Corsair TX750W Power Supply
by Christoph Katzer on October 30, 2008 3:00 AM EST- Posted in
- Cases/Cooling/PSUs
Temperatures, Fan Speed, and Acoustics
We really don't like CWT's heatsink design on their current power supplies, and the temperature readings show that our feelings are not without merit. The third heatsink reaches almost 80°C, which is quite hot for a modern power supply -- and this is running in a comfortable 25°C environment; imagine how hot the power supply would get with higher ambient temperatures. The result of higher temperatures is that the fan will need to run at maximum speed all the time. The exhaust temperature does stay relatively close to that of the first two heatsinks, which is good; that means they are doing a good job of transferring heat into the airflow and getting the heat out of the power supply. The problem is that the third heatsink has a temperature 20°C higher than the others.
The fan spins at ~1100 RPM at lower loads of up to 20%. The fan begins spinning much faster at 50% load, even though temperatures are still reasonable. The first two heatsinks are only 10°C higher, so the dramatic ramp in fan speed shouldn't be necessary yet, but the fan is already spinning at around 1600 RPM. Maximum fan speed is reached at ~80% load, and it appears fan speed is being regulated by the temperature of the third heatsink as we can see above that the temperature is quite a bit higher.
The TX750W fan is not silent, and a moderate increase in fan speed results in a dramatic increase in noise levels. At minimal load, the power supply generates 21dB(A) of noise, which isn't terrible but it isn't great either -- you wouldn't normally notice the power supply when it's installed in a system at low loads. At 50% load the volume increases 7dB(A), which definitely becomes audible. You definitely do not want to run at anything near maximum load, however, as 80% load results in 39dB(A) and 100% load is 40dB(A)! If you are interested in silence (or even near silence), there are without doubt better power supplies.
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Beenthere - Thursday, October 30, 2008 - link
A mfg. can use different designs or components to produce a top-of-the-line PSU or lower quality components or simpler designs to make a run-of-the-mill PSU. Personally I have used the PCPC brand of PSUs for many years and I have found them to be reliable, stable, high-quality PSUs that have always delivered top performance.I personally would not buy another brand to save a few dollars when the PSU is the very heart of any PC and as such essentially determines the performance and stability of the entire PC. I realize many people will spends hundred on the latest, greatest, trick-of-the-week Video card or memory and then buy an inferior PSU to save $20.
It's foolish economics in my experience. My overclocks always seem to be equal to or better than most folks and I never experience the mysterious crashes that I read about from people using the same hardware other than a quality PSU like the PCPC units.
3DoubleD - Thursday, October 30, 2008 - link
Starting reading this hoping to find out I picked the right PSU last Christmas... but it seems I missed. Overall I've been happy with it, but perhaps I would have been even more happy with another. Do you think the ripples and noise in this PSU would greatly effect overclocking results?My only big complaint about this PSU is that I'm not very sure of whether or not I could get a case with the PSU mount on the bottom. The motherboard and CPU power cables seem to be on the short side. Christoph, have you had any experience with this?
Good article, thanks!
Denithor - Friday, October 31, 2008 - link
I have a TX750W installed in my Antec 300 (bottom mount). It's powering an Asus X38 motherboard with 4GB DDR3 and three video cards (so far): 2x8800GS and a G92 8800GTS. Runs F@H nicely. Very low noise, I cannot hear it over the two stock 300 fans, AF7P and three GPU fans (AF7P is probably the loudest thing in there). The bottom mount setup is quite nice for this rig as it pulls hot air from that "dead spot" under the lowest video card and keeps that one running fairly cool.Christoph Katzer - Thursday, October 30, 2008 - link
Hi, I think it would do fine with this PSU as it has longer cables as usual. With the 60cm/24" you will not have too many probs with bottom mounted cases. As for the ripple I think the results is rather normal. The limits are much higher.3DoubleD - Thursday, October 30, 2008 - link
Thanks for the reply, that helps a lot!... now to find the money for that case
Pyrokinetic - Thursday, October 30, 2008 - link
Interesting article that came a bit late for me. I debated whether or not to get the Corsair TX650 or the TX750, but went with the TX750 because with a rebate it was cheaper than the TX650. Should have got the TX650. Oh well, my system will in no way tax the PSU as my system will not even pull 300W at full tilt. So the TX750 should last me a long while.As for it being loud, I have four Yate Loon 120 case fans (running about 1300rpm) and a case with a mesh front (that sits on the floor), so all I can say is that it is not noticeable with my setup.
TantrumusMaximus - Thursday, October 30, 2008 - link
I would like to also thank you for such an in depth PS article. I really hope with this new test setup that you'll take a step back and build a matrix of PS statistics. I think you wouldn't even need to give a big writeup on each one just post one article that is your test setup and then start posting numbers for different existing PSUs.Very Nice.
spidey81 - Thursday, October 30, 2008 - link
I've ready several articles about the TX750W's little siblings performing extremely well. Are there any plans on testing either of these two PSU's?Here's a link to a review of the VX450W at hardwaresecrets.com. They claimed it to be one of the best if not the best 500W range PSU available, which is about optimal for most gaming pc's out there.
spidey81 - Thursday, October 30, 2008 - link
VX450W reviewspidey81 - Thursday, October 30, 2008 - link
sorry...can't get the hyperlink to work for some reason