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The Cougar GX 1050W power supply is an interesting design, presented inside top quality packaging and with an appealing chassis design. The cabling quality is top drawer and we love the overall appearance, it really does stand out in a crowded marketplace.
Technically, the Cougar GX 1050W is a decent design, but it does fall down in a few areas. Noise suppression via the +5V output is quite high, barely achieving figures set out in official guidelines (50mV borderline result). We don't think it is a big deal in the real world as we loaded the supply heavily over the course of a week, with an overclocked 990X and dual HD6990's and didn't experience any issues, but it does raise an eyebrow, especially when compared directly against flagship supplies from other leading manufacturers.
One area is does excel in is with noise emission. This is a quiet supply and clearly there are some benefits from adopting Hydro Dynamic bearing technology … the 140mm fan does a stellar job of keeping everything in check.
Overall we do like the supply, it is well built and looks great. In the real world it had no problems powering an ultra high end computer with multiple HD6990's in CrossfireX, but we do have a few minor concerns over noise suppression which means it can not win our highest award.
As this is a 80 Plus Gold Certified product, there is a price premium to pay, and retail prices in the UK now, are around the £200-£210 mark.
Pros:
- looks stunning
- cabling is great
- quiet
- internal design is clean
- capable of powering ultra high end systems without problem
Cons:
- efficiency isn't quite as high as we hoped
- Noise suppression could be better
Kitguru says: A very good power supply, if you can pick it up at the right price, then its recommended.
EDIT: We had some queries from the public regarding the Hydro fan in this review. HEC said the following. POWERLOGIC SAYS: Powerlogic make it the same code name between sleeve & Hydro, because of the safety registration issue they will specially mark “Hydro-Dynamic” under the model number in the fan label.
A little off track here, but i would love to know the percentage of the market who buy 1000W+ power supplies. just coureous as they seem so damn expensive.
One of the most attractive looking power supplies IMO. their custom cabling job is stunningly good looking, its an area of PSU design that always seems like an afterthought. I know enermax do a nice job of them too.
Specs seem ok. and I wouldnt worry too much about +5V as those figures are close to spec. if it was 80mV+ or more it would be a problem.
I am looking at a new 750W. I dont run more than one card, but Id like the PSU ideally to be running at 50% load to keep temps down.
THis is way out of my price bracket, can anyone recommend a 750W psu at around £100?
Cougar/HEC is lying, the fan is not a Fluid Dynamic Bearing or Hydro Dynamic Bearing; the part number alludes to that with the 12SM on the end. Meaning it’s a medium speed, 12v, Sleeve bearing fan.
You can cross check this on Power Logic’s website. Beyond that, disappointing performance all around.
Hi Charles, thanks, good info!
not worthy of 8. should be 7. ive read another review of this and the results are quite poor. these results arent great either.
There are two ways to look at it. the psu is stable real world with high end systems, most people wont know. but does it excuse poor noise suppression? it shouldn’t, there are better alternatives, and this one isn’t even cheaper than the others.
I actually bought this as I wanted something high power and with good cabling. I got a deal on it locally for 50 off. I have been very happy, it is very quiet, looks great in my case and handles two high end video cards.
I am surprised the ripple results arent great. it hasn’t caused a problem for me yet, even powering a watercooling kit.
Just because some of the ripple results aren’t great doesnt mean it will be ‘unstable’,. the guidelines are set out as goals to achieve. some PSU’s are outside those parameters and are stable. but its still slightly weak in some areas as the test results show. They could do with revising it.
Also surprised to read the fan isnt hydro bearing. I thought I found that fan last month and it said it was.
How can they lie about a fan bearing system? isnt that illegal? Very little information on that product.
Charles we received the following statement: “The reason is simple – one fan number allows you to use the safety registration number for different bearing types.
POWERLOGIC SAYS:
Powerlogic make it the same code name between sleeve & Hydro, because of the safety registration issue
they will specially mark “Hydro-Dynamic” under the model number in the fan label”
Thanks Zardon, good info to have, I was wondering how they could get away with that. the pictures showed ‘hydro’ in them, but there is little information on the fan online.
The fan is the least of the problems. I can’t say this company have a great reputation. the forums on johnyguru are full of comments about them and the designs.
No thanks.
Good testing but the scoring is much too generous. I read a thread on hardocp or tomshardware and one of these units caught fire in a consumers home, he lost his computer. Avoid.
Hi Pranic, have you got a link to that thread please? The company want to investigate as they haven’t heard about it.
Hardware Secrets just reviewed their 750 watt power supply and rated it as a “cannot recommend”. Cougar specs are based on an operating temp of 25 degrees C. When tested at closer to real-world temps, the performance degraded significantly; even below the 80-plus bronze rating they proclaim. Seems that this company has some credibility issues.