Corsair RM1000 Power Supply Review
by E. Fylladitakis on April 24, 2014 6:00 AM EST- Posted in
- Cases/Cooling/PSUs
- Corsair
- PSUs
- RM Series
Conclusion
Most of Corsair's products are focused on specific target groups and the RM PSU series is targeted towards advanced users who appreciate silence above all else. The RM1000 that we reviewed today is the most powerful unit of the series, capable of feeding very high performance gaming systems. It's actually rather strange that the series would expand up to a 1000W unit; it is not impossible to build a system that would require such a massive level of power while remaining quiet, but it would be bulky and very costly. Nevertheless, if you are trying to build a very powerful and low-noise system, the RM1000 is there to lend a hand. Moreover, even though the RM1000 is focused on low-noise operation, it does not mean that Corsair neglected its performance or appearance.
Visually, the subtle modifications, such as the chamfered edges and the rimmed bottom, make the fully modular RM1000 aesthetically pleasing without standing out too much. The all-black, sleeveless cables are another attraction of the unit, as I feel they are visually superior to sleeved color-coded cables; however, because of their ribbon-like design with the wires bonded together, the cables of the RM1000 are a bit stiffer to turn and route than typical cables.
The electrical performance of the RM1000 is very good and we expected nothing less from a CWT platform, which usually are very well designed and made. The RM1000 is highly efficient and remains so even when the ambient temperature increases significantly, which is infrequent even for very advanced designs. It also provides good quality power, with low voltage ripple even under heavy stress.
Where the RM1000 could use some improvement is on thermal performance, as it seems unwise to heavily tune a 1000W unit with such small heatsinks towards low-noise operation. Despite that, the RM1000 kept performing very well during our testing, even with the ambient temperature much higher than its 40 °C rating, but the temperature of the unit increased to uncomfortable levels and the cooling system could not do anything to react because the fan's speed was already maxed out.
When it comes to quality, the Corsair RM1000 scores very well, yet there is room for improvement. The unit is very well made, with an excellent soldering and assembly job. Most primary components come from very reputable manufacturers, such as Nippon Chemi-Con and TAICON. However, some components come from manufacturers with a mediocre reputation, such as the CapXon capacitors on the secondary side of the transformer. Corsair must know what they are doing though, as they are covering the RM1000 with a five-year warranty.
The MSRP of the RM1000 is $199.90 but we found it online for $169.99 after rebate. It's not the cheapest 1000W unit with an 80 Plus Gold certification, but considering the quality and performance of the PSU, the price is justifiable. If you are the kind of user that wants a really powerful PSU tuned for low-noise operation, the RM1000 should find its way into the top few spots of your shortlist.
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khanov - Saturday, April 26, 2014 - link
You can turn off the fanless mode on Seasonic's PSUs. That'd be a good option for Corsair to adopt I think.As for the Teapo comment, surely you cannot be serious. Teapo electrolytics as filters are a terrible option. They rarely last even half their rated lifetime. I replace Teapos quite a lot in consumer electronics devices (TVs, set top boxes, DVRs etc). They seem to go about 5 years on average before they fail with open vents.
The real problem when you go lower than first tier Japanese is that the manufacturers will sometimes straight up lie on their spec sheets. So they look like they should perform just as well on paper, but they never meet that performance in real applications unless treated much more gently than their specs would suggest. Ripple current (real vs rated) is one area where I see a lot of this happening and Teapo is one of the culprits.
YoloPascual - Friday, April 25, 2014 - link
I know your work for Corsair now jonny. Don't worry many ppl will still buy your incompetent psu because most of the people knows that if a psu has corsair sticker, it must be excellent.And no japanese caps are not over-rated actually they are under-rated. I got a Delta made psu from 1999 running like champ. It has a combination of Rubycons and Nippon-Chemicon.
royalcrown - Monday, April 28, 2014 - link
Come on! You act like Corsair sells dog poop. Whether or not you like them, they are not junk either. Calling it incompetent just reeks epeen elitism...just4U - Saturday, April 26, 2014 - link
What I really dislike about the RM line is they are very close in price to the HX series that was made by seasonic. (A company I trust) I expected these to be made by them.. but nope. Ticks me off.. I like Corsair branded Seasonics.. their the only ones I will buy, period. If Corsair is moving away from them.. then I am moving away from Corsair.Harald - Monday, May 5, 2014 - link
Actually, there was only ever one HX model made by Seasonic and that was the first revision of the HX650. I have the HX750 which is made by CWT, it's going on 4 and half years old and working like a charm.Harald - Monday, May 5, 2014 - link
(Sorry, forgot about the HX520 and 620)khanov - Friday, April 25, 2014 - link
+1 from me too.I'd have to skip this and go straight for an all Japanese-capped unit.
Also, are you sure there aren't any Ltec caps int here? I can't see well enough, but those green filters on the secondary side look suspiciously like the worst caps money can buy.
sor - Friday, April 25, 2014 - link
I didn't see the voltage being tested. usually there's a 2-3% efficiency gain at 220-240VJASTECH - Friday, April 25, 2014 - link
I have a 1050w modular, don't recall brand, I bought before my surgery then ressesitated, ICU then on O2 24/7. So its been a few years sense my purchase, anyways, out of the box hooked up not working. Tested it, seems a 5vdc not working. Quality PSU is DOA, so QC is still lacking.meacupla - Saturday, April 26, 2014 - link
YES to ribbon cables. More PSUs should come with this, as it is superior to braided sleeving and individual strands in terms of routing and bundling.NO to right angle SATA connectors! The cable lengths end up being wrong anyways and there is extreme strain on the cable where the pins bite into the wire. The cable just doesn't bend as smoothly as daisy-chained straight connectors.