Corsair TX950W Power Supply Review

Conclusions

Corsair TX950W is an excellent 950 W unit, producing a very high efficiency of practically 89% when delivering between 40% and 60% of this labeled load (between 380 W and 570 W). When delivering 950 W, however, efficiency dropped to around 83%.

This unit received from Ecos Consulting the 80 Plus Silver certification, however Corsair decided to downgrade this product to 80 Plus Bronze, since efficiency at full load drops below the 85% mark when the power supply is operating under real-world temperatures. It seems that Corsair, like us, doesn’t agree with the methodology from Ecos Consulting of measuring power supplies at a room temperature of only 23° C, which is impossible to be achieved inside a PC, especially one demanding a 950 W unit. In a market full of companies trying to deceive consumers, it is a blessing to see a company like Corsair going on the opposite direction. So we have to congratulate Corsair for being such an honest company (we think this should be the rule but unfortunately is the exception).

All voltages were within a tighter 3% margin while ATX specification allows a 5% margin, meaning that all voltages – including -12 V – were closer to their nominal values than necessary. The exception was when the unit was delivering 950 W, when +3.3 V and +5 V outputs got out of this tighter margin, but they were still inside the maximum allowed.

Noise and ripple were low at all timess.

The number of cables is perfect for a 950 W unit, with six six/eight-pin connectors for video cards using individual cables, allowing you to install up to three very high-end video cards without the need for adapters, twelve SATA power connectors and nine peripheral power connectors.

And then we have pricing. This unit costs USD 180 at Newegg.com (several other stores are carrying it for only USD 165), which we think is a terrific price for a 950 W power supply with these features and performance.