A couple years back when Silverstone introduced the SX600-G, a 600W PSU in the SFX format (review here), that was a big achievement. And they had no competition, despite a low quality selection of solid capacitors used and plagued with a noise 80 mm fan.
Today, things have changed, with Corsair’s new SFX lineup, in a 450W and a 600W flavor.
With a 7 years warranty, a 92 mm fan and 100% All Japanese 105°C capacitors, we might say Corsair aims for the crown in the SFX market.
First, about Corsair
Founded in 1994, Corsair has grown from pioneering the high-performance DRAM market to one of the world’s leading providers of enthusiast-grade PC components and peripherals. Their groundbreaking technology and innovation can be found in our high-performance memory, ultra-efficient power supplies, PC cases, PC and CPU cooling solutions, and solid-state storage devices. Under the Corsair Gaming brand, launched in 2014, they provide gaming keyboards, mice, headsets and mouse mats to eSports professionals and anybody who is passionate about competitive PC gaming.
Corsair hardware is regularly featured in showcase “dream systems,” and have earned the adulation and respect of the press, professional gamers and overclockers, and PC enthusiasts worldwide by delivering leading-edge technology backed by renowned service and support.
Corsair has developed a global operations infrastructure with extensive marketing and distribution channel relationships, and our products are available through leading distributors and retailers in over sixty countries worldwide.
Price when previewed – £ 94.99 – via Amazon.co.uk
Specifications and presentation
* Courtesy of their website.
Compatibility
– 6th generation Intel® Core™ processor Ready (Intel Skylake and Z170 motherboards)
– ATX12V v2.4 and EPS 2.92 standards and is backward compatible with ATX12V 2.2, 2.31 and ATX12V 2.01 systems
– SFX PSU is compatible with SFX cases. To use with an ATX case, an SFX to ATX bracket (not included) is required
Features
– 92mm thermally controlled fan with Zero-RPM mode
– 80 PLUS® Gold efficiency, delivering 90% energy efficiency at real world load conditions.
– Fully modular cables for easy installation, less clutter, and helps maximize airflow through your computer’s chassis.
– Engineered to meet maximum power output at a 40°C temperature rating.
– Over-voltage protection, under-voltage protection, short circuit protection, over power protection, and over temperature protection – provide maximum safety to your critical system components.
– Safety and Agency Approvals: FCC, ICES, CE, UL, CUL, RCM, TUV, CB, CCC, BSMI, EAC, RoHS, WEEE, RoHS (China), KC
Specifications
– Warranty: 7 years
– Weight: 0.86 kg
– MTBF: 100,000 hours
– Efficiency: 80 Plus Gold
– Power: 600 Watts
– Dimensions: 100mm x 63mm x 125mm
– ATX Connector: x1
– EPS Connector: x1
– Four Pin Peripheral Connector: x1
– PCI Connector: x2
– SATA Connector: x4
So as shown above, the SF600 ticks all the boxes from 80 Plus Gold certification, full modular cables, a single rail design with up to 50A on the +12V rail, a rifle bearing 92 mm fan with zero-rpm mode (which should last more than the sleeve bearings that are usually used) and all the protections you would get in the top tier PSU. So far so good, it looks like the most complete SFX offering to date.
Lets proceed.
Packaging
We have the “old” box design from Corsair but still with a nice black background and yellow margins. On the front there is a visual representation of the PSU, the model, the 80+ Gold rating and most importantly the 7 years warranty. The same should be with the 450W variant, with the wattage difference, of course.
On the back side, it represents detailed information about the PSU’s dimensions, its power specifications and diagrams illustrating the efficiency and fan noise curves.
And on the top side he have all the connectors visualized.
The content is very thoroughly wrapped and secured. Thus the package has:
1x SF600W PSU
1x storage felt bag for the PSU
1x AC power cord – UK plug for our region
1x Modular cable set
1x Felt storage bag for the cables
10x Cable ties
1x Corsair case badge
1x User Manual
1x Warranty card
4x Philips screws
The manual is the same for both 450W and 600W variants.
The modular cables have a ribbon style pattern but they are hard to bend. We have:
1x ATX connector 20+4 pin (with 300 mm in length)
1x 4+4 pin EPS12V (400 mm)
2x 6+2 pin PCI-E (400 mm)
1x SATA w/ 4 plugs (100 mm + 115 mm + 115 mm + 115mm)
1x Four-pin Molex w/ 4 plugs (100 mm + 115 mm + 115 mm + 115mm)
Both the PSU and cables have this felt storage bags with the Corsair logo. Nice attention to details.
Visual inspection
And here is the little sexy thing.
The information sticker. Most relevant information is that it has 50 A on the +12V rail
The outlet and an On/Off button. The exhaust is a honey comb style pattern. Then the 92 mm fan, positioned in the middle.
On this side we have a simple sticker with the PSU model and on top the Corsair logo engraved.
Add finally the socket area.
Then we opened the PSU to have a glimpse of its circuitry and build quality.
Although we lack a proper desoldering kit to fully analyse the components used, from our investigations these are some of the most important elements used.
So, yes so far Tier 1 components all the way.
The OEM design is made by Great Wall, one of the biggest Chinese manufacturers.
Testing & Installation
We will test the PSU in a normal day to day base consisting of full gaming load and then a synthetic high stress application to fully utilize the CPU and GPU, to see the power draw. Hence our preview of this power supply, due to lacking the access to the testing professional equipment.
We will measure this at desktop idle and full load via our Prodigit 2000MU wattage wall adapter.
Then the sound output with our sound meter tester – Pyle PSPL01 – positioned 1 meter from the case, (we will include +/- 2-3 % margin for error) with ambient noise level of 25-30 dB/A.
Hardware used.
– CPU: Intel i7 4790k @ stock 4.0 Ghz w/ 4.4 Turbo Boost – 88 W TDP
– CPU Cooler: Cryorig C7
– SSD: Samsung 840 Pro 512 GB MLC
– Memory Modules: 16 GB (2x 8 GB) DDR3 Crucial Ballistix Tactical Tracers 1600 Mhz CL8 LED
– Video card: MSI GTX 770 Twin Frozr IV Gaming OC – 230 W TDP
– Case: Thermaltake V1 Core mITX
– Fans: 1x Thermaltake 200 mm
– SFX/ATX bracket: Silverstone PP08
Software used.
– Windows 10 Pro x64 Build 1511.10586
– Valley Benchmark v1.0
– Witcher 3 v1.21 – 20 minute gaming session
We had to use an aftermarket SFX to ATX adapter, Corsair should really include on given the asking price and because the competition already does it.
After this, just install the unit via the included screws, plug the necessary plugs and job done. Depending on your case, ensure the wire management accordingly. In our Thermaltake Core V1, it has the PSU in a separate chamber and that is a perfect spot to hide the bulk of them.
The finished build. (Note* EVGA GTX 650 used for the build / the MSI GTX 770 used for the testing)
Results
In desktop idle, with our test system, we have : 49 W and of course noise wise, nothing to record because the Corsair’s fan is off.
In full gaming load, in Witcher 3 we have a power consumption of : 233 W and with a total system noise of < 35 dB/A.
And in the Valley benchmark, no more than 260 W consumption. So the PSU barely sweats. Again under 35 dB/A of total system noise.
And we even put our ear next to the PSU when the fan is on, still in our tested wattage range, it is dead silent.
And no coil noise mind you.
Excellent performance in these areas by the SF600 !
We will need to further test it with a more power hungry GPU or do a SLI to take the PSU to it’s full power. That says a lot.
Conclusion
The good:
+ Max warranty – 7 years
+ A lot of power at your disposabl in this small SFX format
+ All top tier components and Japanese solid caps used
+ Fully modular
+ Flat ribbon-style cables
+ Silent
+ Excellent efficiency
+ 92 mm rifle bearing fan with zero-rpm mode (vs 80 mm sleeve bearing regularly used by the competition)
+ On/Off switch (some SFX PSUs don’t have it)
+ Safety protections including: OCP, OVP, UVP, SCP, OTP, and OPP
The bad:
– Hard to bend the cables especially considering this is a small form factor PSU
– No SFX to ATX PSU adapter plate included
– Should have had 4x 6+2 PCI-E video card connectors for SLI/CF considering it’s power delivery.
– Maybe high price but this is still a niche product so we can let it slide considering, now, in our view it is the best SFX you can get right now.
Glob3trotters “SFX King” Award – 4.5 out of 5
