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Corsair have a huge audience in the enthusiast sector and a new power supply release from the company tends to get more attention than most. Today we are taking a look at their new 650W model in a range also incorporating a 750W and 850W unit. This is a fully modular, 80 Plus, Gold Rated unit retailing at £89.99 in the United Kingdom.
Corsair are really experienced with power supply development and partnerships over the years. It would be fair to say they haven't always gotten it right, but generally they get a lot more hits than they have misses. I can remember a few ranges which didn't quite hit the mark, but in recent years there is nothing that stands out as a horrific failure.
These new models are fully modular and designed with a totally neutral colour scheme to ensure they will look good in a coordinated custom system build. They have a ZERO rpm fan mode to reduce noise as much as possible, especially when under lower loads, such as when you are browsing the internet or doing less intensive tasks.
Corsair also mention that these are some of the first desktop PC power supplies to support Windows 10's new modern Standby mode which reduces S3 sleep state from up to 15 seconds down to under 5 seconds.
Corsair have also adopted a rifle bearing fan for these units to help with long term reliability.
In regards to the Electrolytic and Solid Capacitors they are adopting in this new RM range – after checking Corsairs reviewers guide I read the line ‘Electrolytic and solid capacitors for RM Series power supplies are specified as Taiwanese or Japanese in origin with no guarantee between the two.' I would assume the wording is indicating that they might pick and choose capacitors as they see fit, or as stock dictates – either Japanese or Taiwanese (Chinese).
Its worth point out that engineering standards are definitely improving from Chinese companies over recent years, but personally I have seen a few Chinese capacitors fail over the years during testing, and quite horribly too, so it will be interesting to see what brand is inside this unit later in the review.
Corsair offer a 10 year warranty with this range of power supplies which is reassuring.
RM650 Key Features:
- 80 PLUS Gold Efficiency.
- Zero RPM Fan Mode.
- 10 Year warranty.
- Built for the Future: Modern Standby Compatible.
- Modular Cables.
- MBTF: 100,000 hours
- Reliable and Dependable – 105c rated Capacitors.
Can't say I am a huge fan of the vomit coloured new box design but it seems like such a minor point. From a typographic point of view we can see that Corsair are adopting some new fonts as well.
The bright yellow background continues around to the back of the box, and some details of the product are listed along with a plotted chart of efficiency and fan noise levels.
The cables are shipped inside a little cardboard box. The power supply ships protected in a little bag, sandwiched between foam.
The cables are quite high quality, and a mixture of sleeved and ribbon style cables for ease of routing.
For a 650watt power supply we think Corsair have got the cable configuration pretty much covered.
The Corsair RM650 is quite an understated looking unit with a simple black and white aesthetic. It will suit any colour schemed system so we think its a wise move from Corsair not to add coloured accents to the sides.
The power supply measures 150 mm x 86 mm x 160 mm. It is fully modular.
The large fan is hidden behind a metal grille at the top of the unit. We will take a closer look at the fan when we open the supply later in the review.
One side of the unit is home to the power connector and switch along with a vented panel to aid with airflow. Corsair are keen to point out that the fan will not spin under lower load situations.
The other side of the unit has all the modular cable connectors – labelled to make setup easy.
| Corsair RM650 Power Supply | |||||
|
DC Output
|
+3.3V
|
+5V
|
+12V |
-12V
|
+5Vsb
|
|
Max Output
|
20A
|
20A
|
54A |
0.3A
|
3A
|
| Total Power | 130W | 648W | 3.6W | 15W | |
| 650 watts | |||||
This 650W power supply can deliver 54A on the +12V rail. Minor rails fall within parameters we would expect for the given overall wattage. The +12V rail can deliver 648Watts.
Corsair are using a Hong Hua 140mm fan in this unit, Model number HA1425M12F-Z. This is rated 12V, 0.36A and uses Fluid Dynamic Bearings (FDB). This ensures long life. The design of the fan adopts a unique blade and grille configuration to drive a lot of air when needed.
Below - a High Resolution Gallery of the internal layout of the power supply. If you dont see the gallery below, turn off your ad blocker
The internal design is clean and there are several large heatsinks to air with airflow. The fan (as you can see from the first image on this page), has a plastic sheet in front of it, partially covering the blades – this is to force air flow over specific parts of the power supply.
Primary capacitors are by Su'soon rated 270uF, 400V and 330uF, 400V. These are Taiwanese capacitors (Kuan Kun Electronic Enterprise Co., Ltd) with a 105c rating. I can't say I have a lot of experience with these capacitors over the years, but they are definitely not built to the same standards as Japanese capacitors from brands such as Nippon Chemi Con, Panasonic, Nichicon or Rubycon. Definitely a bit of cost saving in action here. As mentioned earlier in the review Corsair say ‘Electrolytic and solid capacitors for RM Series power supplies are specified as Taiwanese or Japanese in origin with no guarantee between the two.'
The PCB soldering quality is actually pretty good overall with clean traces. Secondary capacitors are mostly Taiwanese/Chinese again.
Correctly testing power supplies is a complex procedure and KitGuru have configured a test bench which can deliver up to a 2,000 watt DC load. We run at 35c in our environment to greater reflect warmer internal chassis conditions.
We use combinations of the following hardware:
• SunMoon SM-268
• CSI3710A Programmable DC load (+3.3V and +5V outputs)
• CSI3711A Programmable DC load (+12V1, +12V2, +12V3, and +12V4)
• Extech Power Analyzer
• Extech MultiMaster MM570 digital multimeter
• Extech digital sound level meter
• Digital oscilloscope (20M S/s with 12 Bit ADC)
• Variable Autotransformer, 1.4 KVA
We test in a single +12V configuration.
|
DC Output Load Regulation
|
||||||||||
|
Combined DC Load |
+3.3V
|
+5V
|
+12V
|
+5VSB
|
-12V | |||||
|
A
|
V
|
A
|
V
|
A
|
V
|
A
|
V
|
A | V | |
| 65W |
0.92
|
3.35
|
0.87
|
5.03
|
4.40
|
12.07 |
0.50
|
5.02
|
0.20
|
-12.02
|
|
130W
|
1.63
|
3.35
|
1.65
|
5.03
|
9.15
|
12.06
|
1.00
|
5.02
|
0.20
|
-12.02
|
|
325W
|
2.90
|
3.35
|
3.00
|
5.02
|
24.25
|
12.05 |
1.50
|
5.02
|
0.20
|
-12.02
|
| 490W |
4.00
|
3.34
|
4.10
|
5.01
|
36.92
|
12.04
|
2.00
|
5.02 |
0.30
|
-12.02
|
|
650W
|
5.00
|
3.34
|
5.30
|
5.00
|
49.71
|
12.03
|
2.50
|
5.01
|
0.30
|
-12.02
|
Load regulation is very impressive with all rails holding close to reference points.
| Corsair RM650 Modular Gold |
Maximum Load |
| 709W |
We managed to get the PSU to deliver 709 watts before it would shut down, delivering around 60 watts more than the rated specifications.
Next we want to try Cross Loading. This basically means loads which are not balanced. If a PC for instance needs 500W on the +12V outputs but something like 30W via the combined 3.3V and +5V outputs then the voltage regulation can fluctuate badly.
| Cross Load Testing | +3.3V | +5V | +12V | -12V | +5VSB | |||||
| A | V | A | V | A | V | A | V | A | V | |
| 590W | 1.0 | 3.35 | 1.0 | 5.03 | 48.0 | 12.02 | 0.2 | -12.02 | 0.50 | 5.02 |
| 145W | 12.0 | 3.31 | 15.0 | 4.99 | 2.0 | 12.07 | 0.2 | -12.03 | 0.50 | 5.02 |
The unit passed our cross load test without any problems. It was hit with 48A on the +12V rail and it held at 12.02.
We then used an oscilloscope to measure AC ripple and noise present on the DC outputs. We set the oscilloscope time base to check for AC ripple at both high and low ends of the spectrum. ATX12V V2.2 specification for DC output ripple and noise is defined in the ATX 12V power supply design guide.
|
ATX12V Ver 2.2 Noise/Ripple Tolerance
|
|
|
Output
|
Ripple (mV p-p)
|
|
+3.3V
|
50
|
|
+5V
|
50
|
|
+12V1
|
120
|
|
+12V2
|
120
|
|
-12V
|
120
|
|
+5VSB
|
50
|
Obviously when measuring AC noise and ripple on the DC outputs the cleaner (less recorded) means we have a better end result. We measured this AC signal amplitude to see how closely the unit complied with the ATX standard.
| AC Ripple (mV p-p) | ||||
| DC Load | +3.3V | +5V | +12V | 5VSB |
| 152W | 5 | 5 | 10 | 5 |
| 270W | 5 | 5 | 10 | 5 |
| 400W | 10 | 5 | 15 | 10 |
| 523W | 10 | 10 | 15 | 10 |
| 650W | 10 | 10 | 20 | 10 |
Ripple suppression is stellar with the minor +3.3V and +5V rails peaking at 10mV. The +12V rail peaks at 20mV at full load which is well within the rated tolerance parameters set by the industry. Excellent results.
|
Efficiency (%)
|
|
|
152W
|
90.4
|
|
270W
|
92.3
|
|
400W
|
91.6
|
|
523W
|
90.5
|
|
650W
|
89.7
|
Efficiency results are good, peaking at just over 92% around 45% load. At full load efficiency drops to 89.7%. These are solid results for an 80 Plus Gold rated unit.
We take the issue of noise very seriously at KitGuru and this is why we have built a special home brew system as a reference point when we test noise levels of various components. Why do this? Well this means we can eliminate secondary noise pollution in the test room and concentrate on components we are testing. It also brings us slightly closer to industry standards, such as DIN 45635.
Today to test the Power Supply we have taken it into our acoustics room environment and have set our SkyTronic DSL 2 Digital Sound Level Meter (6-130dBa) one meter away from the unit. We have no other fans running so we can effectively measure just the noise from the unit itself.
As this can be a little confusing for people, here are various dBa ratings in with real world situations to help describe the various levels.
KitGuru noise guide
10dBA – Normal Breathing/Rustling Leaves
20-25dBA – Whisper
30dBA – High Quality Computer fan
40dBA – A Bubbling Brook, or a Refrigerator
50dBA – Normal Conversation
60dBA – Laughter
70dBA – Vacuum Cleaner or Hairdryer
80dBA – City Traffic or a Garbage Disposal
90dBA – Motorcycle or Lawnmower
100dBA – MP3 Player at maximum output
110dBA – Orchestra
120dBA – Front row rock concert/Jet Engine
130dBA – Threshold of Pain
140dBA – Military Jet takeoff/Gunshot (close range)
160dBA – Instant Perforation of eardrum
|
Noise (dBA)
|
|
|
152W
|
<28.0
|
|
270W
|
<28.0
|
|
400W
|
29.6
|
|
523W
|
31.4
|
| 650W | 33.3 |
This is a very quiet power supply right throughout the range of delivery, basically silent until the load rises to around 400 watts
|
Temperature (c)
|
||
|
Intake
|
Exhaust
|
|
|
152W
|
36
|
38
|
|
270W
|
39
|
41
|
|
400W
|
42
|
44
|
|
523W
|
44
|
52
|
|
650W
|
47
|
58
|
The fan is not active under lower load situations, and later spins very slowly under lower load situations. As the load increases the fan spins a little more actively to compensate for rising temperatures internally.
|
Maximum load
|
Efficiency
|
|
709 watts
|
88.8
|
At 709 watts, the efficiency level measures 88.8%. Not a practical situation to be running 24/7, but worth noting.
The RM650 Modular Gold Power Supply is a critical new design for Corsair, targeting a mass mainstream audience and bringing a fresh new perspective to the RM range – which I last reviewed way back in 2013.
Minor discretions aside (such as the hideous new vomit coloured box design) Corsair have enhanced the warranty (up to 10 years), and as our testing has highlighted the new architecture and design improves on all key areas specifically ripple suppression and load regulation.
On a technical level there is little to fault with the new design. The adoption of a high grade Fluid Dynamic Bearing fan and the effective, clean PCB design implementation ensure the unit runs cool under even high load situations. The fully modular panel ensures that the end user can keep a new system build tidy and easy on the eye in a windowed environment.
Noise levels are impressive, and even under full load, the fan was drowned out by several case fans in my build. The ZERO RPM mode is effective and gives peace of mind if you find excessive fan noise annoying. I know I do!
My only point of contention would be the use of lower grade capacitors. I haven't had a lot of experience with Su'soon capacitors myself over the years, but I have spoken with several experts in the industry over the last week and they have told me that they fall short of the best capacitors you can buy from Japanese manufacturers such as Nippon Chemi Con, Panasonic, Nichicon or Rubycon. Only time will tell if we manage to get hold of RMA rates from several partners at a later date. Corsair are confident they are reliable.
The Corsair RM650 retails at £89.99 in the UK, and we have seen Scan have it available for only £82.99 inc VAT (HERE) . At that price it seems like a solid and informed buying decision to me. I am confident that this 650W power supply is a good long term option at an affordable price point – able to handle a high powered gaming system.
Pros:
- Quiet, even under higher load.
- clean neutral external design.
- quality cables.
- technically very solid
- superb ripple suppression.
- 10 year warranty.
- achieves 80 Plus Gold Certification.
Cons:
- Non Japanese Capacitors.
- New box colour scheme is hideous.
KitGuru says: The new Corsair RM650 is a high performance power supply which proved rock solid in our testing. You can find it for just over £80 in the UK and at that price it should be high on your final shortlist.
