Repost: Corsair's Redbeard explains changes to TX PSUs

[allikat]

Originally posted by CorsairGeorge (aka redbeard) over on OCN to explain Corsair's position on the changes to the TX range. Hope this isn't against the rules on either site...

]Some of you guys may have seen some threads around with titles like “TX Series Changed in Secret!” and “Corsair Changes TX Series Without Telling Anybody” and “My Corsair TX series is changing, is this all part of growing up?”



There’s been a lot of speculation and rumor going around, so why don’t we address it right here:

Yes, some of the TX series PSUs have changed platforms.





What changed?

The platforms have switched on the TX850, TX750, and TX650. Probably the most significant change is on the TX650, which went from being a Seasonic S12-based unit to a CWT PSH II unit, and received an upgrade from a 120mm fan to a 140mm fan. This is the most noticeable of the changes. The 750 and 850 have also been upgraded from the older PSH units to the PSH II.



Why did you do that?

Honestly, one of the major reasons for the change was because you guys are buying tons of TX series PSUs and we wanted to make sure we had inventory to meet that demand. The old platform was not as efficient to manufacture, and while it’s still rock solid, we felt that updating it a bit couldn’t hurt and wouldn’t offend anybody.



How do the new parts perform?

The PSH II offers a few benefits over the older platforms, one of which is increased efficiency. While the older platforms were standard 80Plus efficiency, the new platforms are borderline 80Plus Bronze. Also, they have slightly tighter ripple/noise, and voltage regulation. The audible noise levels should be about the same, as should the overall build quality and lifetime of the products. They are still rated at 50C and come with Corsair’s 5 year warranty.



Why wasn’t this announced?

This one might be a boneheaded move by us – but we honestly didn’t expect there’d be a big issue over it. As we saw it, customers were getting a part that performed better than the old one that could be bought for less money (TX series prices have dropped considerably since they were first launched 4 years ago) which seemed a win-win. We labeled them as –C units on the stickers, but kept the model numbers the same in marketing so it wouldn’t require a huge press announcement or marketing/media blitz with reviews. It just wasn’t a big enough change in our opinion to make it a new product.


This is the same basic method that we use to meet supply with our memory which works very well for us. Please keep in mind, that we are selling a specification, not a specific PSU platform. This is analogous to selling a speed grade specification and not a specific IC in the case of memory modules. With our PSUs, we are meeting or exceeding specification and also offering equal or better performance at or below previous prices.


Are you sending these out for review?

No, probably not. We have some new stuff in the works to meet the new EuP standards, and the –C units were honestly more of a stop gap. Since they’re a minor upgrade over the older TX series, we figured the best we could get from reviewers would be basically a lukewarm review (“Looks like a minor improvement on a 4 year old design!”) instead of the ringing endorsements we usually get (“This power supply is so beautiful it makes me cry with joy!”) I’m paraphrasing that last one a bit. But no, at this time we have no plans to send out the –C units.


How do I tell which unit I have?

You can tell which one you have by looking at the model number on the spec label. Highlighted in red below.






Okay, so now what?

At the risk of sounding cliché, we learned an important lesson here. Even when we’re making an upgrade to a product and offering that upgrade for free, we’ll disclose that more clearly in the future. The last thing we want is for you guys to feel like we’re going out of our way to keep secrets and become some faceless corporation that doesn’t care what its customers wants.

Corsair isn’t a huge company bent on global domination through Machiavellian means. We’re just a bunch of dudes who like to build really fast computers, with really solid parts inside them. We build most of our parts for ourselves, based on specs of parts we’d like to be able to buy. When we started making PSUs, nobody was making PSUs that were good enough, in our opinion, so we specified our own.

Now, over four years later, there are more excellent choices than ever. All the competition has stepped up, and we know that you have a number of really good choices when it comes to choosing your next PSU. We still think that we offer the best part at each price point, but we aren’t perfect. We’re working to make each product better every day, and when you guys make demands or requests, we listen. We’re out here on the forums, even if we aren’t always posting, and we’re keeping an eye on the trends, on what you guys want to buy, and we’re dedicated to continue making rock solid parts at excellent price points.

So if you have any questions about the new TX versus the old TX, please post them here and we’ll get to them as soon as we can.

Thanks.

[Elledan]

Very informative, thanks for reposting

[Smirnoff]

Those threads over there were going on my nerves, not being addressed by Corsair. Good thing they did come forward. Now I'd like to know when the updated TX2 series is due.

[Spectre]

Why wasn’t this announced?

This one might be a boneheaded move by us – but we honestly didn’t expect there’d be a big issue over it. As we saw it, customers were getting a part that performed better than the old one that could be bought for less money (TX series prices have dropped considerably since they were first launched 4 years ago) which seemed a win-win. We labeled them as –C units on the stickers, but kept the model numbers the same in marketing so it wouldn’t require a huge press announcement or marketing/media blitz with reviews. It just wasn’t a big enough change in our opinion to make it a new product.

I hate to be mean, but really ANYONE worth their salt that has worked with a customer on a tech related item could have told you this was a dumb dumb dumb dumb move and was going to be seen as deceptive marketing and results in people flaming the ever living shit out of you. I mean you may think customers are getting better part, you may even tell them they are getting a better part, but they don't know that and you are riding on the good reputation of a COMPLETELY different product that you kept the name intentionally the same on. For the life of me, I can't figure out how Corsair thought that was going to go any other way but horrendously bad, I mean its not like there have been PSU's or any other product that the brand said "trust us its great" when it wasn't.

[Elledan]

If I had bought a TX650 expecting it to be a Seasonic S12-based unit, only to learn later that I had received a better performing CWT PSHII-based unit without paying extra, I'd feel quite pleased.

I don't get the flaming...

[Spectre]

Originally Posted by Elledan

If I had bought a TX650 expecting it to be a Seasonic S12-based unit, only to learn later that I had received a better performing CWT PSHII-based unit without paying extra, I'd feel quite pleased.

I don't get the flaming...

How do you know what you bought exactly, or how it performs beyond someone saying "trust us we made it better for you without telling you"?

[p4l1ndr0m3]

Originally Posted by Spectre

How do you know what you bought exactly, or how it performs beyond someone saying "trust us we made it better for you without telling you"?

I have to agree with Spectre. Any reviews comparing the two units directly?

[allikat]

Someone would have to obtain, and ship to Wolfy an original S12 platform TX650 and the new PSHII platform TX650, he's got results from the original TX750 in his old review, so would only have to obtain a new TX750.
But he'd have to put in the work to review 3 PSUs, and Corsair isn't offering to provide units free for review (as this is a temporary revision).
Redbeard said, in response to my question:

Originally Posted by Me

How temporary are these -C models? I assume we're looking at some point in 2011 for the TX2?

Originally Posted by Redbeard

Hard to answer this without getting into specifics, but let's just say that it would be kind of pointless to send out -C units for review at this point.

[Elledan]

Originally Posted by Spectre

How do you know what you bought exactly, or how it performs beyond someone saying "trust us we made it better for you without telling you"?

This based on the assumption that Corsair is speaking the truth, of course I would like to see an objective review of both units too.

[Spectre]

Originally Posted by Elledan

This based on the assumption that Corsair is speaking the truth, of course I would like to see an objective review of both units too.

When the units were released though they didn't even say that, they were snuck into the supply chain with no notice so you wouldn't have even had that to go on.....which is kind of the point.