Lian Li RS1200G 80 PLUS Gold ATX 3.1 Power Supply Review

TweakTown Rating: 93%

Our Verdict

The Lian Li RS1200G ATX 3.1 PSU offers reliable performance and high efficiency, highlighted by its distinctive rotating AC power input and included RS Hub for added flexibility. Although well-built and innovative, its $179.99 price point is on the high side compared to other 1200W 80 PLUS Gold power supplies.

Pros

• Rotatable power connection
• 10-year warranty
• 80 PLUS Gold and Cybernetics Gold rated
• RS HUB Included with 1000 and 1200 watt models
• Included magnetic cable management clips

Cons

• Included cable combs are difficult to install
• A touch expensive for a 1200-watt 80 PLUS Gold-rated PSU

Should you buy it?

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Introduction, Specifications, and Pricing

Lian Li is known for advancing PC hardware. With the RS1200G ATX 3.1 PSU, Lian Li debuted a unique feature: a rotating AC power input for flexible installation. Priced at $179.99 on Newegg, the RS1200G is pricier than other 1200-watt ATX 3.1 PSUs.

Let's explore what sets the RS1200G ATX 3.1 PSU apart from the rest of the PSU market.

Packaging

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Next, we examine the packaging. The RS1200G arrives in a black box with blue trim, reflecting Lian Li's typical style. The front showcases two PSU images, highlighting cable connections in both positions. In the top right are badges for the 10-year warranty, PPLP.INFO Gold, Cybenetics Gold, and 80 PLUS Gold. This model also includes the RS Hub, which adds USB 2.0 and fan headers to your system.

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On one side of the box, Lian Li has placed the specifications of the RS1200G.

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The back of the package presents five images spotlighting the RS1200G's key features, including the rotating power input (which repositions for optimal cable management). Another image demonstrates the magnetic cable management clips securing wires to metal surfaces. The center image features the RS hub, while the next highlights the German-made capacitors (components that store electrical energy); more on those later. Finally, Lian Li's two-colored 12V-2x6 cable connector helps ensure a secure GPU connection.

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This side of the box shows the AC input and DC output ratings, along with a sneak peek at how the rotational shift works.

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Here is an image of all the cables included with the RS1200G.

Here are the cables as listed:

• 1 x 24/20-Pin - 620mm
• 1 x 8 Pin CPU - 700mm
• 1 x 4+4 Pin CPU - 700mm
• 3 x 8/6+2 Pin - 650mm
• 1 x 12V-2x6 - 650mm
• 4 x SATA - 300/15/15/15mm
• 4 x Y Type SATA - 375/150mm x2
• 4 x SATA - 400/150/150/150mm
• 4 x 4 Pin - 500/150/150/150mm
• USB 9 Pin / USB 9 Pin - 470mm
• USB 9 Pin /Type-A - 550mm

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The final side of the box shows the power efficiency and fan curve based on PSU load. The RS1200G is 80 PLUS Gold certified, as well as being Gold rated by Cybenetics.

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Opening the box, the documentation and thank-you card are the first things visible.

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Among the accessories, Lian Li provides two block-off plates to cover the unused side, offering a cleaner installation when using the rotational AC input.

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The other accessories included are a C13 power cable, two USB cables, a few zip ties, four installation screws, cable combs, and, lastly, the RS USB/Fan hub.

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Here's the included documentation, including the Thank You card, which reflects Lian Li's appreciation for its customers.

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Lian Li has also placed all the cabling inside this soft-touch bag, which is a very nice touch.

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When removing the cables from the soft-touch bag, the 20+4 motherboard and dual-colored, individually sleeved 12V-2x6 cables stand out. (The 20+4 motherboard cable fits either a 20-pin or 24-pin socket; the 12V-2x6 cable supports high-power graphics cards.) The remaining cables are flat ribbons. The dual-colored 12V-2x6 cable enhances GPU connection security by minimizing misalignment risks.

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Finally, we get to the RS1200G itself, which is protected with two pieces of open-cell black foam on the top and bottom. Also, with the RS1200G out of the box, we can get a better view of the rotational AC power input.

Outside the Lian Li RS1200G ATX 3.0 PSU

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The grill of the RS1200G has the traditional Lian Li design with hard angles, along with a Lian Li badge in the very center.

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The backside of the RS1200G shows all the AC to DC specifications along with instructions on how the rotational AC power input works.

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Looking at the cable connector side of the RS1200G, we can see seven 8-pin inputs for either a CPU or a 6+2 PCI-E slot, depending on what your system supports. In the middle is the single 12V-26 connector for most high-end NVIDIA GPUs and a few AMD ones as well. On the far right, we have four 6-pin peripheral and SATA connections. The extra connector on the top right is Lian Li's RS Hub, which provides 4 additional USB 2.0 headers supporting up to 8 devices, making it perfect for RGB controllers and other USB accessories.

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Lian Li has chosen to place two sets of 24-pin ATX motherboard connections on each side to accommodate any cable orientation. Lian Li has also included block-out plugs for the side you are not using, which is a nice touch.

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The side of the RS1200G features extensive ventilation, along with a view of the rotational AC input.

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Going around to the "rear" of the RS1200G reveals even more ventilation, along with the AC power cable input and another set of 24-pin ATX Motherboard connections.

Inside the Lian Li RS1200G ATX 3.0 PSU

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The RS1200G's internal fan is made by ONG HUA (HA13525H12F-Z): a 135mm, 12V fan drawing 0.50A at 2300 RPM. While this fan is of reasonable quality, I would have preferred an actual Lian Li fan here.

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Here we can see a full internal view of the RS1200G, specifically the rotational power input in the lower-right corner. Vertical daughterboards are located near the output stage along with various other capacitors. The main transformer is tucked between the output and input stages, right where it belongs.

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The main capacitors, made by Epcos (aka TDK Electronics), are German-made and of high quality, rated at 790 ?F at 450 V and 420 ?F at 450 V, both rated to 105 ?C. The total capacitance between the two capacitors equals 1,210?F.

Installation, Testing, Finished Product, and Final Thoughts

Ryan's Test System Specifications

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For this review, using the PSU test bench, the CPU, an AMD Ryzen 9 7950X, was set to 1.32V vCore (the voltage supplied directly to the processor) to keep the CPU cores above 5GHz. The 16-core, 32-threaded CPU maintained well over 5GHz throughout the test period, while the wattage peaked at 218.4 watts, averaging around 213 watts. The AM5 motherboard used here is the X870E AORUS Pro from GIGABYTE (AM5 being the socket type that determines CPU compatibility), while the test RAM is from Corsair, specifically, the Dominator Platinum RGB that runs at DDR5-7200M/t (DDR5 is the latest memory type, 7200 denotes the speed in megatransfers per second).

The NVIDIA RTX 3090 FE test GPU (graphics card) was power-limited at 75% via the NVIDIA App to control the GPU wattage. On average, the NVIDIA RTX 3090 FE drew about 259 watts; it peaked at 265 watts, while the rest of the system used around 85 watts. The total power drawn from the wall was measured using a Killawatt P3 digital electrical usage monitor (a device that measures electrical consumption), which showed a total system wattage of 598-606 watts during testing, with an average of 602 watts drawn from the RS1200G. The total of 557 watts from the 602 averaged watts pulled from the wall equates to 92.52% efficiency at a 50% load, which definitely falls within the 80 PLUS Gold certification requirements (80 PLUS Gold is an efficiency standard indicating the PSU wastes little power).

All testing was completed using Aida64 Engineer's System Stability Test version v8.00.8000 for over 10 hours; the ambient temperature was 18 °C. Other monitoring software used was HWiNFO64 v8.32-5840, TechPowerUp GPU-Z v2.68.0, and CPU-Z 2.17.0.x64.

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So in closing, the Lian Li RS1200G tested well, despite the main capacitors not being made in Taiwan; Epcos capacitors are German-made and, in reality, are of high quality regardless. The big pull for the RS1200G is the ability to switch cable input orientation to better align with the builder's intention, which is a very flexible feature. I just don't know how much or how popular it will be in the builder's eyes or wallet, for that matter. Speaking of wallets, the RS1200G has an MSRP of $179.99, which, for an 80 PLUS Gold-rated ATX 3.1 PSU, is somewhat expensive relative to today's market. All in all, the RS1200G is a good PSU for someone looking for an ATX 3.1 PSU with a bit of a different feature set, while remaining innovative, than traditional standards. Another feature Lian Li has included is their RS Hub, which does, in fact, add value.