Corsair HX1050 Power Supply Review

1. Introduction2. Corsair HX1050 Power Supply (Bundle & Cabling)3. Corsair HX1050 Power Supply (External)4. Corsair HX1050 Power Supply (Internal)5. Testing Methodology and Results6. Closing Thoughts7. View All Pages

Corsair have built up a great reputation over the years, and their power supplies have always scored very highly on KitGuru, with the AX range setting a new benchmark standard. Today we are looking at the new HX1050, the replacement for the successful HX1000 unit. Should this be on your shortlist for a new system upgrade?

The HX1050 on paper certainly looks impressive. It offers 80 Plus Silver Certification and it features a strong 12V rail able to output the full 1050W – 87.5A. Corsair are confident that the unit will last a very long time, as they are giving a 7 year warranty with the product.

The Corsair HX1050 utilizes advanced DC-to-DC circuitry and Corsair claim that it exceeds 80 PLUS Silver certification standards, with up to 88% energy efficiency (115v). With a semi modular design, 140mm low noise fan, 50c qualification and an asking price of around £160, this might very well be one of the best value for money power supplies on the market.

The HX1050 arrives in a very stylish box with a close up image of the fan and product details underneath.

Inside, the power supply is protected between thick foam inserts. There is a manual for the new range on top also.

Corsair supply a good bundle with the product. There is a region specific power cable, a felt bag for cable storage and mounting screws, a badge and cable tidies for the system build.

There are plenty of flat, low profile modular cables supplied, with the ability to power 3 high end graphics cards, 6x 6+2 pin PCI E power connectors are supplied. There are also 2 x 8 pin EPS12V connectors for higher demand system builds.

The Corsair HX1050 is shipped inside a plastic protective cover, which is underneath a felt pouch. You certainly cannot say they haven't covered all bases for potential rough shipping.

The power supply is a very understated unit, ideal for many systems and is finished with an anti scratch matt paint which won't mark easily. This isn't a pure modular design, so there are a handful of cables feeding out from the chassis.

The power supply is fully vented to offer adequate cooling under heavy load. There is a power switch and a connector at the side.

The modular cable headers are colour coded and labelled to ensure a system build is as painless as possible.

A large 140mm fan takes centerstage at the top of the unit. No gaudy gold paintjobs either, just plain black. We will look more at the fan when we open the case shortly.

Model	CMPSU-1050HX
	AC Input Rating
AC Input	100-240V
Input Current	13-7.5A
Frequency	50/60Hz
	DC Output Rating
	Max Load	Max Output
+3.3V	30A	180W
+5V	30A
+12V	87.5A	1050W
-12V	0.8A	9.6W
+5Vsb	3.5A	17.5W
Total Power	1050W at 50°C ambient temperature

Specifications are certainly impressive, with the product able to output the full 87.5A across the +12V output.

Inside, we are treated to a Yate Loon D14BH-12 140mm fan. This fan has been used in many quality power supply designs in recent months and can generate up to 140cfm of air at 2,800 rpm while emitting 48.5 dBa. Obviously we would assume it won't need to generate these speeds in operation, but the potential for some hardcore cooling is available.

Corsair have partnered up with CWT for this DC-DC Circuit design and the layout and build quality is exceptionally good. We would expect this from CWT however as all their designs to date have been engineered to the highest standards. There are several carefully placed heatsinks with thermal control sensors, ensuring the PWM fan generates the correct level of cooling.

The HX1050 uses 105c rated premium quality capacitors from various companies, such as Panasonic throughout the design. The two primary capacitors are rated at 470uF/450V.

The cabling is sleeved well into the chassis to ensure that long term fraying wont be a problem.

Additional technical assistance: Peter McFarland and Jeremy Price.

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. Due to public requests we have changed our temperature settings recently – previously we rated with ambient temperatures at 25C, we have increased ambient temperatures by 10c (to 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
• SkyTronic DSL 2 Digital Sound Level Meter (6-130dBa)
• Digital oscilloscope (20M S/s with 12 Bit ADC)
• Variable Autotransformer, 1.4 KVA

DC Output Load Regulation
Combined DC Load	+3.3V		+5V		+12V		+5VSB		-12V
	A	V	A	V	A	V	A	V	A	V
265W	4.04	3.35	4.03	5.04	14.02	12.08	0.67	5.03	0.20	-12.04
500W	8.51	3.35	8.12	5.01	28.20	12.04	1.51	5.01	0.30	-12.09
850W	17.12	3.33	16.13	4.99	56.21	12.01	2.12	5.00	0.40	-12.11
1040W	21.02	3.32	20.05	4.97	70.12	11.97	2.50	4.97	0.50	-12.12

Corsair HX1050	Maximum Load
	1165W

We wrestled 1165W from the unit before it would switch off. The overcircuit protection system worked fine and it shut off safely.

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
760W	1.0	3.33	1.0	5.03	65.0	11.97	0.20	-12.08	0.50	4.98
165W	15.0	3.29	18.0	4.97	2.0	12.03	0.20	-12.06	0.50	5.00

The Corsair HX1050 handled the Cross loading tests very well, maintaining steady results with only minor fluctuation. All voltages remained within stated tolerances.

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 Corsair unit complied with the ATX standard.

AC Ripple (mV p-p)
DC Load	+3.3V	+5V	+12V	5VSB
265W	5	5	10	5
500W	10	10	15	10
850W	10	15	25	10
1040W	15	15	30	10

Ripple results are well within the parameters set down in the ATX12V Ver 2.2 standard. +3.3V and +5V are extremely impressive and the +12V rail is also very stable, never exceeding 30mV.

Efficiency (%)
265W	86.35
500W	89.89
850W	87.75
1040W	85.46

The HX1050 reaches almost 90% efficiency at 50 percent load, and this falls to just over 85% efficiency at full load.

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 Refridgerator
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)
265W	28.5
500W	28.5
850W	31.7
1040W	36.1

The HX1050 is a very quiet power supply which only becomes audible at around 75% load, and rises to around 36 dBa when fully loaded. It is one of the quieter performance power supplies we have tested this year, our equipment had a problem measuring any noise emissions under 50% load.

Temperature (c)
	Intake	Exhaust
265W	35	36
500W	38	44
850W	42	52
1040W	46	57

The large Yate Loon fan helps to generate high levels of airflow across the components inside the chassis, with a 11c above ambient intake registered at full load. The passive fan profile means that the temperatures are a little higher than we have recorded with some other designs.

Maximum load	Efficiency
1165W	84.2

Pushing the PSU above its rated limits generates an efficiency level of around 84.2%. This is not a viable ‘real world’ situation, but its interesting nonetheless.

The HX1050 makes for a fantastic addition to the Corsair range of award winning power supplies. First impressions are very positive, with a substantial bundle offered, including a handy felt bag for cable storage. The flat, modular cables not only look great, but they help to reduce air friction, increasing flow throughout the chassis. The paint application and overall build quality is without fault, much as we would expect from a Corsair branded product.

The Corsair customised CWT design proves well balanced – delivering excellent load regulation and stable delivery under cross loading stress testing. The high levels of efficiency surpass 80 Plus Silver certification and the large, high quality 140mm Yate Loon fan ensures adequate airflow while keeping noise emissions to an absolute minimum. Only at the top 20-25% of load does the supply become audible and even then it will be drown out within the majority of performance enthusiast based system builds.

Noise suppression is stellar with both +3.3V and +5V output peaking at 15mV, while the +12V output hits only 30mV under full load conditions, well within the rated tolerance guidelines.

The HX range look to be very competitively priced, with this HX1050 unit retailing for around £160 inc vat in the UK. This means it earns our highest award, being one of the finest power supplies in the respective price bracket.

Pros:

• Great build quality and appearance
• exceptionally quiet
• custom CWT design is fantastic
• All round performance is stellar

Cons:

• Its only semi modular

KitGuru says: a Monster 1000W+ power supply and well worth the reasonable cash outlay, especially if you can't afford the range topping AX units.

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