Cooler Master decided to enhance its power supply division through the creation of a Research and Development lab, which aside from evaluating existing PSU platforms, is also capable of creating new ones. This means that the company will be able now to develop its own PSUs, and there is a possibility Cooler Master will have its own production lines in the future. The company's engineers are already working on a new platform, which they revealed to us during our visit to the lab. Unfortunately, we weren't allowed to shoot any photos of the PSU's internals (however later CM's people changed their minds and send us a photo). But we do know quite a bit about the company's upcoming plans, which we'll delve into below.
Watch the video below to get a better view of CM's PSU R&D facility.
Upcoming CM PSU Lines
Cooler Master wants to reboot all of its PSU lines and make a clean start. Given the not-so-good choices that the company made in the last couple of years (for example, the super expensive MasterWatt Maker 1200 MIJ PSU), this seems a smart choice. Moreover, from the moment CM has hired experienced PSU engineers, it is able now to develop its own PSU platforms, and this provides a notable edge over the competition. Most PSU sellers do not have the capability to design their own PSUs, but only modify existing platforms, in the best case scenario.
The V PSU series is the one that made CM popular in the PSU market back in the day. However, its high-end models are based on an outdated Seasonic platform. That's why this line will be the first to be updated.
Cooler Master says the new V line will consist of five members, with capacities ranging from 650W to 1300W. The 650W and 750W models will be manufactured by Chicony, and their efficiency ratings will be 80 PLUS Gold and ETA-A on the Cybenetics scale. The three high-capacity units will be based on a Delta Electronics platform, and will have 80 PLUS Platinum and ETA-A efficiency certifications. This is a slightly modified version of the same platform used in the Antec HCP-850/1000/1300 PSUs. The new V series PSU will be released somewhere in Q4.
The most interesting PSU line from Cooler Master will be released in 2019. Those PSUs will use the company's own platform and the company says they will meet the 80 PLUS Gold and ETA-A efficiency levels. The new line will be most likely called XG (Xteme Gaming) and it will consist of three units with 550W, 650W and 750W capacities. All will feature a fully modular cable design and in their internals a half-bridge topology will be utilized, while the minor rails will be generated by DC-DC converters, which are installed directly onto the modular board for reduced energy losses.
Cooler Master's new platform features a very clean and spacious design, which allows for optimal airflow. With the help of the proper FDB fan, those units can be super silent, and Cooler Master has already turned to Cybenetics to make sure of this. Finally, there will be RGB lighting and a side LCD screen, providing information like efficiency, input and output Wattage, etc. We are not so sure whether an LCD screen mounted onto the PSU's side will be useful though, since this requires for a windowed chassis which will have to be installed on the desk and not below it. Nonetheless, this looks to be an interesting concept, and shows that the new CM platform will also feature a digital interface.
