There is no doubt that the AX1600i is better in every single way when compared to the AX1500i, and it is the best PSU I have ever tested currently. Some of you will then probably wonder why I gave it the same score as its predecessor. Well, standards now are different to those that applied when the AX1500i was reviewed, and I have to leave some room for an even better PSU, which I doubt will come out any time soon, however. Moreover, nothing is perfect in this world, so even the superb AX1600i has a couple of downsides with, firstly, its intimidating price tag and, secondly, though easily fixed with a new set of cables, the distance between its peripheral connectors being very short. For demanding situations, e.g. mining, although I doubt anyone would spend so much money to have this PSU's potential wasted on mining, some users might ask for a double-ball bearing fan instead of a fluid dynamic one; however, for most, the FDB fan is actually the one to prefer because it is quieter.

Corsair managed to again shake up the PSU market with another masterpiece. It is the Ferrari among PSUs, combining high performance in all sections with incredibly high efficiency throughout. Thanks to a cutting-edge platform, the first to utilize a totem-pole bridgeless PFC converter, which allows for up to 99% efficiency, the AX1600i is the most efficient PSU currently, which has it comply with the strict requirements the Cybenetics ETA-A+ and 80 PLUS Titanium certifications have set forth. Thanks to its very high efficiency, noise output is also kept low since the cooling fan has to cope with low thermal loads only, and this makes the AX1600i the quietest PSU in its category. It is simply impressive to see a 1.6 kW beast be this quiet under even high loads. Corsair does generally make a point of paying a lot of attention to noise output, and the majority of its PSUs are quiet, so its flagship offering naturally had to be quiet as well.

If you can afford its $450 price tag and need this much power, the AX1600i is the perfect choice. Many of you will argue that it is expensive, but it just packs so much technology internally, and does sport great build quality to boot, which has me believe that it is well worth its high price tag. After all, it isn't as expensive as a high-end graphics card, and given that a PSU's life cycle is much longer, I personally don't find it to be overpriced.