Corsair TX vs. OCZ ZT 550W
by Martin Kaffei on March 26, 2012 9:30 AM EST- Posted in
- Cases/Cooling/PSUs
- Corsair
- PSUs
- OCZ
- 550W
- 80Plus Bronze
- ZT
- TX
Comparison
Corsair TX550M vs OCZ ZT550W 550W
| Criteria | Corsair TX550M | OCZ ZT550W |
| Delivery Contents |
- Accompanying document - Four screws - Power cord - Cable ties - Corsair sticker |
- User manual |
| Cable configuration |
- 1x 24-pin (60cm) fixed |
- 1x 24-pin (55cm) modular |
| Warranty |
- 5-year warranty |
- 5-year warranty |
| Electronics |
- Japanese and Tw. all solid caps |
- Japanese and Taiwanese caps |
| Lowest / highest efficiency (115V) | - 69.44% / 86.76% | - 69.03% / 86.72% |
| Max. Ripple 3.3V/5V/12V |
- 3.3V: 13mV |
- 3.3V: 14mV |
| Fan |
- ball bearing (140mm) |
- ball bearing (140mm) |
| +12V rating |
- 540W (single rail) |
- 540W (single rail) |
| +3.3V/5V rating |
- 140W |
- 140W |
| Current price |
- $ 89.99 |
- $ 89.99 ($ 69.99 after mail-in rebate) |
Differences got a yellow marking.
We compared two power supplies in the 550W region today. With $ 89.99 both models are comparatively expensive but users should realize when buying a 550W power supply that it simply cannot cost just $ 30-40 and still deliver decent quality. We saw two very good models from Corsair and OCZ with excellent performance and 80Plus Bronze. It looks like they are copying ideas from each other since most features are absolutely identical. Both provide enough (and almost the same) connectors to support PC configurations with a powerful graphics card. One point of criticism is the large case Corsair and OCZ used. Furthermore we would like to see different fan brands since both bearings made an annoying noise. Sanyo Denki provides the best fans with ball bearing. Otherwise Corsair and OCZ could choose FDB fans to reduce loudness.
The TX series has flat cables while OCZ used a common sleeving. With six SATA and six HDD connectors both products are well equipped. As expected both PSUs have two 6/8-pin connectors and FDD adapters as well. As for performance and quality, all the results from our tests are very impressive. There is hardly any ripple and noise on any of the rails: OCZ reached less than 40mV on +12V while Corsair demonstrated even lower results on +3.3V and +5V. Up to 87% efficiency and a high power factor are the primary reasons for the costs; such results can only be reached with high quality devices, and those devices cost more than lesser offerings.
Performance-wise, the Corsair TX550M stands out today with more stable DC outputs, longer cables, and a slightly higher efficiency. In addition Corsair implemented a better main cap. Nevertheless the OCZ ZT550W is an interesting offer with fully removable cables, especially since the price is low ($ 69.99 after mail-in rebate at newegg.com). In summary, it can be stated that both brands are shaping up well. However, this time Corsair is ahead in terms of quality.
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41 Comments
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Stuka87 - Monday, March 26, 2012 - link
On the last page where things are being highlighted, shouldn't the Corsair be highlighted for efficiency and ripple since it was ahead in these categories? Unless the yellow is just meant to show there is a difference. But it seams in the rest of the areas the better supply is highlighted.Both supplies look pretty good though, even if priced a bit higher than some similar supplies.
Martin Kaffei - Monday, March 26, 2012 - link
Sounds more correct, right.Thanks a lot.
lyeoh - Monday, March 26, 2012 - link
Has Corsair really improved their quality since: http://www.behardware.com/articles/843-3/component...FWIW, OCZ and Corsair's nonPSU stuff seem to get returned quite often too:
http://www.behardware.com/articles/843-4/component...
http://www.behardware.com/articles/843-7/component...
http://www.behardware.com/articles/843-8/component...
Both these PSUs might be OK, but why should I care? There are other manufacturers who have a better track record when it comes to quality. Poor quality in a range of similar models is understandable, but poor quality in different types/classes of products just tells me to avoid buying anything from them.
I'd prefer to see more reviews of products from manufacturers that care about quality. Who the heck wants to read reviews of food from restaurants that have a long track record of giving a significant percentage of their customers food poisoning? I don't care how good their food looks.
Are these even significantly cheaper?
Samus - Tuesday, March 27, 2012 - link
My advice to you is stop reading BEHardware.Those statistics for every segment they 'measured' are a joke. Just drafting such a distasteful article is a huge lapse in journalism judgement on their part. Nobody in their right mind would gauge component reliability based on return rates over a 6-month period from a single source.
The only way to measure reliability is by reviewing the initial quality in detail and putting the components into real-world scenarios to report any abnormalities over time. AnandTech and other legitimate hardware review sites do this, as does Car & Driver, Consumer Reports, Home Theater Review, Gun Directory, etc
seanleeforever - Tuesday, March 27, 2012 - link
while i agree with your point of view, but AnandTech rarely review abnormalities over time. and bear in mind AnandTech is more akin to C&D not CR because AnandTech receives cherry picked product directly from manufactures. and you really have to hope what you buy from your local frys is the same as the one they choose to send for reviewing.lyeoh - Thursday, March 29, 2012 - link
6 month period? OCZ's poor track record goes way back longer than that: http://www.behardware.com/articles/831-7/component...http://www.behardware.com/articles/831-4/component...
http://www.behardware.com/articles/810-6/component...
http://www.behardware.com/articles/810-4/component...
You haven't even provided a good reason why anyone should care about your opinion on this subject especially since you said "6 month period".
I'd believe BeHardware's article more than I'd believe you, especially since a few simple Google searches for product problems do not disagree with their statistics. So it's not just a freak incident where only the french retailer has higher rate of returns for OCZ and corsair stuff.
fausto412 - Monday, March 26, 2012 - link
I have a 6990 and a n AX850 PSU...that psu gets super hot when gaming. Can't imagine a 550 watt psu not melting. I think the days of the 550 watt psu are over unless you only do single card gaming and don't use the highest end cards.Ken g6 - Monday, March 26, 2012 - link
Did you miss the GTX 680 review the other day? http://www.anandtech.com/show/5699/nvidia-geforce-... The 7970 would work fine with a 550W PSU too.Also recall that the 6990 is effectively two cards in crossfire on a single board.
Samus - Tuesday, March 27, 2012 - link
I run a GTX570, Core i7-950, 12GB RAM, 5 hard drives and some other shit off a PCP&C 500-watt PSU. Whole system is reasonably warm after hours of gaming and is completely stable.Kill-A-Watt has never reported more than 400-watts drawn from the wall, so my 500-watt PSU never even hits 80% load.
Any never system with a single GPU draws less power, I guarantee it. 550-watt is overkill for most people with current technology. Remember most OEM systems still ship with 250-watt PSU's.
Stuka87 - Monday, March 26, 2012 - link
I use a Antec NEO-ECO 520C with my over clocked 7950 and its perfectly fine. I never get anywhere close to even 400W at peak (And thats with a 4.1GHz Phenom II) when measured at the wall. The latest chips from AMD and nVidia are incredibly efficient. The 6990 is a pretty big power hog comparatively, and it is a dual GPU card.