Corsair AX1000 PSU Review: Titanium-Class Efficiency, at a Premium Price

Reviews
By published

Why you can trust Tom's Hardware Our expert reviewers spend hours testing and comparing products and services so you can choose the best for you. Find out more about how we test.

Performance, Noise and Efficiency

Performance Rating

Click to see more results

As you can see, the AX1000 dominates in its 1kW category.

Noise Rating

The graph below depicts the cooling fan's average noise over the PSU's operating range with an ambient temperature between 30°C and 32°C (86°F to 89.6°F).

Click to see more results

Corsair's AX1000 might not be as quiet as the Seasonic competition, but it's quiet enough for a PSU able to serve up 1000W of power.

Efficiency Rating

The following graph shows the PSU's average efficiency throughout its operating range with an ambient temperature close to 30°C.

Click to see more results

Clearly, this is a highly efficient platform.

MORE: Best Power Supplies

MORE: How We Test Power Supplies

MORE: All Power Supply Content

See more Power Supplies Reviews
Aris Mpitziopoulos
Aris Mpitziopoulos
Contributing Editor

Aris Mpitziopoulos is a contributing editor at Tom's Hardware, covering PSUs.

9 Comments Comment from the forums
  • Dark Lord of Tech
    Great review , thanks , much appreciated.
    Reply
  • Aris_Mp
    Thank you! There were some changes also in the format.. Made it easier to follow :)
    Reply
  • marcelo_vidal
    evga 430 die in one year =) if you do the math you will spend 370 on cheap evgas or you can pay 27 dollars for year to get a monster
    Reply
  • wdnemesis
    I would like to see Cable Mod team up with Corsair and seasonic. I prefer cable Mod cables. The Corsair ones look fine but most people that purchase this type probably use modded cables as well. This PSU would be amazing with that option.
    Reply
  • drtweak
    I just got a AXi1200i on Newegg. Damn good price. Was on sale for 149.99 + a 20 dollar mail in rebate. I love using it with the Corsair link software and watching this baby be 91-93% Efficient all the time. I had a CM600 before which was fine, but between planed upgrades soon, and also combining my plex server with my gaming PC, 600 wasn't enough power, amps, or connectors to power a FX8320 OC'ed, GTX 960, and 13 hard drives lol
    Reply
  • PapaCrazy
    21722950 said:
    I just got a AXi1200i on Newegg. Damn good price. Was on sale for 149.99 + a 20 dollar mail in rebate. I love using it with the Corsair link software and watching this baby be 91-93% Efficient all the time. I had a CM600 before which was fine, but between planed upgrades soon, and also combining my plex server with my gaming PC, 600 wasn't enough power, amps, or connectors to power a FX8320 OC'ed, GTX 960, and 13 hard drives lol

    Hard drive power requirements can sneak up on you. I once plugged too many HDDs into a SATA line and started having drives randomly disconnect. I think I might have corrupted them that way.

    Reply
  • jimmysmitty
    21722950 said:
    I just got a AXi1200i on Newegg. Damn good price. Was on sale for 149.99 + a 20 dollar mail in rebate. I love using it with the Corsair link software and watching this baby be 91-93% Efficient all the time. I had a CM600 before which was fine, but between planed upgrades soon, and also combining my plex server with my gaming PC, 600 wasn't enough power, amps, or connectors to power a FX8320 OC'ed, GTX 960, and 13 hard drives lol

    I got a AX860i for less than retail as I worked at a repair shop so discount about 5 years ago and its still going. its a great little unit. I still think the AXi series is one of the best PSUs out there and worth the money.
    Reply
  • Dark Lord of Tech
    I have the RM1000i White Special Edition which was limited to 100 total units. Great PSU.
    Reply
  • BoredErica
    From 0-300w it seems cooler than passive 600w Seasonic PSU. Did you remeasure the PSUs since a year ago?
    Reply