unit keeping it disabled until the load was over 430-440 Watts. Regardless, the internal temperature of the PSU is quite low considering the massive power output. Once the fan does start, it is very quiet at first but then speeds up very quickly as the load increases, making the Ai1300P clearly audible when the load is greater than 800 Watts.
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sorten - Thursday, December 8, 2022 - link
Another reminder of why it's good to stick with mid-range gaming and computing. My 1660Ti draws 120W and my Ryzen 3600 draws 65W. No need for a $350 PSU.TheinsanegamerN - Thursday, December 8, 2022 - link
How odd, my 5800x3d and 6800xt dont push over 450 watt combined, I dont need a $350 PSU either.Eliadbu - Friday, December 9, 2022 - link
Even if you had i9-13900k and rtx 4090 you would not need 350$ PSU. At that point it's more a gimmick.a good 150-180$ PSU will do the trick.
powerarmour - Friday, December 9, 2022 - link
'New Era' and '1300W' should never go together in the same sentence, folks shouldn't even need these ludicrously overpowered PSU's if the hardware manufacturers gave a damn about the environment.PeachNCream - Friday, December 9, 2022 - link
They can't talk about that. An entire industry revolves around producing overpriced PC hardware and then using journalism as a supporting strut to add hype and build up demand. It's a necessity to sustain the paychecks of a LOT of people at OEMs, retail chains, reviewer websites, and so forth so you will always get unified messaging hocking the benefits rather than encouraging you to be more sensible. It happens in lots of other industries as well and is a HUGE contributor to why we're burning wrecking our own little proverbial cage through horrific wastefulness without having the ability to leave it for other potentially livable places.GeoffreyA - Saturday, December 10, 2022 - link
Well, as long as money is man's "unit of energy" on Earth, everything else will be subordinated to filling the coffers. I reckon even worrying about the planet ("we use green, vegan manufacturing processes throughout our business because we care") is of a token nature and only important when it can add more dollars to the corporation's bank balance or social prestige. If ever a time comes when damaging the environment is held to be popular, they'll do that too.Dorkaman - Thursday, December 8, 2022 - link
Did you try bending the 12VHPWR cable by the end that plugs into the graphics card? I guess many PC builders would like to do that to get a tidier cable routing.What I read is that 12VHPWR cables are not meant to be bent by the plug. Or is this just the case with NVIDIA supplied pcie-12VHPWR cable adapters?
edzieba - Thursday, December 8, 2022 - link
The various theories of bent plugs or solder joints or etc all turned out to be incorrect: only plugs that were not fully inserted into the socket were able to actually reproduce the overheating issue (even plugs butchered to disconnect half the pins but inserted fully did not fail at all). Plug it all the way in and there is no issue.crimsonson - Thursday, December 8, 2022 - link
And try not to put pressure on the cable after installation - mainly for the chassis side cover bending the cable.WaltC - Thursday, December 8, 2022 - link
So why didn't nVidia ship idiot-proof plugs, then? You know, plugs that latch into place with a satisfying "click" when properly inserted? Lots of differing connectors are made that way.