Corsair 750d test: Noise and Thermal Testing — Corsair Obsidian 750D Case Review

Corsair Obsidian 750D Review | bit-tech.net

Written by

Antony Leather

September 4, 2013 | 10:22

Tags: #atx #atx-case #best-corsair-case #best-pc-case #corsair-case #e-atx #e-atx-case #mid-tower #silent-case #water-cooling-case #watercooling-case

Companies: #corsair

1 — Corsair Obsidian 750D Review2 — Corsair Obsidian 750D — Interior3 — Corsair Obsidian 750D — Cooling Performance4 — Corsair Obsidian 750D — Performance Analysis and Conclusion

Corsair Obsidian 750D Review

Manufacturer:Corsair
UK price (as reviewed): £129.99 (inc VAT)
US price (as reviewed): Approx $200 (ex Tax)

Corsair has been steadily refreshing its line of enthusiast cases this year, starting with the dinky micro-ATX Obsidian 350D and continuing with a case that was the complete opposite — the humongous and decidedly pricey Obsidian 900D. It already has several successful cases in other series too, such as the Carbide 500R. However, in the £100-150 price bracket, the competition has had an edge. Now Corsair is looking to usurp its rivals with what is probably best-described as a merging of 350D and the 900D, and it’s called the Obsidian 750D.

Click to enlarge

The 750D is a sizeable case, standing at 560mm tall and 546mm deep. It’s also wide at 235mm — so much so that Corsair’s stretched 5.25in bay covers are back again as we saw on its siblings. Weighing in at a little under 10kg, it’s actually light for such a large case, thanks to the huge side window shifting some metal in place of a big sheet of perspex, with plastic making up much of the case too.

Click to enlarge

That’s not to say it’s cheap-feeling, though. It’s remarkably sturdy, although the side panels are only held in place by thumb screws rather than slotted in on racks like most cases of this level. The super-wide front panel sports a pair each of USB 2.0 and USB 3.0 ports, along with mini-jacks, a large power button and a reset button. It’s undeniably minimalist — something that all the Obsidian cases we’ve seen are geared towards. There are still all the usual mod-cons, though, with fan filters just about everywhere and some hidden flexibility when it comes to water-cooling too — more on that in a minute.

Click to enlarge

Corsair has suggested a UK price of £129 for the 750D, which is right on the money as far as a medium to large water-cooling friendly case goes, and there’s much more by way of expansion here than on the Carbide Air 540 too, although the latter is around £20 cheaper. Still, against cases such as the SilverStone Raven RV04 and NZXT Phantom 630 the Obsidian 750D is competitively-priced.

Click to enlarge

Specifications

• Dimensions (mm) 235 x 546 x 560 (W x D x H)
• Material Steel, plastic
• Available colours Black
• Weight 9. 5kg
• Front panel Power, reset, 2 x USB 3, 2 x USB 2, stereo, microphone
• Drive bays 3 x external 5.25in, 6 x internal 3.5in/2.5-in, 4 x dedicated 2.5in
• Form factor(s) E-ATX, ATX, micro-ATX, mini-ITX
• Cooling 2 x 120/140mm front fan mounts (2 x 140mm fans included), 1 x 120/140mm rear fan mount (140mm fan included), 3 x 120/140mm top fan mounts (fan not included), 2 x bottom 120mm fan mounts (fans not included)
• CPU cooler clearance 180mm
• Maximum graphics card length 460mm (340mm in extreme low slot with storage caddie installed)
• Extras Removable dust filters

1 — Corsair Obsidian 750D Review2 — Corsair Obsidian 750D — Interior3 — Corsair Obsidian 750D — Cooling Performance4 — Corsair Obsidian 750D — Performance Analysis and Conclusion

Corsair Obsidian 750D Review | bit-tech.

net

Written by

Antony Leather

September 4, 2013 | 10:22

Tags: #atx #atx-case #best-corsair-case #best-pc-case #corsair-case #e-atx #e-atx-case #mid-tower #silent-case #water-cooling-case #watercooling-case

Companies: #corsair

1 — Corsair Obsidian 750D Review2 — Corsair Obsidian 750D — Interior3 — Corsair Obsidian 750D — Cooling Performance4 — Corsair Obsidian 750D — Performance Analysis and Conclusion

Our test kit includes an ATI Radeon HD 5870 2GB Eyefinity 6 graphics card and an Intel Core i7-870 CPU, which has been overclocked from 2.93GHz to 3.4GHz using a vcore of 1.305V and a CPU PLL of 1.9V. This is a modest overclock, but our test kit will spend most of its life under high load, so pushing it too far isn’t in anybody’s interests. More importantly, some poorer-performing cases push the CPU temperature to above 80°C, so even this overclock will prove to be too much for some cases.

The CPU is cooled by a Gelid Tranquillo CPU cooler with a Noctua NF-S12B ULN 120mm fan. The NF-S12B ULN is a low-airflow fan, so it will highlight cases with poor cooling for the CPU. We also locked the fan speed on the graphics card to 30 per cent to prevent the automatic speed control interfering with the results.

We record the temperature of the CPU using RealTemp, noting the temperature of the hottest core, and used GPU-Z to log the temperature of the graphics card. Having recorded the ambient temperature in front of the main air intake of each case, we’re then able to calculate the delta T — the difference between the ambient temperature of our lab and the temperature of the hardware. To load the system, we use a combination of the Canyon Flight benchmark in 3DMark06 and the smallfft test in Prime 95.

• CPU:

Intel Core i7-870 CPU overclocked to 3. 4GHz

• Graphics card: ATI Radeon HD 5870 1GB
• Motherboard: Biostar TPower I55
• RAM: 2 x 2GB OCZ 1,866MHz DDR3
• Hard drive: 160GB Seagate Barracuda 7200.9
• Heatsink: Gelid Tranquillo with a Noctua NF-S12B ULN fan
• Power supply: Antec Signature SG-650

**Please note that while reviewing the cooling charts in an effort to trim them down to the most recent and relevant cases, we noticed a few discrepancies in the results of some older cases. As such we have retested the ones we wanted to keep in the charts and the updated results can be found below.**

• SilverStone Raven RV04 (max speed)
• SilverStone FT02R-W (max speed)
• SilverStone Raven RV04 (min speed)
• Antec One
• SilverStone FT02R-W (min speed)
• Fractal Design Core 3000 (max speed)
• Corsair Carbide Air 540
• NZXT Source 210 Elite
• NZXT Phantom 630 (max speed; no HDD cage)
• Corsair Obsidian 900D
• NZXT Phantom 820 (max speed)
• Chieftec DX-02B (max speed)
• Fractal Design Arc Midi R2 (max speed; no HDD cage)
• Corsair Obsidian 750D
• Fractal Design Define R4 (max speed; no HDD cage)
• Chieftec DX-02B (min speed)
• Fractal Design Define XL R2 (max speed; no HDD cage)
• Fractal Design Core 3000 (min speed)
• NZXT Phantom 630 (min speed)
• Corsair Carbide 330R
• NZXT Phantom 820 (min speed)
• Xigmatek Midgard II (max speed; no HDD cage)
• Antec GX700 (max speed)
• In-Win G7 (max speed)
• NZXT H630
• Thermaltake Chaser A31
• Nanoxia Deep Silence 2 (max speed)
• Fractal Design Arc Midi R2 (min speed)
• Nanoxia Deep Silence 1 (max speed; ventilated)
• Fractal Design Define R4 (min speed)
• Cooltek Antiphon (max speed)
• Fractal Design Define XL R2 (min speed)
• NZXT h330
• Xigmatek Midgard II (min speed)
• BitFenix Ronin
• Antec GX700 (min speed)
• In-Win G7 (min speed)
• Nanoxia Deep Silence 1 (min speed)
• Nanoxia Deep Silence 2 (min speed)
• Cooltek Antiphon (min speed)

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10

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°C, lower is better

• CPU Delta T

• GPU Delta T

• SilverStone FT02R-W (max speed)
• Chieftec DX-02B (max speed)
• Fractal Design Arc Midi R2 (max speed; no HDD cage)
• SilverStone Raven RV04 (max speed)
• Antec One
• SilverStone FT02R-W (min speed)
• Chieftec DX-02B (min speed)
• Xigmatek Midgard II (max speed; no HDD cage)
• Fractal Design Core 3000 (max speed)
• Corsair Carbide Air 540
• Corsair Obsidian 750D
• NZXT Source 210 Elite
• Fractal Design Define XL R2 (max speed; no HDD cage)
• NZXT Phantom 630 (max speed; no HDD cage)
• Corsair Obsidian 900D
• NZXT Phantom 820 (max speed)
• Fractal Design Define R4 (max speed; no HDD cage)
• Fractal Design Core 3000 (min speed)
• Antec GX700 (max speed)
• Nanoxia Deep Silence 2 (max speed)
• SilverStone Raven RV04 (min speed)
• In-Win G7 (max speed)
• NZXT H630
• Fractal Design Arc Midi R2 (min speed)
• NZXT Phantom 630 (min speed)
• Thermaltake Chaser A31
• Nanoxia Deep Silence 1 (max speed; ventilated)
• Corsair Carbide 330R
• NZXT Phantom 820 (min speed)
• Cooltek Antiphon (max speed)
• Antec GX700 (min speed)
• Fractal Design Define XL R2 (min speed)
• NZXT h330
• Xigmatek Midgard II (min speed)
• In-Win G7 (min speed)
• BitFenix Ronin
• Nanoxia Deep Silence 2 (min speed)
• Fractal Design Define R4 (min speed)
• Nanoxia Deep Silence 1 (min speed)
• Cooltek Antiphon (min speed)

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• CPU Delta T

• GPU Delta T

Read our performance analysis on the next page.

1 — Corsair Obsidian 750D Review2 — Corsair Obsidian 750D — Interior3 — Corsair Obsidian 750D — Cooling Performance4 — Corsair Obsidian 750D — Performance Analysis and Conclusion

2019 Corsair RM750 Power Supply Review (RPS0119)

Corsair periodically revamps its old product lines, often bringing to light long forgotten names, as happened with the HX series. Her other series live happily ever after, but sometimes this does not mean that inside the changes are only cosmetic. Actually, our material is devoted to the next update of the RM series, in which three new models with the same name appeared: RM650, RM750, RM850. You can distinguish them by model number or by SKU number, but its sellers do not always indicate it. However, in this case, there should be no confusion, since only new models are already presented in retail chains — visually, it is easiest to distinguish them by a pure white name on the side, while the old series had golden RM letters in the name. All new items are characterized by the presence of the 80Plus Gold certificate, have a hybrid cooling system, but they do not have a backlight and a software interface. Yes, Corsair is one of the few manufacturers that has not followed the fashion and pleases customers with the lack of backlighting in power supplies under its own brand.

The length of the power supply housing is about 160 mm, an additional 15-20 mm is required for wiring, so when installing it is worth counting on an installation dimension of about 180 mm. Such models are usually not suitable for small-sized cases, but they will fit into almost any full-sized case without any problems. The design of the PSU case has changed a bit. If earlier the longitudinal ribs were noticeably bevelled, now they are more rounded. The old version looked more brutal and aesthetically pleasing.

The packaging of the power supply is a cardboard box of sufficient strength with matte printing. The design is dominated by shades of black and yellow, which is quite typical and recognizable for modern Corsair solutions.

Characteristics

All the necessary parameters are indicated on the power supply case in full, for the power of the + 12VDC bus, the value of 750 W is declared. The ratio of +12VDC bus power to full power is 1.0, which, of course, is an excellent indicator.

Wires and connectors

Connector name	Number of sockets	Notes
24 pin Main Power Connector	1	collapsible
4 pin 12V Power Connector	—
8 pin SSI Processor Connector	2	collapsible
6 pin PCI-E 1.0 VGA Power Connector	—
8 pin PCI-E 2.0 VGA Power Connector	6	on three cords
4 pin Peripheral Connector	4	ergonomic
15 pin Serial ATA Connector	10	on three cords
4 pin Floppy Drive Connector	—

The length of the wires to the power connectors

• to the main ATX connector is 60 cm
• to processor socket 8 pin SSI — 65 cm
• to processor socket 8 pin SSI — 65 cm
• to the first PCI-E 2. 0 VGA Power Connector — 60 cm, plus another 15 cm to the second of the same connector
• to the first PCI-E 2.0 VGA Power Connector — 60 cm, plus another 15 cm to the second of the same connector
• to the first PCI-E 2.0 VGA Power Connector — 60 cm, plus another 15 cm to the second of the same connector
• to the first SATA Power Connector — 45 cm, plus 12 cm to the second, another 12 cm to the third, and another 12 cm to the fourth of the same connector
• to the first SATA Power Connector — 50 cm, plus 10 cm to the second and another 10 cm to the third of the same connector
• to the first SATA Power Connector — 50 cm, plus 10 cm to the second and another 10 cm to the third of the same connector
• to the first Peripheral Connector (Molex) — 45 cm, plus 10 cm to the second, another 10 cm to the third, and another 10 cm to the fourth of the same connector

All wires are modular, meaning they can be removed leaving only those needed for a particular system.

Cables are long enough for comfortable use in full tower and larger cases with a top-mounted power supply. In cases up to 55 cm high with a bottom-mounted power supply, the length of the wires should also be sufficient: 65 centimeters to the processor power connectors. Thus, with most modern cases, there should be no problems. True, taking into account the design of modern cases with advanced hidden wiring systems, one of the cords could well be made longer: say, 75-80 cm, to ensure maximum convenience when assembling the system.

There are enough SATA Power connectors, and they are located on three power cords. The only note to them: all connectors are angled, and the use of such connectors is not very convenient in the case of drives placed on the back side of the motherboard base.

On the positive side, it is worth noting the use of ribbon wires to the connectors, which increases the convenience of assembly. True, the wires to the main power connector are made in the form of a conventional cord with a nylon braid, which is less convenient in terms of assembly and further operation.

Circuitry and cooling

The power supply is equipped with an active power factor correction and has an extended supply voltage range from 100 to 240 volts. This ensures resistance to voltage drops in the mains below the standard values.

Semiconductor elements of high-voltage circuits are located on one fairly large radiator with fins. The input diode assembly is also equipped with its own heatsink. The elements of the synchronous rectifier are placed on a daughter board installed vertically. Independent sources of +3.3VDC and 5VDC are installed on the daughter PCB and, traditionally, they do not have additional heat sinks — this is quite typical for power supplies with active cooling.

Capacitors in the power supply are mostly Elite and Su’scon branded products. A large number of polymer capacitors have also been installed.

Hong Hua’s 140mm HA1425M12F-Z fan is installed in the power supply. This fan is based on a hydrodynamic bearing and has a rotation speed of 1105 rpm.

Measurement of electrical characteristics

Next, we turn to the instrumental study of the electrical characteristics of the power supply using a multifunctional stand and other equipment.

The value of the output voltage deviation from the nominal value is color-coded as follows:

Color	Deviation range	Qualitative assessment
	over 5%	unsatisfactory
	+5%	bad
	+4%	satisfactory
	+3%	good
	+2%	very good
	1% or less	excellent
	−2%	very good
	−3%	good
	−4%	satisfactory
	−5%	bad
	over 5%	unsatisfactory

Operation at maximum power

The first stage of testing is to operate the power supply at maximum power for an extended period of time. Such a test with confidence allows you to verify the performance of the PSU.

No noticeable problems were identified.

Cross-Load Characteristic

The next stage of instrumental testing is the construction of a cross-load characteristic (CTL) and its representation on a quarter-plane, limited by the maximum power on the 3.3 & 5 V bus on one side (on the y-axis) and the maximum power on the 12 V bus with the other (along the x-axis). At each point, the measured voltage value is indicated by a color marker depending on the deviation from the nominal value.

CHX allows us to determine what level of load can be considered acceptable, especially on the + 12VDC channel, for the instance under test. In this case, the deviations of the effective voltage values ​​from the nominal value through the +12VDC channel are minimal in the entire power range, which is an excellent result.

With a typical power distribution over the channels, deviations from the nominal value do not exceed 3% for the +3. 3VDC channel, 2% for the +5VDC channel and 1% for the +12VDC channel.

This PSU model is well suited for powerful modern systems due to the high practical load capacity of the +12VDC channel.

Load Capacity

The following test is designed to determine the maximum power that can be delivered through the appropriate connectors with a voltage tolerance of 3 or 5 percent of nominal.

In the case of a video card with a single power connector, the maximum power through the +12VDC channel is at least 150 W with a deviation within 3%.

In the case of a video card with two power connectors, using a single power cord, the maximum power through the +12VDC channel is at least 250 W with a deviation within 3%.

In the case of a video card with two power connectors, when using two power cords, the maximum power through the +12VDC channel is at least 300 W with a deviation within 3%, which allows you to use a very powerful video card.

When loaded through four PCI-E slots, the maximum power per +12VDC channel is about 640 W with a deviation within 3%.

When loaded through the processor power connector, the maximum power through the +12VDC channel is about 100 W with a deviation within 3% and at least 250 W with a deviation within 5%. This allows you to use mid-level desktop platforms with a tangible margin.

Economy and efficiency

Economy of the model is at a good level: at maximum power the PSU dissipates about 98 W, it dissipates 60 W at a power of about 430 W. At a power of 50 watts, the power supply dissipates about 20 watts.

As for work in low-loaded and unloaded modes, everything is quite worthy here: in standby mode, the PSU itself consumes about 0.4 watts.

PSU efficiency is good. According to our measurements, the efficiency of this power supply reaches over 87% in the power range from 300 to 750 watts. The maximum recorded value was 88.4% at a power of 750 watts. At the same time, the efficiency at a power of 50 W was 71%.

Thermal mode

We have studied the operation of the power supply in the hybrid mode of the cooling system. As a result, it was found that the fan in the power supply turns on both when the threshold temperature on the thermal sensor (about 60 °C) is reached, and when the output power reaches about 350 W. The fan is turned off only when the temperature on the temperature sensor drops to a certain threshold (about 35 °C). The temperature range is quite wide, however, when operating at power from 100 to 300 W, periodic start / stop cycles were observed.

At a power of 50 W or less, the power supply can operate for a long time with the fan stopped. There was no abrupt increase in the noise level when the fan was started. It should also be taken into account that in the case of operation with the fan stopped, the temperature of the components inside the PSU is highly dependent on the ambient air temperature, and if it is set at 40-45 °C, this will lead to an earlier turning on of the fan.

Acoustic Ergonomics

In preparing this material, we used the following method for measuring the noise level of power supplies. The power supply unit is located on a flat surface with the fan up, above it at a distance of 0.35 meters is placed the measuring microphone of the Octava 110A-Eco sound level meter, which measures the noise level. The power supply is loaded using a special stand that has a silent mode of operation. During the noise level measurement, the power supply is operated at constant power for 20 minutes, after which the noise level is measured.

This distance to the measurement object is the closest for desktop placement of the system unit with the power supply installed. This method allows you to evaluate the noise level of the power supply in harsh environments in terms of a small distance from the noise source to the user. With increasing distance to the noise source and the appearance of additional barriers with good sound reflecting ability, the noise level at the control point will also decrease, which will lead to an improvement in acoustic ergonomics in general.

This model has a hybrid cooling system, which means that the PSU can operate not only with active, but also with passive cooling.

When operating at power up to 50 W inclusive, the operation of the power supply can be considered conditionally silent, since the fan does not rotate for a long time under normal conditions.

When operating up to and including approximately 500 watts, power supply noise is as low as less than 25 dBA at a distance of 0.35 meters.

As the output power increases further, the noise level increases noticeably.

When operating at 750W, the noise level of this model approaches the typical noise level when the PSU is located in the near field. With a more significant removal of the power supply and placing it under the table in a case with a lower PSU location, such noise can be interpreted as being at a level below average. During the daytime in a residential area, a source with a similar noise level will not be too noticeable, especially from a distance of a meter or more, and even more so it will be hardly noticeable in an office room, since the background noise in offices is usually higher than in residential areas. At night, a source with such a noise level will be clearly visible, it will be difficult to sleep nearby. This noise level can be considered comfortable when working at a computer.

Thus, in terms of acoustic ergonomics, this model provides comfort with an output power in the range of 750 W, and in the range up to 500 W, noise is at a minimum level.

We also evaluate the noise level of the power supply electronics, since in some cases they are a source of unwanted overtones. This stage of testing is carried out by determining the difference between the noise level in our laboratory with the power supply on and off. If the obtained value is within 5 dBA, there are no deviations in the acoustic properties of the PSU. With a difference of more than 10 dBA, as a rule, there are certain defects that can be heard from a distance of about half a meter. At this stage of measurements, the sound level meter microphone is located at a distance of about 40 mm from the upper plane of the PSU, since it is very difficult to measure electronic noise at greater distances. The measurement is carried out in two modes: standby mode (STB, or Stand by) and when the PSU is working on the load, but with the fan forcedly stopped.

Electronic noise is almost completely absent in standby mode. In general, the noise of electronics can be considered relatively low: the excess of background noise was no more than 1 dBA.

Performance

The performance of the Corsair RM750 is at a very good level, if we consider the use of this model in a home system that uses typical components. For example, this power supply allows you to build a relatively quiet gaming system on a top modern desktop platform with two video cards. If we limit ourselves to a single video card, then the system can be made almost silent, especially in modes with low load.

The acoustic ergonomics of the PSU up to and including 500 W is very good. We note the high load capacity of the platform via the +12VDC channel, as well as a large number of connectors and good efficiency. Our testing did not reveal significant shortcomings.

On the positive side, we note the complete set of the power supply with a fan with the declared hydrodynamic bearing.

Results

The Corsair RM750 turned out to be quite balanced, with no obvious shortcomings. It can be stated that this PSU is well adapted to work in home systems of various capacities, including systems with two video cards based on desktop platforms.

The performance characteristics of the Corsair RM750 are at a decent level, which is facilitated by the high load capacity of the +12VDC channel, relatively high efficiency, low thermal load, and a fan with a hydrodynamic bearing with a long service life. But here they saved money on capacitors, it would be calmer to see the products of Japanese companies. On the other hand, this is still a budget product and you need to save money when creating it at least on something — at least to separate Corsair’s own products on the market.

Corsair AX1600i 1600W PSU Review

In this review, we’ll take a look at the Corsair AX1600i 1600W PSU. Its behavior in mining, voltage drops, build quality and connection methods.

Mining performance

Features

Power	700 Watt
Efficiency	10% load — 91.3% efficiency 20% load — 9 efficiency3.7% 40% load — 93.9% efficiency 60% load — 92.8% efficiency At maximum load 91.4%
Number of connectors	1 — 24+8 pin 2 — cpu 8 pin 6 — (6+2) PCI-e and 2 (6+2)+(6+2) PCI-e dual 5 — Sata connectors 3 — Molex
Block life cycle	87,600 hours (10 years)
Certificate	80 PLUS Titanium
Noise (fan operation)	Low Noise
Dimensions	200 mm x 150 mm x 86 mm
Modularity	Fully modular

Set of wires

The package bundle is quite rich: 8 PCI-e wires, 5 Sata and 3 Molex. This combination of wires allows you to power a large number of video cards in the farm. There are no questions about the set.

Cable type	Cable length from unit
20+4 pin ATX connector	600mm
4+4 pin EPS/ATX12V	645mm
4+4 pin EPS/ATX12V	645mm
(6+2)+(6+2) PCI-e	640mm
(6+2)+(6+2) PCI-e	640mm
(6+2)+(6+2) PCI-e	640mm
(6+2)+(6+2) PCI-e	640mm
(6+2)+(6+2) PCI-e	640mm
(6+2)+(6+2) PCI-e	640mm
6 + 2-pin PCI-E, 6 + 2-pin PCI-E	675 + 100 mm
6 + 2-pin PCI-e, 6 + 2-pin PCI-e	675 + 100 mm
Molex(5. 25″5.25″5.25)	445 + 100 + 100 mm
Molex(5.25″5.25″5.25)	445 + 100 + 100 mm
Molex(5.25″5.25″5.25)	445 + 100 + 100 mm
SATA (SATA + SATA)	545 + 115mm
SATA (SATA + SATA)	545 + 115mm
SATA (SATA + SATA + SATA + SATA)	450 + 110 + 110 + 110mm
SATA (SATA + SATA + SATA + SATA)	450 + 110 + 110 + 110mm
SATA (SATA + SATA + SATA + SATA)	450 + 110 + 110 + 110mm
5. 25″ to 3.5″ adapter	105mm
Corsair Link Mini USB for motherboard	800mm

Current test

Test no.	+3.3V	+5V	+12V	DC Watt/ AC Watt	Input a.c. current	Eff.	Temp.
1	1.92A	1.91A	11.84A	159. 5 W / 174.8 W	116.8V	91.3%	29°C 31°C
	3.299V	5.00V	12.00V
2	2A	2A	25A	319.1 W / 340.4 W	116.1V	93.7%	29°C / 33°C*
	3.299V	5.00V	12.00V
3	5A	5A	5A	799. 6 W / 851.1 W	115.2V	93.9%	30°C / 43°C
	3.299V	5.00V	11.99V
4	8A	8A	94A	1204.9 W / 1298 W	113.9V	92.8%	32°C / 49°C
	3.295V	5.00V	11.98V
5	10A	10A	125A	1597. 8 W / 1748 W	112.6V	91.4%	32°C / 55°C
	3.296V	5.00V	11.98V

voltage drop — 1%.

Voltage regulation on this block:

1. 0.18% on the 3.3 V line
2. 0.40% on line 5V
3. 0.17% on line 12V

Excellent result. Especially for the 12v line, which supplies power to the video cards.

Who makes this unit

The Corsair AX1600i 1600W power supply is made by Flextronics. It is a Singapore based company founded in 1990. The company does not only make power supplies — it also produced the X-box 360 for Microsoft.

This means that Corsair developed the design of the AX1600i block and gave it to Flextronics for production, which in turn simply assembled and soldered the power supply according to Corsair’s drawings.

«Flextronics» — collects good power supplies.

Corsair is an American manufacturer of gaming equipment. Their headquarters is in Fremont. Corsair was founded in 1994 and re-registered in 2007 in Washington. Corsair manufactures: power supplies, RAM, gaming headphones and much more.

Internal filling of the block

When disassembling the block, the first thing we see is the fan.

This is a PWM fan with FDB bearings. The fan and power supply are guaranteed for 10 years. This is a great indicator!

After removing the cooler and getting to the internal stuffing, we see the excellent soldering of the company — «Flextronics».

Basic filter caps — Chemi-Con and Rubycon Nippon.

Modular brazed boards look great.

The front side of the modular panel is just as well done. Chemi-Con, Rubycon and Nichicon capacitors are excellent Japanese quality. Withstand temperatures up to 105 degrees.

How to properly connect the Corsair AX1600i 1600W in mining

The maximum number of cards that can be connected with the AX1600i power supply is 8 video cards.

Cards over 250 watts.

A) Approximate configuration for connecting Corsair AX1600i 1600W to video cards with a power of 250 watts or more and a connected power system (motherboard, processor, hard drive).
Corsair recommends that all graphics cards over 250W be powered by two separate PCI-e wires (6+2)+(6+2). Thus, only 4 video cards can be powered.

For this you will need:

1. 8 PCI-e wires
2. 3 Molexa (possibly +1 Sata if one card is not inserted into the motherboard, but connected via a riser)
3. System power (processor, motherboard, hard drive)

Thus, a farm of 4 video cards will be powered by

.

On average, let’s take the consumption of the card ~ 270 watts + the system ~ 120 watts. It turns out:

(270 * 4) + 120 = 1200 watts

Total 400 watts left. Excellent stock.

B) Approximate configuration for connecting Corsair AX1600i 1600W to video cards with a power of 250 watts or more, without a connected power system (motherboard, processor, hard drive).

In this case, you must connect 2 power supplies (you can find out how to connect two units here). AX1600i — will act as a slave unit and the system will not connect to it.

In this case, the layout will still remain the same as in option «A» — only 4 video cards.

B) Approximate configuration for connecting Corsair AX1600i 1600W to video cards with a power of 250 watts or more and a connected power system (motherboard, processor, hard drive). Provided that video cards are powered using dual PCI-e wires.

Since the unit has 2 double PCI-e wires (6+2)+(6+2), you can use them to power 2 video cards. In general, it will be possible to power 5 video cards.

It should be noted right away that for safety reasons this cannot be done, but most miners resort to this method!

So you need:

1. 8 PCI-e wires
2. 3 molexes and 1 sata (it is possible to connect 1 more sata if one video card is installed not in the motherboard, but through the riser)
3. System Power

On average, we also take the consumption of the card ~ 270 watts + the system ~ 120 watts. It turns out:

(270 * 5) + 120 \u003d 1470 watts.

Total stock 130 watts. This is an excellent indicator.

Please note that this method is not considered safe, but it can be used. Most importantly, on the first day of operation, check the PCI-e wires several times so that they are at room temperature and do not heat up. If the wire is hot, turn off the farm immediately — the wire should not overheat!

Cards up to 200 watts.

A) Approximate configuration for connecting Corsair AX1600i 1600W to graphics cards up to 200 watts and connected power system (motherboard, processor, hard drive).

Most often, cards with such power consumption have only 1 power phase for 6 or 8 connectors, which means that only 1 PCI-e wire is required for 1 card.

In this case, the maximum number of powered cards: 6-7.

This requires

• 6-7 PCI-e wires
• 3 Molexas and 3 Satas (possibly +1 Sata if one card is not inserted into the motherboard, but mounted on the riser)
• System power (processor, motherboard, hard drive

ka)

Get:

Option for 6 cards:

(200*6)+120=1320 Watt.

Total reserve — 280 watts. An excellent stock for the stable operation of the farm.

7-card option:

(200*7)+120=1520 Watts

.

Total reserve — 80 watts. Not very good, but generally acceptable stock.

The 7-card variant can be made more efficient by downvolting (reducing power consumption) a pair of cards to 150 watts. Then the stock will be a little more — 100 watts.

Even with downvolting of all cards, it will not be possible to power more than 7 cards, given that the unit is the master, since 1 Sata wire will go to the hard drive.

B) Approximate configuration for connecting Corsair AX1600i 1600W to video cards up to 200 watts, without a connected power system (motherboard, processor, hard drive).
In this scenario, 120 watts will not be spent on the system. It will be possible to power up to 7 video cards maximum. Needed:

1. 7 PCI-e wires
2. 3 Molexa 4 Sata

It turns out:

(7 * 200) + 120 = 1400 watts.

Total reserve — 200 watts. Excellent stock for stable operation.

8 cards can no longer be powered — the unit will give all the electricity — exactly 1600 watts, which is unacceptable. However, if the cards consume no more than 185 watts, all 8 cards can be powered. Or do downvolting for a pair of cards with a power of 200 watts

Conclusions

This device is efficient, stable and powerful. It also has excellent pulsation control. Soldering at the highest level.

Assembled perfectly, there are no questions about the case, cooler and assembly.

In fact, this is the same unit that was already released by Corsair — the unit of the previous generation AX 1500i. Other than a 100 watt increase in power and slightly better drawdown stabilization, the 1600i is no different from the 1500i.

Therefore, it makes sense to buy this block in two cases. Firstly, if you do not have enough 100 watts for the farm. Secondly, if the difference in price is minimal, since the 1600i copes better with drawdowns, even if a little bit.

Pros

• Highest efficiency
• Excellent build quality
• Long warranty
• Voltage stability is as advertised

Cons

• Price

Total score:
Impression — 10
Build quality — 10
Functionality — 9
Price — 8.5
Total — 9.