It looks like Corsair has decided to move several power supplies to EOL status: the EVGA CX400, EVGA VX450, EVGA VX550, EVGA HX450, EVGA HX520, and EVGA HX620. They’re also planning some updates for the TX650, TX750V2, and TX850V2—specifically to snag that 80Plus Bronze certification. Apparently, all three are built on a refined Corsair platform, much like the one they used for the new EVGA Pro series.
Dana Clark8 said:Then why on earth does Corsair market the "T" series as superior to the "V" series? And why is the rated wattage on the TX650 higher than the VX550?
Because they have absolutely no clue what manufacturers are actually stuffing inside those boxes (since Corsair doesn't even build their own power supplies; they just slap their logo on them). 😁
All jokes aside, this is one of those rare instances where the wattage isn't strictly regulated—though don't mistake that for an official rating. It’s more accurate to say there's no hard cap in place.
If they labeled the VX550 as a 650W or 700W unit, they probably wouldn't pass the 80Plus certification (that 80%+ efficiency standard), and the voltage regulation ripples would likely be impossible to ignore.
To put it in plain English: A beat-up old Ford might be able to hit 124 miles/h (downhill 😁), but at that speed, the whole chassis shakes like a washing machine out of balance. 😁
Now I'm confused, especially since you're telling me the VX550 is actually stronger than the TX650, yet the price difference favors the VX550 by about $33. 😕
Don't sweat it. Both units are plenty powerful enough for 95% of the builds discussed here (which usually pull well under 300W anyway), and both come with a 5-year warranty and decent enough quality.
Dana Clark8 said:What’s the actual real-world difference in power between the VX 550 and the TX 650 (Corsair)? On paper, the TX 650 is listed as being short on headroom beyond its rating, while the VX 550 supposedly offers massive overhead. How does that play out in reality?
Let’s put it this way: the VX 550 can easily handle three heavy-duty GPUs in a CF/SLI setup, whereas you wouldn't dream of trying that with the TX 650.
And is there perhaps a better recommendation in this price range regarding raw power, build quality, or maybe even the warranty?
Christian Mendoza60 said:Guys, is it actually worth grabbing an Antec TruePower Quattro 1200 for cheap? It's used.
That thing is an absolute beast (assuming nothing inside is fried and it actually works)... but you really ought to verify it with a multimeter (and maybe stress test it on a decent rig) before handing over any cash.
The manufacturer is Enhance ... which is a huge plus.
The real question is: do you even need that much headroom? Is it worth the investment?
If you have (or plan on building) a PC that pulls, say, 200, 300, or 400W ... why on earth would you buy a kilowatt-class PSU? And if that Antec ends up costing more than $50 (I think the VX 550 with a 5-year warranty starts around there $198 IIRC) ... then it’s just a bad deal for a low-end build.
Bottom line: what are your specs, and is the unit actually functional? That's all that matters.
Heh, it’s a Seasonic, isn't it? CWT... they actually include overcurrent protection 😁
Anyway, here is the actual test for the VX 450.
As for the VX 550, word on the street (from my local "sources") is that it can handle an overclocked Intel Core i7 920 paired with three overclocked HD5850 cards. It even handled three 8800 Ultras and three 260 GTX cards without breaking a sweat... that unit must have some serious wattage under the hood 😁
I have no clue what kind of rig we're dealing with here, but honestly, it shouldn't be an issue at all—especially since he absolutely crushed it on the benchmark.
Great build quality paired with a pretty reasonable price tag... definitely a solid pick 🙂
Honestly, I have no idea why you're even stressing over this 🙂
By the way, just to follow up on my previous point: the Corsair TX 650 is actually a much smarter buy. It’s priced right alongside the EVGA unit, but you get a much better warranty—five years, to be exact.
Lately, the main difference between power supplies with a single 12V rail versus those with multiple rails usually comes down to how they handle the default overcurrent protection settings. Basically, it's just whether the unit shuts itself down if a specific current limit is hit on one rail or across several.
Bottom line? You aren't gaining anything or losing anything here. In all my time, I haven't seen a single standard PC build capable of actually tripping that kind of protection and shutting the whole system down. 🙂
wiredmarlin5 said:😁 All he needs is the adapter that comes with the card. He doesn't need a beefier power supply.
Signed.
Regarding the theoretical max power draw for the Radeon HD 5850... it's significantly lower than the previous generation (the 4890 pulls 190W, while the 5850 sits at 151W).
We're talking about maximum TDP here, obviously—not actual consumption, which usually hovers below those peak values (the 5850 pulls around ~130W).
Add the CPU's pull of 50-100W to that—plus the HDD, RAM sticks, and a few fans—and it becomes glaringly obvious that a power supply capable of delivering 480W is actually overkill for this setup.🙂
Usually, we're talking about the discrepancy between the capacity of a single 12V rail versus the combined total of all 12V rails.
I won't speculate here, but even if it actually claims 2x18A—meaning 36A or 432W (which I highly doubt)—that’s a pretty underwhelming figure for a modern 600W power supply.
Take a quick look at the spec sheets from Corsair, Antec, Cooler Master, Seasonic, and the rest. You'll realize exactly what's going on right away.🙂
So I’ve been browsing the EVGA pages for the EVGA 600 W model...
Passive PFC (whereas most other power supplies on the market use Active PFC), an efficiency rating hovering around a measly 70%, a weight of 1.18kg, and some totally undeclared total wattage on the 12V rail... does anyone else feel zero confidence here? :/
I’m putting my money on wiredmarlin5’s recommendation: the EVGA 650 W is the way to go.
I noticed that immediately with his setup—just a massive pile of useless fixed cables, while the ones you actually need are modular. :/
Looking at that 135mm ADDA fan (hitting 2050 RPM @ full load), it doesn't look half bad. Then again, the real test is whether it suffers from coil whine... which can be absolutely maddening.
I haven't checked what kind of protections it carries yet... Do you happen to know (maybe from the manual) so I don't have to go hunting all over the internet?
They usually include some limits on the rails like OCP or OPP, though lately, I've been paying pretty close attention to the primary protection (OVP) too...
My only regret is not having a decent oscilloscope on hand to actually run some tests once 🙂
Maybe one day I’ll finally drop some cash on a USB scope—even if it’s just a basic 20MHz model, haha.
By the way, looking at your voltage readings, it seems even this unit of yours isn't handling the idle-to-load transition particularly well... quite a sight to behold.