The Corsair RM1000x and RM1000i 1000W Power Supply Review
by E. Fylladitakis on September 30, 2015 8:00 AM EST- Posted in
- Cases/Cooling/PSUs
- Corsair
- RM Series
- Corsair Link
Cold Test Results
For the testing of PSUs, we are using high precision electronic loads with a maximum power draw of 2700 Watts, a Rigol DS5042M 40 MHz 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 Pipeline post.
Note: As the RM1000i and the RM1000x are technically identical, their performance during our testing naturally was identical as well. As such, one set of results is displayed in this review for clarity.
The electrical efficiency of the RM1000i/RM1000x is very stable and easily meets the 80Plus Gold efficiency certification standards. In fact, the units went beyond 80Plus Gold and reached 80Plus Platinum efficiency standards during our testing. However, that level is efficiency is was reached using a 230VAC input, therefore the 115VAC input used for 80Plus compliance testing could drop the efficiency below the 80Plus Platinum limits at 50% or 100% load.
The units have a maximum conversion efficiency of 92.8% at 50% load and an average of 91.8% within the nominal load range (20% to 100% of the unit's capacity). It is worthwhile to mention that the older RM1000 had a higher peak efficiency at 50% load, but lower overall efficiency. Corsair also improved the low load efficiency in comparison to the RM1000, bringing it up to 87.8% at 10% load and 80.1% at 5% load.
With the RM1000i/RM1000x operating outside our hotbox, the load had to reach 560 Watts before the fan even started spinning. The thermal performance of the newer models is clearly superior to that of the original RM1000 and astonishing for PSUs with that kind of power output, especially at lower loadings, where the fan is still not spinning. Once the fan starts, it remains practically inaudible. As the load increases however, the fan's speed will increase to meet the increasing cooling demands. The fan becomes clearly audible when the load is greater than about 800 Watts.
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jonnyGURU - Wednesday, September 30, 2015 - link
Actually... you have it backwards. Look at an old RM review and an old HXi review if you don't believe me. NR135L is the rifle bearing fan. NR135P is the FDB fan.E.Fyll - Wednesday, September 30, 2015 - link
True. That was a mistake on my part. The NR135P is the FDB fan.E.Fyll - Wednesday, September 30, 2015 - link
The NR135P is an FDB fan. The RM1000x is advertised as having a rifle bearing fan, but my sample also had a NR135P inside it (FDB).I would assume that what happened is the exact opposite of what you are suggesting - Corsair ran out of NR135L's at some point and, instead of switching to something inferior, they chose to install a superior fan inside some of their RM1000x's.
jonnyGURU - Wednesday, September 30, 2015 - link
Exactly.extide - Wednesday, September 30, 2015 - link
So we can all put this to bed!buxe2quec - Thursday, October 1, 2015 - link
Some clarification about fluid dynamic bearings, rifle bearings, ... http://www.hardwaresecrets.com/the-truth-about-flu... It's quite complete, and shows how the naming scheme is not always coherent.Cow86 - Thursday, October 1, 2015 - link
Hmm, interesting...So then that means that buying a RMx series PSU you normally get an inferior fan to this review. I guess it should still be possible to draw conclusions from reviews of the old RM series on the fan's performance then though. Shame anyway, it robs us of a good direct comparison here. Thanks for the follow-up jonnyGURU!ruthan - Wednesday, September 30, 2015 - link
Are sure that fan will not spinning until 500W load, even in longer load period? Because of i have Seasonic semi passivelly cooled PSU and fan not spinning worked only on paper, there was some temperature trigger set prettty low, so fan was spinning even in 150W,200W load after few minutes regardless of fan mode switch (PSU was Platinum 860W).jonnyGURU - Wednesday, September 30, 2015 - link
The fan uses an algorithm of load, temperature and duration. Similar to the Seasonic. The marketing represents the fan speed at different loads at 25°C. If your ambient temperatures are higher, the fan will start sooner.Cellar Door - Thursday, October 1, 2015 - link
Seasonic has been doing smaller footprint PSUs for a while with a 'fan only when needed' switch for a while now. For ex. a 750 Gold unit would top out at 975watts and do stay in platinum efficiency for most of the time.Why are we getting all excited about a bearing technology 3 years after superior units jonnyGURU?
XFX units(based on them), were a steal..