Corsair HXi Series 1000 W

[crmaris]

Corsair just introduced the new HXi series, comprised of members with Platinum efficiency and full compatibility with the Corsair Link software. Today, we will take a look at the second-strongest unit of the line with 1 kW capacity, ideal for a power-hungry system with up to four VGAs.

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[sith'ari]

"Corsair has been using this particular silent fan in many of their more recent products. The fan's model number is NR135L (12 V, 0.22 A) and it uses a rifle bearing, which is essentially an improved sleeve bearing."

Very nice review!
The upper sentence at crmaris's review, is the only thing that troubles me about HXi 1000's longevity.
Since the fan is being described as " an improved sleeve bearing", we can assume that it's longevity will be lower from a ball bearing fan that most top quality PSUs are using.
I'd rather give an extra amount (*lets say 20$), for a better fan, than to have a top build quality PSU that will fail due to the lesser quality fan !

 

[jonnyGURU]

Actually, crmaris is wrong about the fan.

The fan in the HXi is an actual FDB fan. NOT a rifle bearing fan like what is used in the RM series.

As stated, the NR135L is indeed a rifle bearing fan, but you can see in the pictures that the fan is NOT an NR135L:

The NR135P is the FDB version of Corsair's PSU fan.

 

[LTUGamer]

"Corsair has been using this particular silent fan in many of their more recent products. The fan's model number is NR135L (12 V, 0.22 A) and it uses a rifle bearing, which is essentially an improved sleeve bearing."

Very nice review!
The upper sentence at crmaris's review, is the only thing that troubles me about HXi 1000's longevity.
Since the fan is being described as " an improved sleeve bearing", we can assume that it's longevity will be lower from a ball bearing fan that most top quality PSUs are using.
I'd rather give an extra amount (*lets say 20$), for a better fan, than to have a top build quality PSU that will fail due to the lesser quality fan !

Ball bearing is not better than sleeve bearing while sleeve bearing is not better than ball bearing. Both of them haves own advantages and own disadvantages. For example ball bearing usually makes more noise while sleeves are not so reliable and ect. However that isn't rule - advanced sleeve bearing haves great lifetime. For example Be quiet, Cougar sleeve bearing haves 300000h MTBF ratio (I know that they are playing with low temperatures but it still good). There is many other "advanced" sleeve bearing that features great 100000 - 160000h lifetime ratio.

I can see only one disadvantage for fan. Despite fact that this PSU is very silent I would like to see semi-passive mode here.

 

[sith'ari]

Ball bearing is not better than sleeve bearing while sleeve bearing is not better than ball bearing. Both of them haves own advantages and own disadvantages. For example ball bearing usually makes more noise while sleeves are not so reliable and ect. However that isn't rule - advanced sleeve bearing haves great lifetime. For example Be quiet, Cougar sleeve bearing haves 300000h MTBF ratio (I know that they are playing with low temperatures but it still good). There is many other "advanced" sleeve bearing that features great 100000 - 160000h lifetime ratio.

I can see only one disadvantage for fan. Despite fact that this PSU is very silent I would like to see semi-passive mode here.

I'm not a PSU expert, i only say what i read from people they make PSU reviews, like Oklahoma Wolf at Jonnyguru.com
Take a look: "Yeah. Sleeve bearing fannage. Meh. Anytime I don't see at least a ball bearing fan, I score against it."
http://www.jonnyguru.com/modules.php?name=NDReviews&op=Story5&reid=386

 

[jonnyGURU]

I'm not a PSU expert, i only say what i read from people they make PSU reviews, like Oklahoma Wolf at Jonnyguru.com
Take a look: "Yeah. Sleeve bearing fannage. Meh. Anytime I don't see at least a ball bearing fan, I score against it."
http://www.jonnyguru.com/modules.php?name=NDReviews&op=Story5&reid=386

Again.... this PSU does NOT have a sleeve bearing. It has an FDB fan (see picture. Wrong part number was written in the review.)

That said, there's still a big difference between sleeve bearing and rifled bearing. Yes... reviews ding PSUs for having a sleeve bearing, but not a rifled bearing.

Sleeve bearings do not have a long life. But a rifle bearing have a life almost as long as a DBB, but are MUCH quieter. A rifled bearing has "rifles" in the brass bushing. These help circulate the lubrication. Sleeve bearings do not have this advantage and lubrication can "pool" in one spot.

I can see only one disadvantage for fan. Despite fact that this PSU is very silent I would like to see semi-passive mode here.

We're talking about the same review, right? The HXi does have a semi-pssive mode (dubbed "Zero RPM" and crmaris's sample hardly had the fan spin up at all:

http://www.techpowerup.com/reviews/Corsair/HX1000i/6.html

 

[sith'ari]

Actually, crmaris is wrong about the fan.

The fan in the HXi is an actual FDB fan. NOT a rifle bearing fan like what is used in the RM series.
As stated, the NR135L is indeed a rifle bearing fan, but you can see in the pictures that the fan is NOT an NR135L:
The NR135P is the FDB version of Corsair's PSU fan.

LoL!! I'm surprised that you are giving all this info about fans. On the opposite side, all Oklahoma Wolf is giving in his reviews is the name of the fan, and he doesn't score it at all !!
Personally i think it is vital for a complete evaluation of a PSU to have an evaluation for the fan as well, because its longevity can affect the longevity of the entire PSU!

 

[crmaris]

Thanks Jonny for correcting me into this. Mistook this fan with the other similar you use so though it had rifle bearings. Already corrected the corresponding parts in the review.

BTW do you have any photos of the fan's internals? Because sometimes manufacturers claim that their fans are FDB while they actually are enhanced sleeved ones (like the rifle ones). Or can you share more info on this fan (manufacturer).

 

[LTUGamer]

We're talking about the same review, right? The HXi does have a semi-pssive mode (dubbed "Zero RPM" and crmaris's sample hardly had the fan spin up at all:

http://www.techpowerup.com/reviews/Corsair/HX1000i/6.html

So there is failure in specs page http://www.techpowerup.com/reviews/Corsair/HX1000i/2.html

Semi-passive operation: No

 

[crmaris]

So there is failure in specs page http://www.techpowerup.com/reviews/Corsair/HX1000i/2.html

Semi-passive operation: No

fixed. It has a semi-passive mode of course and it is clearly shown in the tests section. Sorry for the mistakes guys but I had to finish this the sooner the possible and some errors slipped. Won't happen again (hopefully).

 

[jonnyGURU]

LoL!! I'm surprised that you are giving all this info about fans.

Why is that surprising? Facts are facts. There are sleeve bearings and there are rifled bearings.

On the opposite side, all Oklahoma Wolf is giving in his reviews is the name of the fan, and he doesn't score it at all !!

What are you talking about? You just linked a review of his where he scored AGAINST a PSU for having a sleeve bearing fan vs. a rifled, DBB or FDB fan.

Personally i think it is vital for a complete evaluation of a PSU to have an evaluation for the fan as well, because its longevity can affect the longevity of the entire PSU!

What kind of evaluation of the fan are you talking about? Fan noise? If you've spent any time in our forums (and I understand perfectly if you have not), you'd know the subject has been discussed to death. There's no way to evaluate fan noise when the sound floor is raised so significantly by the load testers' exhaust fan.

 

[sith'ari]

1)Why is that surprising? Facts are facts. There are sleeve bearings and there are rifled bearings.

2)What are you talking about? You just linked a review of his where he scored AGAINST a PSU for having a sleeve bearing fan vs. a rifled, DBB or FDB fan.

3)What kind of evaluation of the fan are you talking about? Fan noise? If you've spent any time in our forums (and I understand perfectly if you have not), you'd know the subject has been discussed to death. There's no way to evaluate fan noise when the sound floor is raised so significantly by the load testers' exhaust fan.

1)Yes, but i had to make a post in order to find this info!! At your reviews (*and i have read a lot of them!!) there is rarely any info such the ones i acquired now!!
2)Oh come on mate, check the first 10 reviews Wolf has made and you can see my point. Statisticaly, someone has to read an average of 10 PSU reviews in order to find Wolf's opinion about sleeve bearing fans !!!Take a look at the newest reviews: not anything more than the fan's name!! :
http://www.jonnyguru.com/modules.php?name=NDReviews&op=Story5&reid=394
http://www.jonnyguru.com/modules.php?name=NDReviews&op=Story5&reid=393
http://www.jonnyguru.com/modules.php?name=NDReviews&op=Story5&reid=392
http://www.jonnyguru.com/modules.php?name=NDReviews&op=Story5&reid=391
http://www.jonnyguru.com/modules.php?name=NDReviews&op=Story5&reid=390
http://www.jonnyguru.com/modules.php?name=NDReviews&op=Story5&reid=389
http://www.jonnyguru.com/modules.php?name=NDReviews&op=Story5&reid=387
What am i supposed to figure out about the longevity/quality of the fan only with half-sentence description? !!!
3)I'm talking about longevity and quality (*the noise factor comes second for me). What good is to spend 200$ to buy a PSU full with top quality Japanese capacitors if it has a fan that will not last more than 20000 hours? !!
P.S: It's true that i haven't spent lot of time reading Jonnyguru forum, but on the other hand i've spend MANY hours reading Jonnyguru PSU reviews.

 

[1d10t]

I was hopin' to see Flextronics...

 

[jonnyGURU]

I was hopin' to see Flextronics...

Not at that price! LOL!

 

[HellZaQ]

Images don't work

 

[LTUGamer]

fixed. It has a semi-passive mode of course and it is clearly shown in the tests section. Sorry for the mistakes guys but I had to finish this the sooner the possible and some errors slipped. Won't happen again (hopefully).

No probs

So this PSU is even too good It is not worth to choose AX760i/AX860i instead of HX750i/HX850i

 

[sith'ari]

No probs

So this PSU is even too good It is not worth to choose AX760i/AX860i instead of HX750i/HX850i

That was my conclusion as well .
It seems to have -(*from what i could figure out as a novice in the PSU area )- better build quality than the AX760i, refering to capacitors, and also better build quality from the AX760 (non -i ) refering to the fan, since HX750i uses a 140mm fan compared to the 120mm fan of the AX760.
This results to better temperatures and lesser noise level

 

[jonnyGURU]

I would say it's on par with the AX (non-i), but the AXi is still a better unit.

 

[Piopi Brettawer]

The review is not a word about why not have enough capacitors.
For some reason, was calculated to place them. Not just like that?

 

[jonnyGURU]

LOL! That's a picture crmaris took of the PSU AFTER HE removed the bulk caps. ;-)

 

[Piopi Brettawer]

LOL! That's a picture crmaris took of the PSU AFTER HE removed the bulk caps. ;-)

Are you saying that if I buy this PSU, these capacitors will be installed?

 

[Frick]

Yes.

 

[refin3d]

So I was doing the usual comparison between reviews to get mean values for the data and was curious when I saw the discrepancy between jonnyguru and techpowerups data on the 12V line regulation...
(it was 1% and 1.93% respectively)

I dug around the data and found techpowerup calculates their value from 60W whilst jonny starts theirs at 100W. On this particular unit, due to some weird more sudden decrease in voltage between 60W and 100W, the regulation was
a fairly bad 1.93%, however if you go from 100W as jonnyguru did, you get a decent 1.4%, which is more inline with the 1%

So my question is, why start at 60W (sounds like a specific number) and why at 100W? Further, after discovering this, i figured I could ignore the worries and the 1.93% issue because in that range PCs are basically idling or doing basic tasks, so
the importance of the line regulation isnt as high? (please correct me if im wrong)

Cheers

(Also posted this on the other forums at jonnyguru)

 

[Snowboy]

Based on the review (and other reviews too) i could not tell if the monitoring is only per rail (vs not socket) . And if the multi rail mode is enabled, is the current limit fixed and can you monitor those virtual rails aswell?

 

[jonnyGURU]

Based on the review (and other reviews too) i could not tell if the monitoring is only per rail (vs not socket) . And if the multi rail mode is enabled, is the current limit fixed and can you monitor those virtual rails aswell?

Each "socket" is a rail on the HXi. So to say that each modular port and each rail is monitored is synonymous.