Conclusion and Verdict
A few years ago, I used to recommend a minimum power supply of 750W to 850W for a decent gaming PC. But as the years pass by, I noticed manufacturers are now producing more and more power hungry components, especially high-end graphics cards, whch can consume anything between 250W to 350W or even higher. So with that in mind, I can only recommend a power supply of 1000W of higher going foward.
The recent launch of Nvidia’s GeForce RTX 5090 and RTX 5080, has confirmed what I’ve been saying, with the average TGP (total graphics power) of 575W and 360W respectively. This is for the GPU only!
While you might get away with a 850W power supply, a 750W PSU just won’t cut it. Power supplies often get overlooked, but it’s one of the most important part of your PC. If you’re planning to upgrade to a Geforce RTX 5080 or higher, along with power-hungry CPU, then you need to protect your investment.
So with that said … let’s check out the MSI MEG Ai1600T PCIE5 power suppply. This PSU uses server-grade materials, which includes SiC MOSFETs and 100% Japanese electrolytic capacitors. It features a powerful +12V single rail @ 133.33A, giving you a whopping power output of up to 1600W, which is guaranteed to be more than enough to power any high-end GeForce RTX 50 series. What’s more, it’s certified 80Plus Titanium and is fully ATX 3.1 and PCIE 5.1 compliant.
As I’ve said many times, when it comes to power supply it’s important to have stabily at full load. And having a stable +12V line is the key. For our full load tests, we used an an AMD Ryzen 9 9950X, a MSI MPG X870E Carbon WiFi motherboard, and course a nice and powerful MSI GeForce RTX 5080 Vanguard SOC Launch Edition. Both the +12V and +5V lines was rock solid and did not drop at all. While the +3V line dropped ever so slightly from 3.276V to 3.272V (-0.002V) which is neglible. So all-in-all, I’m extremely please with the overall stability of the PSU, and it should easily handle everything you throw at it, and more.
Most high-end power supplies, you don’t come with any RGB lighting … but surprisingly, the MSI MEG Ai1600T does! Another feature I really like, is the USB-C port which you can connect to the motherboard and this allow you to monitor the PSU’s health and power usage using MSI Center.
I love the quality of braided modular cables that comes with copper connectors. You also get 2 x color-coded 12VHPWR 16-pin PCIE 5 power cables, so you know when the cables are fully inserted in to your GPU and power supply.
With a power output of up to 1600W and dual native 12VHPWR connectors, you could even run 2 x GeForce RTX 50 series cards side by side if you want to, especially when you need it for heavy AI workloads.
Since the MEG Ai1600T PCIE5 is currently MSI’s flagship power supply, expect to pay a premium. You can buy the MSI MEG Ai1600T PCIE5 Power Supply for around USD $699 from Amazon – https://amzn.to/4253Jl3
Final Thoughts:
If you’re an extreme enthusiast that needs a high quality, no-compromise power supply to power the latest high-end GeForce RTX 50 series, then the MSI MEG Ai1600T PCIE5 is a great choice. It offers rock solid stabilty and excellent power efficiency, backed up by an impressive 12-year warranty.
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