MSI MEG Ai1300P PCIE5

Product Information

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 @ 105°C, YXF) One strong suit of this PSU is that like all high-end 1000W+ designs, it comes with six independent PCIe power connections. Why is this important? Well, future graphics cards are going to resort to the new Gen 5 connectors and you'd either need to get a proper Gen 5 PSU or a PSU that has at least 3 connectors to meet the demand for next-gen high-end cards. You can either use them or simply plug in the 12VHPWR connector for the NVIDIA RTX 40 series graphics cards which saves you the hassle of cable managing all those extra connectors.

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 itsefficiency under very low loads is quite high, at above 83% for a 5% load. 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. The Features panel highlights wattage, efficiency, temperatures and fan speeds. When the load is below 55% or temperatures are below 70 degrees the fan will automatically stop. 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.

In light of the new ATX 3.0 standard, we took a shot at adding power excursion compliance testing into our articles. Given that this is the big addition to the ATX 3.0 specification– and indeed its very reason for being – it's where we would like to see if PSUs are truly living up to the very high standards set by the new specification. We take the issue of noise very seriously at KitGuru and this is why we have built a special home brew system as a reference point when we test noise levels of various components. Why do this? Well this means we can eliminate secondary noise pollution in the test room and concentrate on components we are testing. It also brings us slightly closer to industry standards, such as DIN 45635. 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. 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. 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 unit achieved 80 Plus Titanium hitting just over 94% efficiency around 50% load falling to around 92% efficiency at a full load situation.

Cold Test Results (~22°C Ambient)

What one can take away from the above table is the MSI MEG Ai1300P has everything you need for a powerful PC build. We don't have the means to measure ripple and other variations in power conversion, but we are able to monitor efficiency and how the power supply performs through use with a PC. As for 70°C being a high temperature for almost 500W power draw, this is not necessarily so, again, very much depending on where the temperature sensor is placed. When you look at some OTP (OverTemperature Protection) test results, often times they're at 100°C-200°C (!) on the heatsink of the 12V rail MOSFETs. On the Ai1000P, we can see OTP triggering at 168°C for example. The MOSFETs bolted onto those heatsinks are rated to provide their full performance at 100°C, so 70°C is nothing for them. The electrolytic capacitors, yes, you want to stay cool, because that will prolong their life. But with 10 years warranty, MSI feel confident about the longevity with how they have set it up. The MEG Ai1300P PCIE5 marks a lot of milestones for MSI – it is their first ATX 3.0 compliant unit, the world’s first ATX 3.0 compliant unit, and currently their flagship PSU product. Needless to say, the MEG Ai1300P has to meet very high expectations, both by the users and by MSI themselves. To be fully compliant with ATX 3.0, there’s also a timing value that the power supply unit must meet. The MEG Ai1300P PCIE5 is fully compliant with that timing value as shown in the chart below. MSI MEG Ai1300P & MPG A1000G Gen5 PSUs Final Impressions Real-Time Power Status Monitor: Through the MSI Center, this power supply helps monitor the real-time status of the percentage of power supplied to GPU and CPU and the total system wattage used.