The 2nd generation of Gamer Series – GS800 V2 hopes to deliver on outstanding reliability, build quality & pricing. With switchable LED lighting will this PSU dazzle?
Product on Review: GS Series GS800
Manufacturer and Sponsor: Corsair
Street Price: £80/$129 (At time of review)
Corsair need little introduction, their dedication to the world of computing has seen them venture out into varying markets over the last few years but one of their significant mainstays has been the PSU category. In many parts of the world, especially here in the UK Corsair is a top-pick for many users; the enthusiast series has gained much notoriety but today’s review takes us into the ‘Gamer Series’ as we look at the 2nd generation of this range.
Corsair’s Gamer Series launched only a month ago and features a new design both internally and externally. Available in 600W, 700W and 800W, with a fresh design comes a new feature to switch between different colour configurations for lighting – red, blue, white. Today we will be taking a look at the biggest unit in the series, namely GS800. So let’s waste no further time and begin our analysis of GS800.
Corsair’s take on GS800
The Corsair Gaming Series GS800 power supply is the ideal price-performance solution for building or upgrading a Gaming PC. A single +12V rail provides up to 65A of reliable, continuous power for multi-core gaming PCs with multiple graphics cards. The ultra-quiet, dual ball-bearing fan automatically adjusts its speed according to temperature, so it will never intrude on your music and games.
Features & Specifications
It supports the latest ATX12V v2.3 standard and is backward compatible with ATX12V 2.2 and ATX12V 2.01 systems
An ultra-quiet 140mm double ball-bearing fan delivers excellent airflow at an exceptionally low noise level by varying fan speed in response to temperature
80Plus certified to deliver 80% efficiency or higher at normal load conditions (20% to 100% load)
0.99 Active Power Factor Correction provides clean and reliable power
Universal AC input from 90~264V — no more hassle of flipping that tiny red switch to select the voltage input!
Extra long fully-sleeved cables support full tower chassis
A three year warranty and lifetime access to Corsair’s legendary technical support and customer service
Over Current/Voltage/Power Protection, Under Voltage Protection and Short Circuit Protection provide complete component safety
Dimensions: 150mm(W) x 86mm(H) x 160mm(L)
MTBF: 100,000 hours
Safety Approvals: UL, CUL, CE, CB, FCC Class B, TÜV, CCC, C-tick
An ultra-quiet 140mm double ball-bearing fan delivers excellent airflow at an exceptionally low noise level by varying fan speed in response to temperature
80Plus certified to deliver 80% efficiency or higher at normal load conditions (20% to 100% load)
0.99 Active Power Factor Correction provides clean and reliable power
Universal AC input from 90~264V — no more hassle of flipping that tiny red switch to select the voltage input!
Extra long fully-sleeved cables support full tower chassis
A three year warranty and lifetime access to Corsair’s legendary technical support and customer service
Over Current/Voltage/Power Protection, Under Voltage Protection and Short Circuit Protection provide complete component safety
Dimensions: 150mm(W) x 86mm(H) x 160mm(L)
MTBF: 100,000 hours
Safety Approvals: UL, CUL, CE, CB, FCC Class B, TÜV, CCC, C-tick
Technical Specifications
• Warranty: Three years
• Dimension 150mm(W) x 86mm(H) x 160mm(L)
• Modular: No
• Power: 800 Watts
• 80 Plus Certified
• ATX Connector: 1
• EPS Connector : 1
• PCI-E Connector: 4
• 4 Pin Peripheral Connector: 8
• SATA Connector: 8
• Floppy Connector: 2
• Dimension 150mm(W) x 86mm(H) x 160mm(L)
• Modular: No
• Power: 800 Watts
• 80 Plus Certified
• ATX Connector: 1
• EPS Connector : 1
• PCI-E Connector: 4
• 4 Pin Peripheral Connector: 8
• SATA Connector: 8
• Floppy Connector: 2
Packaging, Bundle & Cables
GS800 has been given a very attractive and well-designed box. Corsair have listed significant features, shown a depiction of the PSU and graphs to demonstrate noise levels and efficiency.
Inside the box the PSU is protected with a recyclable egg box type of packaging to ensure the unit does not rattle around during transit.
Packaging for GS800
Within the packaging are a number of bundled items that consist of:
• GS800 PSU
• Power cable
• Warranty guide / Installation guide
• Cable ties
The eagle eyed out there will notice there are no modular cables provided within the bundle; this is because GS800 does not offer modular functionality.
Bundled items
All of the power cables available with GS800 are hardwired into the unit; so the user must conceal unwanted cables when installing. The cables included are extra-long and include:
• 24pin-ATX Connector : 1
• EPS Connector (8-pin) : 1
• PCI-E Connector (2x 8+2-pin) : 4
• 4 Pin Peripheral Connector : 8
• SATA Connector : 8
Cables are hardwired into the unit and extra-long
With this section complete let’s take a closer look at the unit itself on the next page.
Closer Look (External)
Though a PSU is probably one of the least exciting components that make up a computer system the GS800 pushes the boundaries in this particular department. Aesthetically this unit is very pleasing to the eye, Corsair have taken care to design this unit with utmost precision. The shape, feel and look of this unit is certainly a talking point.
Attractive design and very good build quality
At the back of the unit not only do we have the power slot but also an LED switch to adjust the colour of the LED fan within GS800. This button allows the user to switch between red, blue and white – great for those who have a windowed computer chassis and have deliberately chosen to select certain colour configuration for components.
LED switch to cycle through different colours for LED PSU fan
GS800 features an ultra-quiet 140mm double ball-bearing fan. This fan hopes to deliver optimum cooling whilst being moderately silent. This is something we will be taking a look at later.
Around the edge of the fan grille on GS800 there is a plastic frame. This frame can be removed and changed for an alternative colour (available from the Corsair store) – again to assist with users who are building specific colour coordinated components.
A 140mm ultra quiet double ball bearing fan
Removable colour frame
The specifications label can clearly be seen on the alternate side to the cooling fan – this shows critical ratings for each rail with ampage and wattage. The area that most enthusiasts are concerned with is the +12v rail as this provides the fuel for graphics. Available on the +12v rail is a massive 66A and 792W. Ideal for those wanting to go with a dual-graphics card configuration.
The specifications label
Closer Look (Internal)
Opening the unit up (which voids warranty – do so at your own risk) we see quite a busy interior. Nevertheless, everything is neat and tidy and Japanese Solid CAPS have been used throughout and there is just a single large Panasonic / Matsushita hold up CAP rated at 420V, 105°C. The internal layout design follows has significant similarities to the Corsair TX Series.
Corsair have used a 140mm double-ball bearing fan. The brand is Ong Hua and the model number HA1425H12B-Z – a fan which is used on OCZ’s Fatal1ty Series of PSUs. Corsair have configured this fan to have milti-LED switching – red, blue, white (or off too) and have also configured the fan to stop spinning if the total system load drops below 20% – significantly reducing noise levels when the system is idle, a very nice feature indeed.
An overview of the internal components within GS800
A closer look at the cooling fan
105C Japanese Solid CAP
Testing Methodologies & 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. We are making plans to invest in equipment as we were directed by Cooler Master when Simon visited their test labs in June 2010.
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 GPU and configuring 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 GS800 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
Memory 8GB Corsair Vengeance 2133MHz CL10
HDD 1x Kingston HyperX SSD 240GB
PSU Corsair GS800
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)
Conclusion
Corsair’s Gamer Series PSU is now within its 2nd Generation and as a result has a fresh look which is certain to not only satisfy the gamer but also the enthusiast too.
We tested the PSU at just under 50% and 85% load and the results were very good indeed. Voltage variance presented no issues and the noise levels were likewise of no real concern at these operating states.
Aesthetics and build quality are an area where the GS800 shines. A PSU is a component which rarely sees any exciting styling or design yet Corsair have put time and effort into how this unit looks and I have to say for a PSU, GS800 is very pleasing to the eye and it does excite. Corsair have even gone as far as to allow for LED colour switching with GS800 – so no matter what colour configuration you have co-ordinated your system with, you can pair it up with GS800 no problem. There is also the option to switch the lighting off altogether if this isn’t your thing.
The only real niggle with this unit is the fact that it isn’t modular. All of the power cables are hard-wired meaning that any redundant cables will have to be hidden out of sight – typically behind the motherboard tray within a computer chassis. In some computer chassis this could be tricky as the cables are rather long and abundant.
Priced around £80inc. VAT, I have no qualms in saying that the GS800 is a great value for money option for those on the hunt for a decent PSU. Other bronze certified units are priced higher than GS800 and as you have seen in this review it makes no reservations for looks, feel or performance.
GS800 is one of the best looking PSUs out there, it will transform the visual appearance of the system whilst delivering top-class, reliable performance to your much loved components. GS800 attains our prestigious gold and amazing value awards.
Pros
+ Aesthetically very pleasing to the eye
+ Colour adjustment (plus choice to turn off)
+ Decent performance
+ Fan stops spinning at if < 20% load
+ 5 Years warranty
Cons
– Cable management can be tricky – not modular
+ Aesthetically very pleasing to the eye
+ Colour adjustment (plus choice to turn off)
+ Decent performance
+ Fan stops spinning at if < 20% load
+ 5 Years warranty
Cons
– Cable management can be tricky – not modular
Click here for an explanation of our awards at Vortez.net.
