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
Corsair might have started off as a computer memory manufacturer, but today they sell a number of components for PCs. One of their most active product lineups is their computer power supply units (PSUs) business, with the company offering dozens of products through six different series. Each of their PSU series has been designed with a specific target group in mind, ranging from the low-cost VS series to the top-performance AX series. Amongst them, the RM series consists of units with modular cables that have been designed with low noise operation in mind.
We had our first take on the RM series one and a half year ago with the review of the RM1000, which was the pinnacle of the RM series at the time. A few months ago, Corsair upgraded the RM series, presenting the RM-i series that also featured Corsair's Link interface. This week, the company is further releasing the RM-x series, which are an upgrade of the original RM series, receiving essentially the same upgrade as the RM-i units but leaving out the Corsair Link support. Corsair has provided us with an RM1000i and an RM1000x for evaluation, both of which we will have a look at in this review.
| Power specifications ( Rated @ 50 °C ) | |||||
| AC INPUT | 100 - 240 VAC, 50 - 60 Hz | ||||
| RAIL | +3.3V | +5V | +12V | +5Vsb | -12V |
| MAX OUTPUT | 25A | 25A | 83.3A | 3A | 0.8A |
| 150W | 1000W | 15W | 9.6W | ||
| TOTAL | 1000W | ||||
Packaging and Bundle
Corsair supplies the RM1000i and the RM1000x into large, tough cardboard boxes. The packaging is virtually identical, with the only major difference being the main color, which is white for the former and black for the latter. A lot of information regarding the PSU has been printed on all sides of the box, in multiple languages.
The company kept the bundle simple, supplying only the standard AC power cable, a manual and four black mounting screws, as well as a case badge and a few cable ties.
Both of the new RM units comes with the same number of cables and connectors, with the exception of the extra internal USB cable that the -i variation has for the Corsair Link interface. The SATA/Molex cables are flat, ribbon-like cables, while the thicker ATX/EPS/PCI-E cables are sleeved. All of the wires are black.
The following table lists the number of connectors.
| Corsair RM1000x/RM1000i | ||
| Connector type | Hardwired | Modular |
| ATX 24 Pin | - | 1 |
| EPS 4+4 Pin | - | 2 |
| EPS 8 Pin | - | - |
| PCI-E 6+2 Pin | - | 8 |
| PCI-E 8 Pin | - | - |
| SATA | - | 12 |
| Molex | - | 11 |
| Floppy | - | 2 |
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HOOfan 1 - Thursday, October 1, 2015 - link
There is about a 2% difference in efficiency between these 1000W PSUs, and a 650W 80 plus Platinum PSU at 100W of DC usage. So, we are talking about using an extra 2 Watts...big whoop.lozikosaz - Thursday, October 1, 2015 - link
1- Those numbers are made up by you.2- You are ignoring different vendors and models.
3- A modern, powerful rig may consume like 50W when browsing or doing office work.
4- There is nothing wrong in saving 1% of power by using a more appropriate PSU, and surely a cheaper one.
HOOfan 1 - Thursday, October 1, 2015 - link
1- No they are made by actually reading reviews and looking at the numbers.Go find Kitguru's review of the RM1000x. They get 87.32% efficiency from the RM1000x at 100W. Go look at the Jonnyguru.com review of the EVGA P2 650 he gets 87.6% efficiency at 65W and 90.7% at 142W. So you are looking at around 88%-89% efficiency at 100W. Guess what, that is a 2%-3% difference.
You haven't provided ANYTHING
2- This article was about the RM000i/RM000x...so why should I talk about different vendors?
3- At 50W, a 5% difference in efficiencies is 2.5W....so the lower the power draw, even with a difference in efficiency, you are still wasting less power than you would be at higher loads.
4- There is also nothing wrong with using an over rated PSU which can provide a lot more power before the fan kicks on.
5- These sites publish what brings in readers. Reviewer after reviewer has said that the high power PSU reviews bring in more viewers.
HOOfan 1 - Thursday, October 1, 2015 - link
Or you could do a more apples to apples comparison from the Kitguru, since they use the same testing equipment and AC sourceCorsair RM1000x 87.3% efficient at 100W DC draw
Be Quiet Dark Power Pro 11 89.5% efficient at 110W DC draw
Coolermaster V 550 88.6% efficient at 110W DC draw
So the 80 plus platinum 550W unit is only 2.2% more efficient than the 1000W 80 plus gold and the 80 plus gold 550W unit is only 1.3% more efficient than the 1000W 80 plus gold
lozikosaz - Wednesday, September 30, 2015 - link
@ArbieIn case you didn't read, I mean :"I wish that Anandtech made more reviews for PSU in the range of 500/750W", which overkills any powerful single GPU rig.
Arbie - Friday, October 2, 2015 - link
@lozikosaz - I was being facetious... I agree with you.paul878 - Sunday, October 4, 2015 - link
Too many models Corsair, your product line is getting confusing.