Corsair AX850W Power Supply Review

Conclusions

The new Corsair AX850W is an outstanding power supply. During our tests it achieved very high efficiency, peaking above 90%, voltages very close to their nominal values (3% regulation instead of the traditional 5% regulation), extremely low noise and ripple levels, and a more than adequate number of connectors for an 850 W product. On top of that, due to its highly overspec’ed components, we could easily pull 1,000 W from it (even though efficiency dropped a lot under this scenario).

The two other 850 W power supplies with 80 Plus Gold certification that we’ve tested so far, the NZXT HALE90-850-M and OCZ Z Series 850 W, cost less: USD 180 and USD 185, respectively, while the AX850W costs USD 200. But from the three, the AX850W is the only one to offer a full modular cabling system, it presented a tighter voltage regulation, lower noise and ripple levels, and efficiency that was a tiny bit higher. The number of connectors is comparable, but the model from NZXT comes with six connectors for video cards, which may be an advantage.

So, if you are the kind of user that only wants “the best in class,” then the Corsair AX850W is the 850 W power supply that you should buy. Otherwise you can save a bit and buy a competing product, including Corsair HX850W (USD 170), that achieved  similar efficiency in our tests. Also, if you don’t demand 90% efficiency, you can save a lot and buy a power supply like the XFX 850 W Black Edition, which can achieve 87% efficiency at only USD 130.