The first of its kind – the AX1200i PSU enters the world of the digital with DSP and pushes the AX Series into 80 Plus Platinum Efficiency. Is this the ultimate PSU?
Product on Review: AX1200i Digital ATX PSU
Manufacturer and Sponsor: Corsair
Street Price: £269 (GBP) (At time of review)
The PSU is a pre-requisite for any computer user and Corsair are market leaders in this arena. The AX Series has pulled in multiple awards over the years and has pulled in many consumers for its strong performance and flexible modular feature-set. It is for this reason the AX Series is deemed the cream of the crop. Today we will be reviewing a new candidate to join the AX Series that pushes this range to new heights of excellence with 80 Plus Platinum efficiency.
The new AX1200i has been much sought after; prior to its launch this week the hardware community has been eager to see it hit the market. As its name suggests this PSU is 1200W; the “i” signifying the Digital Signal Processor aka DSP. Corsair have integrated this for clean power delivery, efficient power with real-time adjustments. So without further delay lets begin our review of AX1200i.
Corsair on AX1200i
The revolutionary AX1200i is the first desktop PC power supply to use digital (DSP) control and Corsair Link to bring you an unprecedented level of monitoring and performance customization. The DSP in the AX1200i makes on-the-fly adjustments for incredibly tight voltage regulation, 80 PLUS® Platinum Efficiency, and clean, stable power.
Technical Specifications
Warranty
Seven years
Dimension
150mm x 86mm x 200mm
Weight
2.3KG
Modular
Fully
Power
1200 Watts
80 Plus Platinum
ATX Connector
1
EPS Connector
2
PCI-E Connector
6
4 Pin Peripheral Connector
12
SATA Connector
16
Floppy Connector
2
MTBF
2,000,000 hours
Seven years
Dimension
150mm x 86mm x 200mm
Weight
2.3KG
Modular
Fully
Power
1200 Watts
80 Plus Platinum
ATX Connector
1
EPS Connector
2
PCI-E Connector
6
4 Pin Peripheral Connector
12
SATA Connector
16
Floppy Connector
2
MTBF
2,000,000 hours
Packaging & Bundle
Being from the Professional Series, even the packaging for AX1200i has been given the special treatment. Details such as features and technical specifications cover each side of the box. The lid of the box flips up to reveal a listing of includes cables and fundamental features. There is also a diagram of the PSU with various areas pinpointed and a corresponding explanation to the side.
Packaging for AX1200i
Lid on box opens out
Within the box there is another box containing all of the bundled items including the PSU itself with two polystyrene pads to protect the unit during transit.
Included within the bundle are quite a number of items, these include:
• AX1200i within velvet drawstring bag
• Module cables with carry case
• Power cable
• Cable ties with case badge
• Corsair Link adapter
• Instructions manual
The Corsair Link adapter works in conjunction with the com cable – the cable plugs into the PSU and then into the adapter and the Corsair Link adapter has a USB 2.0 header cable on the alternate side which slots directly onto one of the USB 2.0 headers on the motherboard. The idea with Corsair Link is that the software suite allows for sensitive information to be monitored which would otherwise require expensive equipment in order to analyse such technical details as temperatures, fan speed and power usage of the PSU.
Numerous items included in the accessories bundle
Cables
Plenty of cables
AX1200i is full modular and by this I mean completely modular. There is no hard-wired 24-pin ATX cable or EPS/CPU cable, the PSU itself is void of any cabling and so as a result there are a vast collection of cables included with AX1200i. Opening the carry case up reveals two groups of cables – those with sleeving/netting and those with individual cable insulation. The sleeved cables include PCI-E, EPS power and 24-pin ATX power whilst the insulated cables cater for peripherals – SATA and Molex.
The cables consist of the following:
• 24-pin ATX Power 61cm
• CPU/EPS Power 2×4-pin 65cm
• PCI-E 6x 6+2-pin 60cm
• Molex 3x (4 connectors) 75cm
• SATA 4x (8 connectors) 85cm
• Floppy x2 100cm
• Com x1 82cm
Sleeved cables for PCI-E, EPS and ATX
Insulated cables for peripherals
Closer Look (External)
Much of the external design for AX1200i remains the same as the original AX1200 though there are some subtle differences. The physical size of the unit is the same but there is now a ribbed design that corresponds to the fan grille and the branding colour has also changed somewhat. First impressions are good, the design and visual appearance of this unit will satisfy both enthusiast and gamer alike.
An overview of AX1200i
AX1200i has been fitted with the same fan found in the original AX1200 which is 140mm. Exactly what fan this is will be revealed when we open the unit up in the next section. As with other Corsair units, the AX1200i’s fan will only spin when the system has a load greater than 20%, otherwise it will remain still – emitting no sound at all.
A 140mm cooling fan
Being completely modular the AX1200i has no hard-wired cables and as a result is wireless upon first removal from the packaging. All of the cables can be found in the carry case, even the 24-pin ATX cable has been made detachable.
The modular panel has an extensive range of available sockets for plugging in the cables, including 6x Peripherals and SATA, 8x for EPS/PCI-E, 2x for 24-pin ATX and an additional COMM port to work in correspondence with Corsair Link. Corsair have also given the AX1200i a self-test button as an additional perk.
Completely modular and fully supporting multiple GPUs
The specifications label can be found on the alternate side to the fan and this label details critical information such as rail strength and total power.
The +12v rail has a burly 100.4A and up to 1204.8W. This will be able to sustain dual and triple graphics card configurations and will undoubtedly be an attractive solution for those opting for such a specification.
The specifications label
Closer Look (Internal)
** Opening a PSU voids warranty and should be done at the user’s own risk **
After removing eight screws the cover of the AX1200i slides off to reveal the inner-workings of the unit. The design is packed with components and an array of corresponding heatsinks. Corsair have made full use of the large dimensions of AX1200i.
An overview of the inner-workings
AX1200i takes advantage of a Yate Loon branded fan, more specifically – D14BH-12 which is 140mm dual ball bearing. This fan is capable of 2800RPM and 48.5dBA.
Yate Loon – 140mm fan
Inside Corsair have used two Japanese hold up capacitors which are Panasonic branded with the following specifications: 470μF, 450V, 105°C.
Dual hold up capacitors
Corsair Link
Bundled with Corsair’s AX1200i is a COMM cable that plugs directly into the motherboard and provides interface between the PSU and system, the software bridging both devices together is Corsair Link.
In this software suite there are many options and functions to monitor. A depiction of a computer case is seen in the background (this can be changed to a different picture of your choice) and users can pinpoint where the HDDs are within the system and indeed fans can be selected too, the idea with Corsair Link is to provide the latest statistics for temperatures, fan RPM and power usage.
The power tab is the area that most will be keen to see as this details efficiency, power in and power out and other information concerning voltages on specific rails. Though this software is only fairly new I am quite sure it will pave the way for digital PSUs.
Testing Methodology & Results
Our testing methodology for testing Power Supply Units is limited to the multi-meter to show each rails performance due to us not having access to an ATE load tester.
Although this does constrain us slightly we can still monitor fluctuations on the rails and give the unit a good assessment when we feature it in one of our builds. The way the testing will run is simple, voltages will be observed at idle wattage and then a single GPU will be installed within the system and a combination of OCCT and MSI Kombustor will be executed to provide simulation with just 1 GPU. This will be run for 10 minutes. We will also be adding in another two GPUs to allow for dual and triple card configurations with SLI in order to generate as much power consumption as possible. The CPU will also be overclocked to maximise power consumption and strain. This should give us a good indication of how the AX1200i will perform under gaming stresses and beyond.
System Components
CPU Intel Core i7 3570K (with OC 4.5GHz)
Motherboard MSI Z77A-GD65
Graphics NVIDIA GTX 480 X3
Memory 8GB Corsair Vengeance 2133MHz CL10
HDD 1x Kingston HyperX SSD 240GB
PSU Corsair AX1200i
Motherboard MSI Z77A-GD65
Graphics NVIDIA GTX 480 X3
Memory 8GB Corsair Vengeance 2133MHz CL10
HDD 1x Kingston HyperX SSD 240GB
PSU Corsair AX1200i
As I mentioned there is no ATE load tester available so generating as much power as possible is key to observing the fluctuations on the rails.
For voltage tolerance levels, ATX specify that a 5% variable fluctuation is acceptable. (Form Factors – ATX Specification PDF – Page 10). So what this means is:
3.3V Rail – 3.135V – 3.465V acceptable
5V Rail – 4.75V – 5.25V acceptable
12V Rail – 11.4V – 12.6V acceptable
Idle test – The system settles in windows without any applications or stressing. 1 GPU (165W)
Single GPU – OCCT/MSI Kombustor run for 10 minutes (382W)
Dual GPU – OCCT/MSI Kombustor run for 10 minutes (683W)
Triple GPU – OCCT/MSI Kombustor run for 10 minutes (1044W)
Conclusion
If you were to ask what Corsair’s flagship PSU is, the AX1200i would undoubtedly be the name you would hear. The AX1200i has been on the cards for sometime now and has been gathering momentum and speculation; now that it is finally here it certainly lives up to the high expectations set.
From the packaging right through to the unit itself its clear we are dealing with a premium product in the AX1200i. Being fully modular means the user gets to decide exactly what cables are used. The modular cables are grouped into insulated and sleeved; both are great quality and are completely black to help keep the inside of the computer chassis clean and tidy.
Tested at 50% and 87% the AX1200i handled a dual and triple graphics card setup with a breeze. Voltage variance presented no cause for concern and remained consistently strong throughout. The 140mm dual ball bearing fan remained quiet throughout the entire process and at idle even stopped spinning due to the overall power consumption being less than 20%.
Priced at £269 the AX1200i is no small investment. Clearly, those who are in the market for this calibre of PSU need multi-GPU support and are seeking the best of the best. On offer is a massive 7 years warranty and full flexibility being fully modular.
AX1200i pushes the boundaries, it handles multi-GPU configurations with a breeze, offers complete flexibility with modular cables and is backed by a confident 7 years warranty. Being thoroughly impressed by this new unit the Editor’s Choice award is rightly deserved.
Pros
+ Great looking
+ Digital Corsair Link enabled
+ Strong performance
+ Platinum efficiency
+ Full modular
+ Quiet under load
+ Fan stops if less than 30% load
Cons
– Price
+ Great looking
+ Digital Corsair Link enabled
+ Strong performance
+ Platinum efficiency
+ Full modular
+ Quiet under load
+ Fan stops if less than 30% load
Cons
– Price
Click here for an explanation of our awards at Vortez.net.
