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
Cold Test Results
For the testing of PSUs, we are using high precision electronic loads with a maximum power draw of 2700W, a Rigol DS5042M 40MHz oscilloscope, an Extech 380803 power analyzer, two high precision UNI-T UT-325 digital thermometers, an Extech HD600 SPL meter, a self-designed hotbox, and various other bits and parts. For a thorough explanation of our testing methodology and more details on our equipment, please refer to our How We Test PSUs - 2014 article.
The Corsair RM1000 performs very well at room temperature, easily surpassing the 80Plus Gold Certification limits and reaching a maximum efficiency of 93.4% at 50% load. The average efficiency of the RM1000 within the nominal load range (20% to 100%) is 91.8%, which is an astonishing figure. When the load is reduced down to 50W, the efficiency drops down to 78%; however, although that may sound like a poor result, we should clarify that this actually is a very good figure and rarely can a PSU maintain an efficiency this high at just 5% load. However, such a low load is considered an "out of range" condition and does not affect the 80Plus certification, which takes into account only the 20% to 100% nominal capacity range.
There are no exhaust air temperature or noise measurements below 50% load because the fan does not spin until we reach 500W. The RM1000 is virtually inaudible while operating at room temperature, even when heavily stressed. Due to the passive cooling profile and the small heatsinks, however, the RM1000 tends to run warm, with the temperature of the tiny secondary side heatsinks floating around 55 °C and reaching up to 59.7 °C.
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Daniel Egger - Thursday, April 24, 2014 - link
I think you and I might as well give up as I sense a lot more of those nonsense^Wniche product reviews coming up...mattgmann - Thursday, April 24, 2014 - link
Your statement is true, except for the mass demand of high wattage PSUs for mining. Many 1k units are constantly sold out at major retailers because of the demand for mining rigs.derpherp - Wednesday, April 30, 2014 - link
This actually doesn't work that well when I try to use the zoom mod script:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y16XoA3ZFTI
Ubercake - Thursday, April 24, 2014 - link
My TX950 was built by CWT and continues to be a solid performer. I would have no issue buying this PSU at $170. That's a good price for 1000W 80-plus gold supply. Is there anything else close for that price?Two standard R9 290xs in crossfire will require 600W+ themselves without an overclock. Even though CPUs seem to be improving with regard to power usage, for souped-up gaming systems, more wattage is still required and GPUs seem to be requiring more power these days.
Antronman - Thursday, April 24, 2014 - link
More like 450ishzlandar - Thursday, April 24, 2014 - link
Like to see some reviews on small form factor PSUs that can fit into smaller cases.eanazag - Thursday, April 24, 2014 - link
I agree. Looking for itx case power supplies is not a lot of fun. Also, looking for low wattage PSUs sucks. Solid performers at 350 and below are interesting.meacupla - Saturday, April 26, 2014 - link
There is the Corsair CS series for that, which is gold and standard 140mm depth.But if you want higher quality than CS series, Antec earthwatts platinum is also good.
2late2die - Thursday, April 24, 2014 - link
Other than the size this looks like a great PSU for any high-end system. By the way, while the marketing for the RM series emphasizes the no-fan operation at low loads, I believe the AX series has the same feature and won't kick in its fan until 40+% loads.Antronman - Thursday, April 24, 2014 - link
It's too bad that Corsair's RM series are horrible quality.