Corsair AX850 v. HX850, and a wild card

[lopri]

I'm looking to give my 3 year old Corsair 620W for someone else and get something newer for myself. I have used total 3 Corsair HX 520W/620W's to a great satisfaction, so I am looking to get something similar, but with a bit more headroom. A biggest reason to choose the Corsair for me outside the well-regarded performance is its flat modular cables. I am kind of an ass when it comes to cable management and these flat cables are a god-send for me. Another bonus, with continued use of HX series was that the modular cables were same among the different models. So if I lost or misplaced a cable I didn't have too much to worry because there were left-over cables from other HX series PSUs.

OK, so that's the intro. For these reasons I am leaning toward HX850W, then learned that Corsair now has even higher grade PSUs - AX series. Unfortunately they don't have flat cables, but instead they have completely modular cables. Considering that a PSU usually goes through multiple builds, I would like to get a good quality PSU. Does anyone have any opinion on AX v. HX, other than the difference in cables?

Finally, I saw an XFX 850W CPU from a local MicroCenter and it is on sale. I did some research and XFX also uses Seasonic as its OEM for that model. The price is much much friendlier in that it's $120 after MIR. Its cables are also modular (not fully modular like Corsair AX) but they are not flat.

1. Corsair AX850: Quality? Fully modular. Non-flat Cable. $200+.
2. Corsair HX850: Quality? Almost fully modular. Flat cable. $170.
3. XFX XXX 850: Quality? Almost fully modular. Non-flat cable. $120.

I am not looking for higher capacity. What is my best option?

 

[Henry Chinaski]

At these prices, I would go for the unit from XFX. It's a high quality PSU made by Seasonic. The voltage regulation is excellent, it presents a high efficiency (80PLus silver certified), impressive low ripple/noise levels, 840W on the +12V output, four (6+2)-pin PCIe connectors,... and 5 years warranty.
Reviews: http://www.realhardtechx.com/index_archivos/Page625.htm

The units from Corsair are excellent units:
http://www.realhardtechx.com/index_archivos/Page447.htm
but the low price of the XFX makes it a terrific deal. It's the best option in my opinion.

 

[Big Lar]

I have the XFX 850 PSU, replaced a PCPower & Cooling 1KW with it, Quiet Beter voltage regulation and did I mention Quiet? I love it. I read up quite a bit at J.G. before making the decision of which to run, glad I got the XFX.

Larry

 

[Compddd]

AX850, it's basically a Seasonic X-850 so it doesn't even turn it's fan on until 300W+ load, you'll never hear the thing

 

[lopri]

I realized that there was a misunderstanding on my part. I thought all 3 lines were Seasonic-made, but apparently the new HX series are not - their OEM is CWT(?). I never heard of CWT. Does it make quality products?

 

[Herald85]

CWT is definately a high quality manufacturer. The TX750 for example was a CWT model, they make tons of PSU's for Corsair and Thermaltake.

EDIT: But usually Seasonic is higher quality

 

[MJinZ]

I realized that there was a misunderstanding on my part. I thought all 3 lines were Seasonic-made, but apparently the new HX series are not - their OEM is CWT(?). I never heard of CWT. Does it make quality products?

CWT >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> Seasonic

 

[Henry Chinaski]

You can't go wrong with any of them.
Channel Well technology (CWT) is a great PSU manufacturer. The HX850 was put on the market in 2009 and since then it has got a very good reputation.
CWT is the OEM of many brands around the world: Corsair, Thermaltake, Chieftec, Ikonik, Xigmatek,...
Seasonic makes amazing products. It's one of the very best manufacturers you can find on the market without any doubt. Antec, Corsair, SilverPower, Arctic Cooling, XFX,... use Seasonic as OEM.

 

[Meghan54]

CWT >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> Seasonic

Not hardly.....

 

[Meghan54]

You can't go wrong with any of them.
Channel Well technology (CWT) is a great PSU manufacturer. The HX850 was put on the market in 2009 and since then it has got a very good reputation.
CWT is the OEM of many brands around the world: Corsair, Thermaltake, Chieftec, Ikonik, Xigmatek,...
Seasonic makes amazing products. It's one of the very best manufacturers you can find on the market without any doubt. Antec, Corsair, SilverPower, Arctic Cooling, XFX,... use Seasonic as OEM.

Forgot to mention PCP&C used Seasonic as their OEM for their Silencers, before OCZ bought out PCP&C and gutted the brand.

 

[Henry Chinaski]

The Silencer series were excellent units.
http://www.realhardtechx.com/index_archivos/Page1418.htm

Its production was discontinued some time ago. However, you can find some recertified units out there: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...-029-_-Product

Anyway, in my opinion, the new Sirtec's silencer MKII series is not as bad product as some people say.

 

[nitromullet]

That XFX 850W seems like a great PSU for $120. I don't care for the looks of it too much, but once you flip it the right way it won't look much different than any other PSU. Then again, I also really like the fact that all of the cabling is black on the Corsair AX series.

All three of the PSUs you listed are solid, so it's going to be a matter of price and personal preference. JonnyGURU (Oklahoma Wolf) has reviewed all of them, and they all score 9 or better.

 

[lopri]

Thank you for the replies. I looked a little further on these units and learned a bit more.

• AX850 also have flat modular cables for peripherals just like HX850.
• HX850's modular cables have different connectors/receptacles from those of HX520/HX620.
• AX850 and XFX 850W are 80-plus gold certified, and HX850 is silver certified.

I would bit my tongue and spend more for AX850 had its cables were all flat, but figuring in my typical builds the cabling will be no different than HX850 except one extra EPS cable. Different receptacles for these new Corsair PSUs mean I can't use the left over cables if need be. (though to be fair they all come with plenty of cables)

So it looks like XFX is the most sensible choice for me at this point? I wish its modular cables were flat but I suspect Corsair has a patent or something on those, and XFX makes up for that with its gold certification instead of HX850's silver (and the price, of course).

 

[theAnimal]

instead of HX850's silver

The HX750/850 are certified Gold by 80Plus, but Corsair chose to label them as Silver.

 

[dajeepster]

Forgot to mention PCP&C used Seasonic as their OEM for their Silencers, before OCZ bought out PCP&C and gutted the brand.

yeah... i'm not so sure about the PCP&C anymore... I've got four of the silencer 750 and they have been great. I've got one of the OCZZ850M and it seem pretty solid too and i'm building a system with the OCZZ1000M this weekend (i940 and 3-5850s)... but as for the newer pcp&c, i'm not so sure about yet.

I do have a few of the HX850 and they have been great so far, and i just got an AX1200 which is going into a build next week.

 

[magicrat03]

The HX750/850 are certified Gold by 80Plus, but Corsair chose to label them as Silver.

Link? Why would anybody build a gold rated PSU and sell it as silver?

 

[theAnimal]

Link? Why would anybody build a gold rated PSU and sell it as silver?

http://80plus.org/manu/psu/psu_detail.aspx?id=25&type=2

AFAIK it was because it was borderline Gold and they wanted to be sure all the units could meet the rating on the box.

 

[jacktesterson]

I got my XFX 850W Black edition power supply for around $135 plus shipping. A steal of a deal in my opinion for a high quality modular PSU. 70 amp single rail.

Its a rebranded modular Seasonic PSU.

 

[dmoney1980]

Hey guys i know your comparing XFX and Corsair, but do you know if silverstone is any good ? This model in particular: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16817256035

I remember reading a review at Anand on the Silverstone DA series and it got favorable reviews when compared to Enermax....

Is there something I dont know about the brand or these PSU models ?

 

[theAnimal]

Hey guys i know your comparing XFX and Corsair, but do you know if silverstone is any good ? This model in particular: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16817256035

I remember reading a review at Anand on the Silverstone DA series and it got favorable reviews when compared to Enermax....

Is there something I dont know about the brand or these PSU models ?

That's a good PSU, just not in the same league as the others mentioned.