EVGA MAKES GOOD EQUIPMENT--
And they stand by their warranties. There are other known, popular brands with "80+" labels that will simply die if placed at full load. A PSU will last longer if used at 50-70% of full load. The capacitors degrade more rapidly at full load.
After having several failures, I always purchase a PSU with a higher rating than my expected load. --scryptr
I see your points...yet not sure if I follow your logic.
There're lots of makers doing good quality PSUs, so buying one should not be that difficult. And investing in a top tier PSU will most likely
save you money in long term.
Few days of cards being idle may cover the price difference and trying to keep poor quality PSU in pristine conditions by paying premium for larger output and then running it at 50-70% doesn't make sense either.
So I'd say the optimal PSU should be a quality one (good models from EVGA, Seasonic, Corsair, etc) and run at up to 90%(from the wall) of it's nominal capacity, which makes it about 80% actual load...
The PSU will degrade faster at higher load. That is the fact. A good PSU will work at 90% load, but it will wear out at a faster rate as the components degrade more rapidly. --scryptr