Corsair AX750 80 Plus Gold: Putting Corsair's Best to the Test
by Martin Kaffei on November 30, 2010 12:00 AM EST- Posted in
- Cases/Cooling/PSUs
- Corsair
- PSUs
- 80Plus Gold
- 750W
Package Contents and Power Rating
There are a few extras in the package, which is typical of high-end PSUs. Included are several cable ties, mounting screws, the power cable, and a users manual, plus a couple of cloth bags that can be reused. On the package we can see that the AX750 is EuP-ready (low power loss in standby mode) and is a compact design measuring 160mm including the modular connection panel. Their reviewer's guide suggested we look at efficiency at 50% load, where the AX750 will be at the maximum 90% or greater level, but we'll also look at how it handles lower and higher loads.
Here we have an external impression of the Corsair model. The Case has a black, scratch-resistant surface with a Corsair logo on both sides. It has honeycombed ventilation holes and a small power switch near the AC plug. It's a very well-made product, with our only complaint being that the fan grille protrudes a little.
Corsair uses a single +12V rail that nearly delivers the full rated power. The AX has DC-to-DC for the smaller rails, so +12V feeds +3.3V/+5V and you can't use the whole 62A there. Even so, Corsair wants to supply modern components with plenty of juice, and 744W minus (up to) 125W is still a good rating. As you can see on the label, 100-240VAC and 50-60Hz are no problem for this PSU. The Corsair AX has active PFC, and we've tested the efficiency and PFC on both power grids.
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TheShortOfIt - Tuesday, November 30, 2010 - link
Well the AX750 is a great PSU.. I bought it in Germany for 135,- EUR cheapest price on internet... thats 175 US$ - lol.. If I would get them for 115$ - I would buy a second one as spare :D -iamkyle - Tuesday, November 30, 2010 - link
Any chance we could get the efficiency and regulation levels in a comparison bar graph like some of the other sections? It would be so much easier to compare the PSU with some of the other units that AT has reviewed in the past!King.Koba - Tuesday, November 30, 2010 - link
The best deal for a quality 80 Plus Gold PSU atm is the Seasonic X-750 which is on sale for only $120. http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N8...King.Koba - Tuesday, November 30, 2010 - link
I meant to say X-650*Phoenixlight - Tuesday, November 30, 2010 - link
"A few weeks ago Corsair presented their newest PSUs, the AX series"More like a few months ago...
yati - Tuesday, November 30, 2010 - link
I have been running a AX750 for about a month now. It is awesome. I have an oscilloscope and have test some basic parmeters. Ripple and voltage is almost identical to Anands.This PSU is a very good deal when you factor in:
1) Gold Cert. Efficiency
2) Nice all black cables, no rainbow colors cables sticking past the sleeve like other power supplies.
3) The $20 rebate that has floating around.
4) The insane 7 year warranty that even Seasonic doesn't offer.
I don't know why some people get all butt hurt when they already own a X-750 or HX850.
Both are great PSU. Almost all PSU from Corsair or Seasonic are winners.
That other guy getting technical that the AX750 is not "the best" compared to the AX1200 is a nut head. AX series is suppose to be Corsairs top of the line series. Tx , Hx, then Ax. Is it better than a HX850? Yes in some areas and no in others.
iamezza - Wednesday, December 1, 2010 - link
I think the main reason we don't see more high-quality, high-efficiency PSUs that are lower power is because it's much harder to make a low power PSU that is very efficient at lower loads.And it's kind of ironic because the 80 plus standard is there to try and encourage efficiency but the standard mandates that the PSU has to be very efficient at 20% load. For a 750W this is a quite reasonable 150W load, but for a 400W PSU this is a very low 80W load. It's ironic because if we could actually buy lower power PSUs they would actually be more efficient for most PC's because most PC's don't need more than 250W-300W max.
PeterSF - Wednesday, December 1, 2010 - link
I was looking at Newegg's deals on PSU's last Friday, and saw the X750 with the previously mentioned $20 discount at $169.99, but they also had a promo code for an extra $50 off (no longer valid).The Corsair in this review is based on its successor, the X760, as stated.
Researching, it seemed like many people thought the X750 was the best 750W PSU out there. Granted it's about to be succeeded by the X760, but for $120 with promo it was a steal, and I was surprised it didn't sell out at that price.
UPS just delivered it and I'll be opening the box next.
Like this reviewer, and another said, 750W should be adequate for even crossfire or SLI rigs, although I wouldn't try to drive 2 GTX 580's with it.
I have 3 Seasonics now, including a 330W and my main rig's modular 500W; neither have ever let me down. Also a Silverstone silent 300W I bought a while ago, which I may use again in an HTPC.
Apparently the X750 is silent before reaching a certain power draw, as the Sanyo Denki PWM fan doesn't even spin at low loads. Some people think it is defective for this reason, and one even RMA'd it before realizing his mistake.
I found a handy tool to calculate your PSU requirements here (not sure if links are allowed as it's my first post) but google PUSengine and you'll find it.
http://extreme.outervision.com/PSUEngine
ruzveh - Wednesday, December 1, 2010 - link
To the writer,I dont know whether the following test is true or not. Most of the website that has tested This AX Gold series PSU shows efficency reaching 93% in some cases and only in one case the efficency drops to below 90% in their AX850. Now i really dont know whether this is the fault of 750 that it is falling below 850model or ur test is wrong. I request u to Please test the AX850 model to get the clear picture overall.. I recently bought this AX750 bcoz saving elec. is my duty towards nature :)
Martin Kaffei - Thursday, December 2, 2010 - link
I'm not sure which tests you are talking about, but our measurements are correct. The measured value is relative to the test methodology. It depends, if you use a Chroma, SunMoon or PC; 20°C, 25°C or 50°C; ATX loads or more on the +12V rail and so on.Even if everyone would use the same chroma with the same temperatures it depends, how many cables there are from the PCB to the testing station. Fox example jonnyguru measured only 89% at 115VAC, while we had more than 90% with the same power grid.
In addition we didn't show every decimal place. The maximum efficiency is a little bit over 91%, so we are very close to other tests.