These enthusiast power supplies we all have (high-end Corsair, Antec, SeaSonic, Enermax, Silverstone, etc.) can take a lot more abuse than you think. I have tell people this a lot. These are heavy duty, precision engineered electron pushers, not tinker toys.
While you can't trust your average cheap or OEM power supply so much, and you can't trust a generic as far as you can throw it... A high-end enthusiast grade power supply is engineered with massive safety margins. Take the Corsair VX550. That's a CWT PSH, and Rocketfish/Best Buy took that same PSU (w/ minor modifications, nothing important) and rated it as a 700W and it can hold that rating within ATX specs.
When you buy a high-end PSU you aren't just buying reliability and performance, you're buying your headroom right there. Some people say, "Well the TX750 can push 900W, so when I buy it I'm getting a 900W PSU". That defeats the purpose. The purpose is that you can treat it as a 750W PSU and draw that amount from it long-term, for extended periods, while a cheap 750W might eventually break. That's part of the reason for buying a high-end PSU, instead of something just adequate, like an OCZ ModXStream or a Rosewill RV2 or a CM Silent Pro.
When you buy a high end enthusiast power supply, especially one that I can vouch for, you should know that you're buying into more than just a name. You're buying a machine, and one that's a lot tougher than the typical dreck you might have used before. So don't be afraid to use it for what it's intended for. Forget about "extra headroom", forget about babying your PSU or keeping some massive unnecessary safety margin. Go ahead, get that second Fermi and go wild. Most of you have already paid for that ability, so make the most of it.
While you can't trust your average cheap or OEM power supply so much, and you can't trust a generic as far as you can throw it... A high-end enthusiast grade power supply is engineered with massive safety margins. Take the Corsair VX550. That's a CWT PSH, and Rocketfish/Best Buy took that same PSU (w/ minor modifications, nothing important) and rated it as a 700W and it can hold that rating within ATX specs.
When you buy a high-end PSU you aren't just buying reliability and performance, you're buying your headroom right there. Some people say, "Well the TX750 can push 900W, so when I buy it I'm getting a 900W PSU". That defeats the purpose. The purpose is that you can treat it as a 750W PSU and draw that amount from it long-term, for extended periods, while a cheap 750W might eventually break. That's part of the reason for buying a high-end PSU, instead of something just adequate, like an OCZ ModXStream or a Rosewill RV2 or a CM Silent Pro.
When you buy a high end enthusiast power supply, especially one that I can vouch for, you should know that you're buying into more than just a name. You're buying a machine, and one that's a lot tougher than the typical dreck you might have used before. So don't be afraid to use it for what it's intended for. Forget about "extra headroom", forget about babying your PSU or keeping some massive unnecessary safety margin. Go ahead, get that second Fermi and go wild. Most of you have already paid for that ability, so make the most of it.
