![[H]ardOCP](/images/blank.gif){kind=small}
- Date:
- Monday , April 21, 2008
- Author:
- Paul Johnson
- Editor:
- Kyle Bennett
- Google +1
Corsair HX1000W PSU Review
Corsair has quickly become a mainstay among enthusiast PSUs. Today it breaks new ground by joining the 1 kilowatt club. Doing 1000w is easier said than done and doing it well is tough. Is the HX1000W worth your consideration?
Build Quality
As we already know the Corsair HX1000W features a single 140mm fan design. 140mm fans are in the same vein as 120mm fans in that they can provide for quiet cooling environments due to the ability to move a larger volume of air at slower speeds than a smaller diameter fan. The 140mm fan is the largest diameter fan we are likely to see in ATX power supplies given the physical constraints of the form factor. While great for quiet computing environments the key criteria in our evaluation is whether or not the cooling solution is sufficient, not necessary it’s sound level or form factor.
External Build Quality
The Corsair HX1000W's external build quality is typical of what we have come to expect from Corsair branded units. The power supply comes trimmed out in basic black with blue highlighting using the same type of matte finish that we have come to love as it resists scratching even under the roughest of handling. The unit houses a 140mm fan that is actually not as dominate on this unit as it was on the TX750W given the extra length of the HX1000W. The back of the unit is rather barren as the unit is an APFC design, though the left ¼ is obstructed by solid metal. The front of the unit houses the modular interface with the modular connectors labeled for which 12v rail feeds which connector but again not the modular EPS connector which connects to the PCIe connectors as well.
The Corsair HX1000W comes in at a lengthy 7 3/4 inches long with the fixed cables reaching out to ~22 inches at the first or only connector and the modular cables reaching out to ~17 inches at the first or only connector. The fixed cables are all sleeved completely but the unit has a partially unfinished look as the fixed cables sleeving doesn't go all the way into the unit and the individual wires for the cables are exposed as we have seen previously from other CWT built units. The modular cables are all the flat black ribbon style cables first seen on Ultra power supplies. Lastly, certain PCIe connector cables come equipped with bead cores or REMI filters which we have seen a number of times. So far in our reviews these have done nothing but cause the cables to be bulkier but we once again look forward to seeing how they affect the output of the HX1000W.
Internal Build Quality
Once we open the HX1000W we are left looking at a very familiar power supply design. The HX1000W is built on the same CWT PUC platform that the Thermaltake Toughpower 1200w we reviewed last year was built on but there are some changes here. The first thing we notice, like with the Toughpower 1200w, is that the unit is actually made up of three power supplies with the main PCB being dominated by two power supplies sitting side by side. The third power supply is situated at the back of the unit on the small PCB and is a dedicated +5vsb power supply that carries the PUC series number on it. The primary capacitor on this power supply is a Nippon Chemi-con rated at 3300uF and 10v while the secondary capacitors are also all Nippon Chemi-con’s. The fan charged with cooling all three power supplies is a 140mm Yate Loon fan rated at 0.70A at 12v.
Given the layout of the HX1000W we are seeing the input filtering here on the primary side for once and the majority of it is housed by the AC receptacle behind the plastic sheet along with the back edge of the main PCB. The first add-in PCB we see here is part of the APFC for the unit while the second actually houses the OCP/OVP/fan controller and is part of the secondary. On the other side of the power supply we see the rectifying bridge sitting under the +5vsb power supply attached to a small black heatsink. Finally, from the top of the unit we see the main input capacitors are located right next to the main transformers and are not the Hitachi’s we saw on the box but rather are Nippon Chemi-con’s rated at 420v 300uF 105c. There are just the two transformers in this unit, in addition to the +5vsb transformer, as each half of the power supply generates a truly independent 12v source which is then converted to the minor rail that is also fed by that side.
Moving on to the secondary we find that the cake is not a lie, the unit really does use solid capacitors and more than only one! On the secondary, from what we can find, there are only two standard electrolytic capacitors while the remainder are Nippon Chemi-con solid capacitors. Also on the secondary here we see that the modular interface is exceptionally well constructed although the solder points could be a bit neater.
Build Quality Summary
The overall build quality of the Corsair HX1000W is not only excellent like we saw from our previous look at a CWT PUC based power supply, but a step beyond that, as Corsair has solidified the component selection even farther. The exterior of the Corsair HX1000W comes trimmed out in the same finish as all the previous Corsair units we have reviewed while the cables and modular interface are all mostly well executed. The sleeving stops short of the unit’s housing on the fixed connectors, which we simply do not like as it looks unfinished, but functionally should allow the cables to be routed easier. Once we move to the interior of the unit we find the three-unit power supply design of the HX1000W to be both immaculately well constructed and stocked. The capacitors are all Nippon Chemi-con while the secondary Nippon Chemi-con's are all solid with the exception of two capacitors. This is certainly a step up from the previous PUC based CWT units we have seen and most likely the reason for the “delay” in this unit coming to market. Overall the HX1000W build quality is simply excellent. It will be of great interest to see if there are any performance benefits from the secondary capacitor change that Corsair has implemented.