Corsair Power Supplies

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ibleet
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Corsair Power Supplies

Post by ibleet »

With Corsair being such dependable and popular PSU's, I was wondering about the 450VX and the 550VX and how they compare to the current 520HX and 620HX units. I noticed the new ones have a single rail, as opposed to the 3 rails on the former models. I also noticed that the new PC Power & Cooling Turbo-Cool 1200 runs on a single rail.

Can someone explain the positive and negatives of the different models? What would be the benefit of having a single rail over 3 rails or vis versa? Is the single rail PSU more efficient? Is this one of those cases where more is actually less?

My next build will have a Q6600, Striker Extreme, xfx 8800gts xxx, 2mb ram, 320g Seagate, DVD-R, 22" LCD, Vista OS...so would I be better off with the 550VX because its cheaper than the 520HX? Comparison review? Thanks! :)
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Re: Corsair Power Supplies

Post by DMB2000uk »

I think, that the 520 might actually still be the better power supply.

Single rail is theoretically better as it means that you don't have to worry that you are spreading your load evenly over all the rails.

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Re: Corsair Power Supplies

Post by cyclo »

If you could afford to spend money on a Q6600, Striker Extreme, and 8800gts, why not spend a little more for the 520HX? I have a Q6600, 8800gts, and I went for the 620HX... excellent PSU, I measured the 12v and 5v voltage using a digital voltmeter from boot-up up to a few minutes into a game and these never wavered (12.05 and 5.04 respectively).

IMHO, just the black modular cables on the HX series are worth the extra money over the lower end models.
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Re: Corsair Power Supplies

Post by ibleet »

DMB2000uk wrote:I think, that the 520 might actually still be the better power supply.

Single rail is theoretically better as it means that you don't have to worry that you are spreading your load evenly over all the rails.

Dan
I was thinking the same thing Dan, thanks. But I'm still wondering why! I'm curious that way. :mrgreen:

Why would I spend more for the 520HX if there is a possibility that the 550VX is better and cheaper? That is exactly what I am trying to find out. You don't have to sell me on Corsair...I don't even consider other brands.
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Re: Corsair Power Supplies

Post by dicecca112 »

well http://www.jonnyguru.com/review_details.php?id=135 he's the guru.

From a quick overview, I can see that its not as efficient as the HX520, but the rails are just as stable. remember the High end is the HX, the middle grade is the VX (even though they market it as budget

Either PSU would be fine. You want modular then go HX.
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Re: Corsair Power Supplies

Post by Apoptosis »

wait and get the TX series with 700+ watts ;)
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Re: Corsair Power Supplies

Post by ibleet »

dicecca112 wrote:well http://www.jonnyguru.com/review_details.php?id=135 he's the guru.

From a quick overview, I can see that its not as efficient as the HX520, but the rails are just as stable. remember the High end is the HX, the middle grade is the VX (even though they market it as budget

Either PSU would be fine. You want modular then go HX.
Thanks Dicecca, thats exactly what I wanted to hear. :)

Thanks Apop for the overkill... :lol:
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Re: Corsair Power Supplies

Post by Nein »

ibleet wrote:With Corsair being such dependable and popular PSU's, I was wondering about the 450VX and the 550VX and how they compare to the current 520HX and 620HX units. I noticed the new ones have a single rail, as opposed to the 3 rails on the former models. I also noticed that the new PC Power & Cooling Turbo-Cool 1200 runs on a single rail.
The former models are 12V single rail PSUs.
ibleet wrote:Can someone explain the positive and negatives of the different models? What would be the benefit of having a single rail over 3 rails or vis versa? Is the single rail PSU more efficient? Is this one of those cases where more is actually less?
There's no significant fundamental change in model designs, they are all 12V single rail PSUs.
ibleet wrote:was thinking the same thing Dan, thanks. But I'm still wondering why! I'm curious that way. :mrgreen:

Why would I spend more for the 520HX if there is a possibility that the 550VX is better and cheaper? That is exactly what I am trying to find out. You don't have to sell me on Corsair...I don't even consider other brands.
The 550VX design is slightly improved over the 520HX in output efficiency hence the rating change from 520 to 550.

The VX models are superior to the HX models.
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Re: Corsair Power Supplies

Post by Apoptosis »

ibleet wrote:With Corsair being such dependable and popular PSU's, I was wondering about the 450VX and the 550VX and how they compare to the current 520HX and 620HX units. I noticed the new ones have a single rail, as opposed to the 3 rails on the former models. I also noticed that the new PC Power & Cooling Turbo-Cool 1200 runs on a single rail.
As mentioned above the HX and VX series both indeed have 1 rail if you get down to it.
ibleet wrote:Can someone explain the positive and negatives of the different models? What would be the benefit of having a single rail over 3 rails or vis versa? Is the single rail PSU more efficient? Is this one of those cases where more is actually less?
As to which power supply is better? I'd say the HX520W is better than the VX550W because of the modularity and it is a little bit quieter. The VX550W is nearly 40dBA at full load and the HX520 is nearly 36dBA, so there is a 4dBA difference between the two when they are maxed out. Both use 105C Industrial Capacitors, are rated at 50C and have one rail.

As for efficiency they are about the same according to Corsair's site... At 50% load the VX550W is 84.1% efficient and the HX520W is around 83.8% efficient. This difference isn't significant. They are also both built by Seasonic... Flip a coin really, I've used both and you'll be happy with either one.
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Re: Corsair Power Supplies

Post by Nein »

550VX = +3.3V@30A,+5V@20A,+12V@41A,[email protected],+5VSB@3A --> Superior PSU.

520HX = +3.3V@24A,+5V@24A,+12V@40A,[email protected],+5VSB@3A --> Inferior PSU.

The above meant +3.3V and +5V combined 140W rail had been improved in the VX series. They're a lot less susceptible to cross-regulation failures.

VX designs removed the design weakness inherent in the HX series... They are what allowed less wasted internal power as heat, slightly upgrading 12V rail capacity, while increasing over all dependability and reliability.
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Re: Corsair Power Supplies

Post by dicecca112 »

I wouldn't call the HX weak in any sense. But I think we can agree that Corsair is putting out some incredible PSUs
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Re: Corsair Power Supplies

Post by dgood »

HX series does give better packaging :mrgreen: and modularity as mentioned. to keep that cable mess clean the modularity is awesome.
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Re: Corsair Power Supplies

Post by ibleet »

Ok, now I'm totally confused...This is taken directly from Corsair's website: "Triple 12V Rails provide independent reliable power to the CPU, video card and other components with a combined rating of 50A (40A on 520W) maximum! Advanced circuitry design that automatically enables power sharing between the triple +12V rails in an event of overload on any single +12V rail."

Nein claims the HX series has 1 rail and Apop agrees as follows: "As mentioned above the HX and VX series both indeed have 1 rail if you get down to it."

OK so Corsair's site says their HX PSU allows power sharing between the triple +12v rails. So, if any single rail is overloaded, the power can be transferred to one of the other 3 rails.

Now what throws me is the term triple, followed by the word RAILS, with Rail being plural. Not to mention the transference of power between the (3) rails. So...how exactly do you "get down to it"? And why would Corsair market the HX this way if it had only a single rail? Are we just talking semantics here?

I wish we hadn't opened this can of worms, but unfortunately, we did. :finga:
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Re: Corsair Power Supplies

Post by Nein »

ibleet wrote:Nein claims the HX series has 1 rail and Apop agrees as follows: "As mentioned above the HX and VX series both indeed have 1 rail if you get down to it."
I made no claim, I stated "factual garden-variety common sense".

For example - "Jittered blending of adjacent pixels caused bluriness in V5's FSAA." <-- This is not a claim, it's "factual garden-variety common sense". The below however is a claim...

"There're 3000 web-sources, 300 experts, and a 3Dfx's engineer named White whom all said V5's FSAA didn't blur."
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Re: Corsair Power Supplies

Post by DMB2000uk »

Can't you just explain to him why instead of proving why you are right?

There are 3 12v rails in the PSU, but their output has been tied together to effectively make them as one rail.

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Re: Corsair Power Supplies

Post by Nein »

DMB2000uk wrote:Can't you just explain to him why instead of proving why you are right?
The main problem with you is that you had no clue to the subject but already are expert at how the subject should be told, and obviously I should be required to do it using your reasonable and believable method.

I'd found out "Jittered blending of adjacent pixels caused bluriness in V5's FSAA." wasn't reasonable and believable, got plagued by multitude of dumbf***s for more than 6 months.

EDIT: My main problem is your attitude. Personal attacks like that will not be tolerated, consider it your only warning - Matt
DMB2000uk wrote:There are 3 12v rails in the PSU, but their output has been tied together to effectively make them as one rail.

Dan
There're 3 12V connections from a single 12V power rail. The PSU literate label below showed 520HX with 3 main 12V connections originating from a single 480W 12V(40A) rail. In exactly the same way which 3.3V and 5V are originating from a single 140W rail.

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The 520HX did have multiple rails - 140w, 480W, 9.6W, and 15W which are seperate independent power rails from each other.
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Re: Corsair Power Supplies

Post by cyclo »

ibleet wrote:Ok, now I'm totally confused...This is taken directly from Corsair's website: "Triple 12V Rails provide independent reliable power to the CPU, video card and other components with a combined rating of 50A (40A on 520W) maximum! Advanced circuitry design that automatically enables power sharing between the triple +12V rails in an event of overload on any single +12V rail."

Nein claims the HX series has 1 rail and Apop agrees as follows: "As mentioned above the HX and VX series both indeed have 1 rail if you get down to it."

OK so Corsair's site says their HX PSU allows power sharing between the triple +12v rails. So, if any single rail is overloaded, the power can be transferred to one of the other 3 rails.

Now what throws me is the term triple, followed by the word RAILS, with Rail being plural. Not to mention the transference of power between the (3) rails. So...how exactly do you "get down to it"? And why would Corsair market the HX this way if it had only a single rail? Are we just talking semantics here?

I wish we hadn't opened this can of worms, but unfortunately, we did. :finga:
As many already mentioned, it most likely boils down to whether you like modular or not.

Check out these reviews of the VX and HX series at THG, unlike most other review sites, these guys torture tests PSUs, many to the point of failure: VX450W, HX620 reviews. Both came away relatively unscathed and highly recommended. I myself tested the HX620 with a digital voltmeter following the advice from this site and found the voltages did not vary from bootup to minutes into playing Bioshock.
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Re: Corsair Power Supplies

Post by ibleet »

I'm honestly just trying to learn from those who are more educated on this forum. Please don't talk down to anyone, or imply that someone lacks common sense simply because they are not quite as educated as you. There is no room for that nonsense. I think I speak for everyone when I say that here at Legit, we try our utmost to help and respect others, while remaining objective and open minded. Regardless of what you say, I feel that my questions have merit and I'm entitled to ask them.

I'm here and continue to be here because I have come to respect this community, not only for the help they provide, but for the mature manner in which they handle themselves at all times. There are times to be serious, times to be funny, but never a time to be insulting, ignorant, or arrogant. If I wanted that nonsense, I would go to the other forums.

/rant off - sorry I had to vent. :(
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Re: Corsair Power Supplies

Post by kenc51 »

No more thread crapping and keep it civil please folks!



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Re: Corsair Power Supplies

Post by Nein »

ibeleet wrote:Regardless of what you say, I feel that my questions have merit and I'm entitled to ask them.
I supposed using factual garden-variety PSU common sense for your answers not allowed as it lacked equal entitlement and merit. Only claim, belief, faith, and reasonable/believable permitted?

I'd noticed that a lot of people in the world had large sense of entitlement and merit while also extra delicately sensitive. For example...

"I humbly recognized your random and irrelevant facts, but I demand an immediate apology now for your recognition of my reasonable and believable ignorance. That's just plain offensive to my delicate sensitivity."

"This is your one and only warning, your factual garden-variety ActivePFC common sense lacked civility."
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