Just under a year since the specification was first announced, the ATX 3.0 era for power supplies is now underway. The updated version of the Intel-maintained specification introduced several notable changes to PC power supply designs, most notably the introduction of the 600 Watt-capable 12VHPWR connector and associated cabling. Altogether, ATX 3.0 is designed to lay the groundwork for future video cards (and other high-powered accelerators) by providing for a single-cable power connection that can better accommodate the high total and rapid shifts in power consumption a video card can undergo.

The MEG power supply measures 86mm x 150mm x 160mm which is somewhat smaller in length than the larger 200mm units we have seen in recent months. Nevertheless, we took a shot at testing the power excursion capabilities of the MSI MEG Ai1300P PCIE and of thefew ATX 3.0 compliant units that we currently have available. We took two approaches:one by assuming that our electronic loads are “ideal” and programmed the exact duty cycle figures that Intel dictates in their guide, and one by trying to take into account the real slew rate times of our loads and calculate the RMS equivalent duty cycle.Multi/Single Rail Switch: It can switch between single and multi-rail according to the needs of users while taking into account high current output and safety protection. Electrolytic: 5x Nippon Chemi-Con (105°C, W), 1x Nichicon (2-5,000h @ 105°C, HD), 4x Nippon Chemi-Con (4-10,000h @ 105°C, KY), 1x Nippon Chemi-Con (2-5,000h @ 105°C, KZE), 3x Rubycon (4-10,000h @ 105°C, YXJ), 3x Rubycon (4-10,000h @ 105C, YXF) In addition to the MEG series, MSI has also introduced its MPG PSU lineup with the latest ATX 3.0 standard. This PSU lineup is designed with core enthusiasts & high-performance gamers in mind. For starters, the PSU is 80 Plus Golde Certified & comes equipped with 100% Japanese capacitors that are rated to run optimally up to 105C. The passive components of the APFC circuitry are two beefy 400V/680μF APFC capacitors made by Nichicon, followed by two filtering coils. The active APFC components are on the longest heatsink of the unit. Four transistors can be found on their own heatsink and these form the full-bridge inversion topology at the primary side of the unit. The output of the main transformer is connected to six power MOSFETs that generate a single 12V rail. The 3.3V and 5V lines are being generated via the DC-to-DC conversion circuits. All of the secondary capacitors, electrolytic and polymer alike, are made by Rubycon and Nippon Chemi-Con.

The MEG Ai1300P arrives in a very attractive box with a high resolution image of the power supply on the front. From the chart below you can see that the MEG Ai1300P PCIE5 can safely achieve 2x total power excursion at 200% of the PSU wattage while meeting all the standards of Intel Testing Requirements at 120%, 160%, and 180% as well. The voltage of MEG Ai1300P PCIE5 can be controlled within the allowable voltage range when the current changes rapidly and violently to maintain the system stability and avoid system abnormalities. OPP and OCP Tests Load regulation holds well across the board. Within 2%. This is a very good result for MSI. MSI MEG Ai1300P If you believe everything that the brand's marketing material states, then AIO coolers MSI released were the best coolers in the world, not the market, the world.

SCP

There's also no way to set a fan curve or anything of that nature, so even if I did specify a manual RPM, I'd then have to make further adjustments depending on my scenario. For example I set it to X speed continuously, but then there's a scenario in which it should be running faster. At the end of the day, setting a "Customized" fan speed isn't really a solve here. Correctly testing power supplies is a complex procedure and KitGuru have configured a test bench which can deliver up to a 2,000 watt DC load. Due to public requests we have changed our temperature settings recently – previously we rated with ambient temperatures at 25C, we have increased ambient temperatures by 10c (to 35c) in our environment to greater reflect warmer internal chassis conditions. Aiming for unwavering product quality and performance stability, the power supply comes with 100% Japanese 105° C capacitors and solid capacitors.

Main Output Load (Watts) 264.41 W 659.2 W 975.71 W 1297.87 W Load (Percent) 20.34% 50.71% 75.05% 99.84% Amperes Volts Amperes Volts Amperes Volts Amperes Volts 3.3 V 2.32 3.37 5.79 3.37 8.68 3.36 11.58 3.35 5 V 2.32 5.06 5.79 5.05 8.68 5.03 11.58 5.02 12 V 20.07 12.2 50.16 12.17 75.24 12 100.33 11.97 Thermaltake has the mighty Toughpower GEN 5 GF3 that can provide some serious power like other ATX 3.0-rated power supplies. The ASUS ROG Loki SFX-L is an interesting ATX 3.0 power supply as it's in an SFX-L form factor, allowing you to install it inside smaller cases where a standard ATX-sized unit may not be compatible. MSI are trying to attract the user base who love to tinker with their hardware via dedicated software. I appreciate the concept of being able to control a power supply via a program however MSI Center is a clunky, unpleasant tool to use at the best of times. While using MSI Center my only thoughts were to get it deinstalled as soon as possible. I would personally just run the power supply in a default single rail mode mode all the time and let the fans operate automatically without the need for a software install. The other capabilities of MSI Center such as real time monitoring will be interesting to a very niche audience, but perhaps for only a short while. This ‘Silent Gale' fan (PLA12025S12H-4) seems to have been around for 6 years under other MSI brand names such as ‘TORX'. Nevertheless, we took a shot at testing the power excursion capabilities of the MSI MEG Ai1300P PCIE and of thefew ATX 3.0 compliant units that we currently have available. We took two approaches:one by assuming that our electronic loads are "ideal" and programmed the exact duty cycle figures that Intel dictates in their guide, and one by trying to take into account the real slew rate times of our loads and calculate the RMS equivalent duty cycle.MSI call this ‘G.I' (Gaming Intelligence) support. I can't say I really have had great experiences with the MSI software in the past and sometimes it would crash on the test system I used, but the software for the power supply seems to show everything that MSI claim. The efficiency of your power supply directly influences your system’s performance and your power consumption. The 80 PLUS Platinum certification promises lower energy consumption and higher efficiency. MSI Support has told me so much conflicting information that I'm simply not sure what is true. One support member told me the PSU would turn itself off at 70 C, another told me that's at 105 C. One support member told me the fan would start once the PSU reaches 70 C, another told me that it won't start until power output is greater than 1000W. All the while, every time this information is being communicated to me, I kindly ask them to confirm [due to so much conflicting information], I'm put on hold, then I'm told it's confirmed. When I raise previous conflicting communications, I'm told the last support member must have been mistaken.