Performance (40% of the final score) - now it's time to figure out some scoring. Many things have changed in the power supply landscape since the old HX1000 came to town. The competition has gotten tougher, and the HX1000 is no longer what I would consider the best thing money can buy. Corsair has definitely improved on that unit here, but some things remain the same. First, this unit regulates better. That's good. It has better efficiency. That's good too. But... I don't see a lot of difference in ripple suppression in this model. The new guy is about the same as the old guy there. I would have liked to see some improvement, even though this unit ran well in spec the whole time. So, I'm going to score this unit like so: because this unit is not quite among the top regulating units I've tested, half a point off of a perfect score. 1% average regulation would have seen no deduction. Another full point off for ripple. The best units I see are under 30mV or so average, and this unit is nowhere near that. That gives us an 8.5. A respectable score.
Functionality (20% of the final score) - Corsair never comes up lacking in this field. This thing has piles of modular cables, which in turn have piles of connectors for anything you could possibly want to plug in, unless you're trying to hook it to a WTX mainboard or something. All the hardwired cables are sleeved beautifully, there are no unnecessary hardwired cables, and if you need a second CPU connector it comes with a modular one just for you. There are enough PCI-E cables to support six cards, which is all I would run off a 1050W unit, so there's nothing to complain about there. There's a bag for the cables, a bag for the power supply, zip ties, a case badge, screws, and a manual. Everything you need, nothing you don't. 10.
Value (20% of the final score) - Buy.com is showing this unit as being $203.99. Ironically, AlwaysLowest is advertising it about a buck more expensive than that. Going back to Buy.com, that is not the cheapest unit at this power level. The Kingwin Lazer 1kW is a fair bit cheaper, at around $160. But that's an old model, too. Sparkle has a 1kW unit more expensive there, and the OCZ Z Series 1kW is also slightly more expensive. But there are a couple more cheaper units there, too, like the OCZ ZX1000. You know what? Given that this puppy gives you an extra fifty watts, I'm going to call this one a 9.
Build Quality (20% of the final score) - oh goody, goody, goody. More loose heatsink screws to deal with. But at least there were only two of them in there this time that could be considered a potential problem. Two points off for that. It'll probably never be a problem for 99% of these sold, but I'm an electronics tech. I get to be picky with stuff like that. A third point comes off for very good but not quite excellent soldering quality. I found no issues with the design or the rest of the electronics though... as always, CWT knows what they're doing when it comes to power supply design. This category will get a score of 7.
Performance
8.5
Functionality
10
Value
9
Build Quality
7
Total Score
8.6
Summary
Corsair's new HX1050 is indeed a worthy replacement to the aging platform found in the old HX1000. It's more efficient, it regulates better, and is rated fifty watts higher. What it does not do is improve on ripple suppression, but then again... it's not an AX series model. It doesn't need to be quite that good. What we have here is a solid, reliable, able performing 1050 watt power supply. Anything better than this is going to cost you.
The Good:
efficiency
better regulation than the old HX1000
lots of modular cables
The Bad:
no major improvement on ripple from the HX1000
The Mediocre:
George Foreman Power Supply Grills should come with a coupon for a free rib steak. 18 ounces at least, please. And somebody please tell Adam Richman that I have never wanted to eat a five pound ice cream sundae less than I do right now.
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