Specifications

This is a top-spec'd PSU featuring Titanium and ETA-A+ efficiency and a LAMBDA-A- noise rating, which is a difficult feat for such a high-capacity PSU since thermal loads are inevitably also increased at such a capacity. These very high efficiency levels are also a major factor when it comes to keeping noise output low since the higher the efficiency, the less energy is wasted as heat, which means the PSU's cooling system can also more readily cope with the task at hand. Corsair chose a 140 mm FDB fan; its speed profile can also be adjusted through the Corsair Link app.

20 cm deep, this is not a compact PSU; however, it is much smaller than the AX1500i that is 22.5 cm long! It's heavier as well, and Corsair set the warranty to an incredible ten years. Currently, only Seasonic provides an even longer warranty period with its Prime models. However, any more than five years is somewhat unrealistic for PSUs that are constantly being put through some rather tough conditions (e.g. mining). Companies should, as such, be careful with what they cover in their warranties. The easiest solution would obviously be to offer a realistic warranty that covers every possible usage scenario.

The minor rails are very strong, which seems weird for a modern PSU since contemporary systems only use those two rails (5V and 3.3V) lightly. The +12V rail is heavily utilized, and we are very pleased to see that the AX1600i can deliver its full power on this rail alone. Finally, the 5VSB rail is set to 3.5 A maximum current output, which looks rather low for a 1.6 kW PSU; however, its maximum current output will suffice since its OCP triggering point is set much higher.

Cables And Connectors

Plenty of cables and connectors are provided since 1600 W of power takes a ton of wiring to be passed on smoothly, without there being huge voltage drops or, worse, melted gauges. You get a total of ten PCIe connectors, which might look low compared to the twelve or more other PSUs of similar capacity have, but here, six are on dedicated cables. Installing two PCIe connectors on the same cable might be a great solution when it comes to increasing the number of PCIe connectors, but should a VGA draw lots of power with a high load on the PSU such a cable might also get dangerously hot, and to where it might even melt under extreme conditions. The second PCIe connector on such a cable will also suffer from higher voltage drops because it is chained to the first connector via 18AWG gauges at best since thicker ones just wouldn't fit. This is why dedicated PCIe cables are suggested for mining with higher power consumption VGAs, and if you have the option to use nothing but dedicated PCIe cables with a gaming system, I suggest you do so there as well.

Power Distribution

The Corsair Link application has an option over which you can enable OCP for each of the ten 8-pin sockets into which the PCIe and EPS cables are plugged. You can also enable OCP for the other sockets used by the 24-pin ATX, peripheral, and SATA connectors. Power distribution is optimal due to the many 12V virtual rails, and you can set a custom OCP level, though the maximum is 40 A for each virtual rail.