Corsair HX1050 1050 Watt Power Supply Review

Introduction, Specifications, Availability and Pricing

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Introduction

Corsair has been on a massive refresh of their various series of power supplies. We've covered just about everything they have to offer from the low output CX430V2 to the massive AX1200 and many in between. Today we are taking a look at another one of their higher end power supplies, the HX1050. As a part of Corsair's Professional series of power supplies, it is intended for those who demand high performance and high reliability.

Corsair already has the HX1000 available, so many may ask as to why offer another power supply in the series that is capable of an extra 50W. The answer is simply that the HX1050 is completely different from the HX1000 and not just an old model with a few changes to lengthen the lifespan. With a single 12V rail, increased efficiency and a seven year warranty, the HX1050 is starting to look much more appealing than the aging HX1000. Read on as we cover the tech specs of the HX1050.

Specifications, Availability and Pricing

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Right from the start, you should notice Corsair's HX1050 has a single 12V rail that is capable of outputting 100% of the power supply's rated output. It also features two hefty minor rails. Both the 3.3V and 5V rails are capable of 30A each with a combined output of 180W. It's nice to see the minor rails capable of supporting higher loads.

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As the HX1050 is part of the Professional series of power supplies, its feature lists reflects just what you would expect. All the protections are present so you know you're covered there. One of the big improvements for the HX1050 as a part of the Professional series is that it is 80Plus Silver certified. This is a big step up from the 80Plus Base that you find in the HX1000. The HX1050 also features both native and modular cables, all of which are fully sleeved. It is also rated for 100% continuous output at 50C.

As would be expected from Corsair, the HX1050 is available just about everywhere. The HX1050 comes with an MSRP of $219, but can be had for as low as $204 if you do some very quick searching. Interestingly enough, Newegg lists the HX1050 above MSRP at $229.99, so make sure that you shop a little before you commit to buying.

Another step up for the HX1050 is the increased warranty. While previous power supplies of the Professional series have carried a five year warranty, Corsair is putting their money where their mouth is and backing the HX1050 with a fantastic seven year warranty.

The Packaging

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Corsair packs the HX1050 in a huge box. The front displays a little bit of the power supply and gives you a hint at some of its features.

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Turning things around, we are bombarded with specifications, marketing and more.

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The sides of the box are totally useless, but the top gives us a few more bullet points of information.

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Just like the top, we find a few more useful pieces of information on the bottom. This time it is all about compatibility.

Inside the Box

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Sliding things out of the box, we find that the power supply is well protected by lots of foam and everything is snugly in place so that it doesn't slide around.

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Removing the power supply from its felt bag reveals a familiar matte black finish as we've seen with many of Corsair's PSUs. On top of the HX1050 sits the I/O specification label.

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Both sides bear the Corsair logo and HX1050 identification.

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Turning things towards the front, we find the modular connections. Native cables entering the power supply go all the way inside the unit and are well protected by the grommet in the opening.

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At the back we find a massive toggle switch and the standard honeycomb mesh grill that allows for hot air to be vented from the unit.

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Cooling the HX1050 is a 140mm fan with wire grill. The use of a non-standard grill looks great with the design of the power supply.

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Plenty of modular cables are included with the HX1050. It is great of Corsair to realize that floppy connectors are not needed any more and simply include Molex to FDD adapters.

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Also included in the box are the user manual, power cable, cable ties, mounting screws and a case badge.

Cabling Arrangement & A Look Inside

Cabling Arrangement

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Corsair's HX1050 comes with a very comprehensive list of cables and connectors. Native cables include the Main connector, one ATX 4+4 connector and two 6+2 pin PCI-E connectors. The modular cables add another four 6+2 pin PCI-E connectors and one more ATX 4+4 connector. All of the peripheral cables are modular as well and include 12 SATA and 12 Molex connectors over six cables.

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The Corsair HX1050 has simple rail distribution with everything on a single 12V rail. This is quite a bit of power on a single 12V rail, but everything should be fine. If the AX1200's single 12V rail didn't cause any problems with its massive 100A rail, the HX1050 shouldn't have any issues with only 87.5A.

A Look Inside

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Popping the bottom off the HX1050 gives us a good shot of how well things are laid out. The cooling is sufficient in the places it is needed, but certainly not the most spectacular we have seen.

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On the primary side of the power supply, we see that Corsair has chosen a pair of Panasonic 105C capacitors. We've seen quite a few power supplies utilizing these capacitors and all have done quite well.

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Corsair chose to utilize Nippon Chemi-con caps where needed on the secondary side of the power supply, giving the HX1050 100% Japanese capacitor construction.

Although it isn't pictured, our readers should be familiar with the fan that cools the HX1050. It is a 140mm Yate Loon fan, model D14BH-12.

Test Results & Final Thoughts

Test Results

Our load tests utilize a couple of FAST ATE active load testers and a variety of other equipment such as an oscilloscope, power conditioner, temperature probe and a power consumption meter. You can read more about our standard testing approach here.

The tests performed are based around six conceivable setups that are out there and progressively load down the PSU up to the power supply's limits or 1000W, whichever comes first. Since our test equipment's limits are lower than that of the Corsair HX1050, we can only test it to 1000W.

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Voltage regulation for the HX1050 was very good. Our tests showed that the 12V rail managed to stay within .5% of the ATX specification of 12 Volts. The two minor rails did quite well too. Both the 3.3V and 5V rails managed to stay within 2% regulation from start to finish. The HX1050 couldn't have done much better.

The DC output quality wasn't quite as spectacular as we would have liked to have seen with the HX1050, but it was well within the ATX specifications and nowhere near the range where we start getting concerned. Starting off with Test 1, we witnessed a ripple of 14mV peak to peak on the oscilloscope. This steadily increased as we progressed through the tests and bumped up the loads. By Test 3 we were seeing nearly 30mV of ripple on the 12V rail. This maxed out at 41mV by the time we reached our final test.

We were very surprised by the efficiency of the HX1050. As the unit is rated for 80Plus Silver efficiency, we weren't expecting to see nearly Gold efficiency. Keep in mind that 80Plus Silver requires 85%/88%/85% efficiency at 20%/50%/100% loads and Gold requires 87%/90%/87% at the same loads. As you can see from the results, the power supply manages to pull Gold efficiency until at the very end when it barely dips into the Silver range.

While we don't have the equipment to fully test the Corsair HX1050, there are several conclusions that it is safe to say about the HX1050. Given the results that are shown above, there is no reason that the Corsair HX1050 would have failed any of our tests. The results shown above are all well within specifications and we were only 50W shy of being able to fully load down the power supply.

Final Thoughts

Corsair has done a spectacular job with the introduction of the HX1050 into the Professional Series of power supplies. The HX1050 shows improvement in absolutely every area to make it worthy of replacing the HX1000. Voltage regulation was very good across the board from start to finish. While the DC output quality wasn't the best we have seen from Corsair, it certainly is good enough for almost any enthusiast grade system.

Corsair also took a huge leap forward with the increased efficiency seen in the HX1050 and the extra two years of warranty. Corsair adds a bit more to sweeten the deal by offering the HX1050 for $219 which is the same price as the older and much less efficient HX1000.