Let's move on to the scoring of this bad boy, bear in mind that when we score it's broken up into four different sections: Performance. How well the PSU (in this case) does it's job. Is it well regulated? Is the power clean or dirty? Is the voltage stable? The perfoprmance makes up 40% of the overall score.
After that there's Functionality. Does the unit make life easy on you to use? Are there enough connectors? Are the cables long enough or too long? Are they sleeved or do they hang in a huge Medusa's head under the PSU? This is worth 30% of the overall score.
Value is the penultimate score. A PSU that offers great looks, power and is a dream to use might be worth a premium but everything has a limit. After you pass the premium it falls into "OMG you actually paid that?" territory. Value is important so it's worth 20% of the score.
Aesthetics are next. Does the unit look good? A unit that looks great but has so-so per might be desirable to some but not to the majority so this is why it's only worth 10% of the score. It's important but usually not a make or break thing.
Oklahoma Wolf:
Performance - Much like its little brother, the VX550, this unit does its job well. Regulation is adequate and efficiency is exactly what the box promised as long as you don't crossload it. But, regulation could stand to be better - we may be reaching the upper limits of this platform. Not to mention the "baffling" performance of that fan. I think I'll vote for an 8.5 here.
madmat:
The TX750W does a really good job at being above average but it misses the boat on being awesome. The 12V ripple is a tad high and that 80mV whoopty do in test 6 kind of stop the awesomeness from happening. That and the less than stellar 3.3V regulation in the hotbox bring it down from a potential 10 to a well deserved 8.5
Oklahoma Wolf:
Functionality - The TX750W ain't lacking in them there cables at all. Three 8 pin (6+2) PCI-E connectors, no less than 8 SATA connectors, and 8 hard drive Molex connectors means you shouldn't run out of connectors anytime soon. But, those heatsink bolts in the unit were loose again, like the VX550. So I have to conclude it wasn't an isolated QC blip in that model. Still, they were tight enough to do the job without worries of working their way loose. Even so, I'm gonna have to ding the TX750 harder than little brother for that. 8.
madmat:
On the functionality front I find the TX750W to be pretty much on track with what you'd expect from a unit such as this. Enough connectors to run just about anything you'd expect. I dunno what happened to Wolf's unit but mine has four 6+2 PCI-e connectors. I'm wondering if one of the beavers ran off with the 4th from his unit while he had his back turned. I find that the molex peripheral cables are a tad on the short side. It seems like that they added a 4th molex to each cable but rather than add some cable along with the connector they just popped another molex further down the cable. This is in comparison to the molex peripheral cables on the VX550W as they're the same overall length. I must admit that I like the afterspin on the fan. I think it's completely reliant upon temperature as turning the unit on and off won't cause the PSU fan to spin after it's shut off but running a load for a few minutes will. All in all I concur with Wolf's 8
Oklahoma Wolf:
Yeah, those sneaky beavers did hide one of the PCI-E cables on me. Let me tell you, you can't trust those critters for a second.
Value - At the moment, there aren't a lot of retailers I can find with a price on this unit. It's too new, apparently. But from what I can tell, initially this unit will be hovering around the $170-$199 mark. That's a little costly considering the very similar Thermaltake Toughpower is around $160, but not too bad considering what you're getting. I would argue the warranty alone is worth it. 9.
madmat:
A quality 750W unit with a large 60A 12V rail is pretty good for $170 to $199. I find it hard to fault the price considering what you're getting, a 9 it is.
Oklahoma Wolf:
Aesthetics - This thing looks awesome, just like little bro. And a little bigger too, due to that huge 140mm fan. The matte black finish just looks like it could go right outside and show them beavers what for... aw, man! They're back again. I'll just polish this up quick by saying this is one PSU I'd be proud to show off in my case window. 9.5. Wait, the beavers have a cake this time. That's promising.
madmat:
I'm pretty much sold on the looks of the TX750W. It reminds me of the Mach I Mustangs I saw running around when I was a kid. Having been lucky enough to grow up in the era when Muscle Cars were head banging cars with flat black and bright primary color paint jobs I've got a deeper appreciation for the look that Corsair achieves with their power supplies. I think the 9.5 is fully warranted.
Performance
8.5
Functionality
8
Value
9
Aesthetics
9.5
Total Score
9
Summary:
The Corsair TX750W represents the ideal PSU for the high end gamer. There's plenty of capacity to allow for future additions to current bleeding edge systems with no need to worry about a shortfall of power. There's also enough raw power to allow for pretty much any future upgrade you might make as long as it's not something insane like 16 core and the equivalent to quad X2900XTX or 8800 Ultra GPU's. In that case you'd be better served looking for something along the lines of a 1.5+Kw unit and your own nuclear generator to run it ;-)
The Good:
Good 12V and 5V regulation.
Rated power at 50C.
Plenty of connections, Wolf even got his quad 6+2 (if he can get his back from the beavers).
Rugged good looks.
Quiet under most average loads
Thermally controlled afterspin on the unit's fan
The Bad:
The 5V rail doesn't exactly like being driven past 23A.
The fan baffle isn't helping guys.
The Mediocre:
The peripheral cables could be a mite short to the first connector for inverted cases.
The 3.3V rail regulation could stand some improvement in the hotbox.
