Corsair AX850 850W Power Supply Review @ [H]

FrgMstr

FrgMstr

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Corsair AX850 850W Power Supply Review - Corsair has quickly become one of the computer hardware enthusiast's favorite power supply brands by building and designing some of what have become the best PSUs in the world. Does the new 850 watt AX850 stand up to the already high bar set by Corsair?
 
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I totally want one! Corsair has a small price premium for outstanding equipment. Its definitely worth it. You usually get what you pay for and that's a good thing.
 
If its a Seasonic I know it's gonna be good and this doesn't dissapoint :p
 
Great review. Do you have any efficiency records around 75 - 150 watts (specially around 100w). How the efficiency compares to HX850 around 100w (75-150w)?

Are the conditions and instruments used in AX and HX same?.

Im really struggling between AX and HX. Need the highest efficient one specially around 75-150w.

Any suggestions appreciated.
 
rosh said:
Great review. Do you have any efficiency records around 75 - 150 watts (specially around 100w). How the efficiency compares to HX850 around 100w (75-150w)?

Are the conditions and instruments used in AX and HX same?.

Im really struggling between AX and HX. Need the highest efficient one specially around 75-150w.

Any suggestions appreciated.
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We do not take load tests at that level.

You can hit the links in the article that show you all of our testing methodology and equipment used.
 
I have the Corsair AX750 and it is by far my favorite power supply, and I've owned quite a few good ones. I owned a Seasonic X-750 which had constant issues with squealing. However, either Seasonic or Corsair did something right because, despite this being based on the revised Seasonic X-Series, it does not squeal (there is still some high frequency noise if I put my ear to it, but it's much quieter than the X-750).
 
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Assuming there aren't any reports of the AX850 squealing while gaming, I'll probably buy the AX850 for my next build.
 
great review i am preety sure i am gonna switch from my much liked tx 650 to this as and when i start building a wc loop for me pc end of the month
 
have the HX850 my self atm and have been recommending it to friends ill have to them to look at the AX850 now

Corsair keeps hitting it out of the park now only if they would make Graphics cards....
 
Don't see how this got a gold award as it BARELY beats the previous HX850 thats 2 years old and cost 50$ less.
 
sok0 said:
Don't see how this got a gold award as it BARELY beats the previous HX850 thats 2 years old and cost 50$ less.
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If you read the article we make it very clear.
 
How come you guys pay little attention to the cables? I have an AX750 and the spacing on the SATA cables is too much, so if you plug in all 4 SATA plugs, there is a lot of wasted length arching from the hard drives and very little length left to route them. I can barely reach my PS in a mid tower, straight shot, no routing. Full towers with PS chambers? Forget it.

The optical cables are even worse. The spacing is just as bad and they are orientated for power supplies mounted up top. So if you have a 4 in 3 up top and the power supply down low, there is no way to plug all 4 drives in and reach the power supply. They included 4/8 pin ATX cable extensions for bottom mounted power but no extension for the power cables. Since they are 6 pin plugs and wired for Corsair only units, off the shelf extensions are not an option. Corsair doesn't even sell any for their own products.

I would like to see reviews with some cable analysis because the cables for corsairs AX series are shit. Good if you are a gamer only, but if you actually have more than a few hard drives, you never be able to use all their advertised plugs. The unit itself is nice, but they need to be grilled for downright lousy cables.
 
gahhh, I love corsair products. I want to buy this so bad but college is killing me. Good review. If I ever have the $ I will definitely pick one up.
 
Silverghost said:
How come you guys pay little attention to the cables? I have an AX750 and the spacing on the SATA cables is too much, so if you plug in all 4 SATA plugs, there is a lot of wasted length arching from the hard drives and very little length left to route them. I can barely reach my PS in a mid tower, straight shot, no routing. Full towers with PS chambers? Forget it.

The optical cables are even worse. The spacing is just as bad and they are orientated for power supplies mounted up top. So if you have a 4 in 3 up top and the power supply down low, there is no way to plug all 4 drives in and reach the power supply. They included 4/8 pin ATX cable extensions for bottom mounted power but no extension for the power cables. Since they are 6 pin plugs and wired for Corsair only units, off the shelf extensions are not an option. Corsair doesn't even sell any for their own products.

I would like to see reviews with some cable analysis because the cables for corsairs AX series are shit. Good if you are a gamer only, but if you actually have more than a few hard drives, you never be able to use all their advertised plugs. The unit itself is nice, but they need to be grilled for downright lousy cables.
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The cable construction on these units is every very good. The cable length is provided in the review. There is nothing to grill them on. If the cable length is not long enough for your application, then select another power supply with sufficient length cables.
 
One paragraph and all you checked was the length to the first connector. It's hard to pick another power supply when few reviewers put effort into cables. Did you plug the connectors of one cable into 4 drives then try and plug it in? If you are going to measure cables, measure the spacing between each connector and what is left for you to route.
 
Silverghost said:
One paragraph and all you checked was the length to the first connector. It's hard to pick another power supply when few reviewers put effort into cables. Did you plug the connectors of one cable into 4 drives then try and plug it in? If you are going to measure cables, measure the spacing between each connector and what is left for you to route.
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The difference left for you to route is the length to the first connector, which was provided.
 
All I can picture is you plugging your ears and going *la la la la la la*

The length you provided is the total length. Good if you have one hard drive. How many [H]'ers have only one hard drive. Like I said "Did you plug the connectors of one cable into 4 drives then try and plug it in?" What's is left to route from the 4th connector is what matters. Otherwise they are advertising connectors you can not use.
 
Silverghost said:
All I can picture is you plugging your ears and going *la la la la la la*

The length you provided is the total length. Good if you have one hard drive. How many [H]'ers have only one hard drive. Like I said "Did you plug the connectors of one cable into 4 drives then try and plug it in?" What's is left to route from the 4th connector is what matters. Otherwise they are advertising connectors you can not use.
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You asked about length left to route the cabling. That length is the length from the first connector on the strand to the modular plug for the housing, which is provided. If you plug all four connectors in that does not change the length between the first connector on the strand and the modular interface on the housing.

So what is your question exactly?
 
Silverghost said:
You only have the length of the unit and total length of the cables.
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No, total length of the unit and the length to the first connector are listed as stated in the text and is seen in the picture.

Again, what is your question?
 
I have to agree, I just bought an AX 1200 and these PSUs are bad-ass, not much to complain about.

My only gripe, and it does have to do with cabling, is why Corsair chose to use traditional cables for the 24 pin,8 pin and PCI-e and then flat ribbons for the rest.

Those traditional sleeved cables are fatties and hard to work with.

I would have voted for ribbons all the way.:D
 
magoo said:
I have to agree, I just bought an AX 1200 and these PSUs are bad-ass, not much to complain about.

My only gripe, and it does have to do with cabling, is why Corsair chose to use traditional cables for the 24 pin,8 pin and PCI-e and then flat ribbons for the rest.

Those traditional sleeved cables are fatties and hard to work with.

I would have voted for ribbons all the way.:D
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I would guess the problem is the 24pin cable in that scenario. That is going to be a very wide and rather hard to route cable in any area other than flat under a motherboard tray or some such.
 
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Paul_Johnson said:
No, total length of the unit and the length to the first connector are listed as stated in the text and is seen in the picture.

Again, what is your question?
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For some reason my brain was telling me that the measurement provided was total length. My on-the-fly standard to metric conversion is not very good. I dug out my own cables and measured them because I knew I must have been missing something.

My beef is that I think manufacturers should reduce the spacing been each connector so they are condensed to the end of the cable. Like I said in my little rant. If you have a 4in 3 in your optical bays, you wont be able to plug all 4 drives in then reach the power supply at the bottom of your case. And corsair doesn't sell extensions.
 
How best to put this......the Corsair AX850 is an outstanding entry into the 850W segment that's only real competition, that we have reviewed and is readily available at this time, is the Corsair HX850.
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My head hurts... But it looks like I'll be grabbing one of these for my next build.
 
I have one of these AX850 PSU. Seems nice and quiet and is doing it's job. I really had to rely on the reviews as from just sitting here I just know it's working. How well, only you guys know lol. Here are a few pictures from my newest build. I went AMD 6 Core @ 4.2Ghz with 8gig DDR3 2000mhz, and Asus 460's in SLI @ 850 / 2200.


 
Namakan said:
^ that's one BIG ASS case.
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That's not what she said.

Anyways, I was contemplating on replacing my XFX PSU with the AX750 but decided to keep it. Fully modular would have made my sleeving job on the 24-pin ATX cable much easier. :eek:
 
bmg said:
Assuming there aren't any reports of the AX850 squealing while gaming, I'll probably buy the AX850 for my next build.
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couldnt hear the psu over my old 9800gtx+.... let alone over 2 oced gtx 470 on air :)
 
Purchased AX850 one from newegg on sale ($191) with free 8GB flashdrive. Worked just 2 hrs with whining and now dead. Already applied for full refund.

Note: Sata power cable for SSD in Silverstone FT02 is not long enough.

Going for HX850 this time. ($154 free shipped)
 
Been using an AX850 for a while. The fan never spins making it the most quiet PSU I ever owned.
 
Paul_Johnson said:
I would guess the problem is the 24pin cable in that scenario. That is going to be a very wide and rather hard to route cable in any area other than flat under a motherboard tray or some such.
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Ultra did a great job with their flat cables on my X3 1000W PSU; including the 24 pin ribbon cable.:D
 
Paul, you have the patience of a saint. Your tolerance is truly commendable. :cool:

Anyway, what is the point of having such excellent DC output? I mean, after a certain point, eg ~20mA, does it really matter?

It seems to me that the race to achieve better DC output is similar to the race to get higher DPI (for mice) and higher megapixels (for cameras). Which is to say, pointless.

Hope you can understand my gibberish comment.
 
I purchased an AX750 before any reviews came out knowing that it would be a kick ass product. This review just confirms it.

It's not all that expensive compared to the HX620 when it first came out. I remember the HX620 cost me around $160 in May 07 and an AX750 can be found for $170.
 
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