Corsair CX750M PSU Review

Corsair's CX line is aimed at users with limited budgets who still want a branded, reliable, and well-supported PSU. Today we're reviewing the second-strongest member of the family, the CX750M.

Early Verdict

A decent performing PSU with a pretty high warranty period for this category and enough wattage to meet the demands of a strong system. However it is outperformed by the CX650M which is equipped with the same amount of EPS and PCIe connectors and costs less. Only if you need more SATA and peripheral connectors the CX750M should be preferred over the smaller model.

Pros

  • +

    Price

  • +

    Full power at 46°C

  • +

    Ripple suppression

  • +

    5VSB efficiency

  • +

    4x PCIe & 1x EPS connectors

  • +

    Warranty

Cons

  • -

    Efficiency

  • -

    Sleeve-bearing fan

  • -

    Hold-up time

  • -

    3.3V rail performance in Advanced Transient Response tests

  • -

    Inrush current with 115V input

  • -

    Distance between peripheral connectors

  • -

    Fan speed at light loads could be lower

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Corsair CX750M Power Supply Review

All of Corsair's CX and CX-M units are made by Channel Well Technology, an OEM that keeps close ties with the company. Basically, the CX and CX-M models are based on a custom platform made specifically for Corsair. It's even probable that Corsair's PSU engineering team helped CWT with the design. And that's why you won't find this platform used anywhere else except in Corsair products.

The CX750M and flagship CX850M use a different platform than the other CX-M power supplies, including the recently-reviewed CX650M. Moreover, Corsair upgraded the CX-M family last year by increasing the capacity of certain models (the CX600M became the CX650M, for example) and upping the temperature rating from 30ºC to 40ºC.

The CX750M features 80 PLUS Bronze efficiency and, in order to keep production cost down, semi-modular cabling with only the pair of absolutely essential cables (ATX and EPS) being native. Even if you hate native cables, it's hard to get around the fact that you'd need those two in any build.

In our opinion, the new CX-M line's most significant advantage compared to the old versions is its higher temperature rating, which means higher-tolerance parts are used to improve reliability. This also extends lifetime, and Corsair responds by giving the new CX-M models five-year warranties instead of the old three-year coverage. That's a big deal in this budget category, and it must be creating headaches for the competition. We'd suggest they collectively match Corsair's warranty, but of course their platforms need to be reliable enough to support such a move.

Specifications

Besides its 80 PLUS Bronze efficiency, semi-modular cabling, and 40°C temperature rating for continuous full-load delivery, the CX750M also sports compact dimensions, given its 16cm depth.

Corsair's suite of protection features is fairly basic. The CX750M lacks over-current protection for the +12V rail, along with over-temperature protection. The company claims this model is covered by OTP, but we failed to find evidence of it during our tests, even when we applied a particularly taxing thermal load to the secondary side. We believe OTP is immensely important to PSUs with temperature ratings lower than the ATX specification's recommended 50°C. Moreover, we've seen a lot of PSU failures owing to a lack of OTP.

The CX650M uses a 120mm fan, while the CX750M employs a 140mm fan provided by Yate Loon. The D14SH-12 is a sleeve-bearing fan, and given the lack of a semi-passive mode, we can't help but wonder whether it will survive the five-year warranty period in systems that run all day. Corsair must have looked into this before upping its warranty duration, though.

Power Specifications

Swipe to scroll horizontally
Rail3.3V5V12V5VSB-12V
Max. PowerAmps25256230.8
Watts130744159.6
Total Max. Power (W)750

The single +12V rail is quite strong, boasting 62A maximum current output. The same goes for the minor rails with 130W max. combined power. Finally, the 5VSB rail provides enough juice to meet most demands. On top of that, its OCP triggering point is set high, so it will handle easily transient loads.

Cables And Connectors

Swipe to scroll horizontally
Native Cables
DescriptionCable CountConnector Count (Total)Gauge
ATX connector 20+4 pin (580mm)1118AWG
4+4 pin EPS12V (640mm)1118AWG
Modular Cables
DescriptionCable CountConnector Count (Total)Gauge
6+2 pin PCIe (600mm+150mm)2418AWG
SATA (450mm+120mm+120mm+120mm)2818AWG
Four-pin Molex (450mm+100mm+100mm) / FDD (+100mm)26 / 218AWG

Corsair's cable length is satisfactory and the distance between PCIe and SATA connectors is sufficient. However the four-pin Molex connectors are too close to each other; the components that need them are typically installed farther apart. This could be a problem.

We'd also prefer if Corsair provided the FDD connectors in adapter form. At least the number of PCIe and peripheral connectors is pretty high, especially for this price category. It would be nice if there was a second EPS cable you could use instead of the PCIe one. That'd facilitate compatibility with high-end motherboards requiring more than one EPS connector.

Power Distribution

Since this PSU features a single +12V rail, we do not have anything to say about its power distribution.

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MORE: All Power Supply Content

Aris Mpitziopoulos
Contributing Editor

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

  • Bit early for a review,but just installed mine to replace my old one that was power surging.
    Very easy to install and only use the extra cables you need.
    Piece of mind knowing the 3 year warranty that comes with it.
    Reply
  • RCFProd
    Thanks for the review!
    Reply
  • turkey3_scratch
    Funny how it doesn't have OTP, when as a matter of fact, OTP was the very thing that saved the original CX750M's butt in Jonnyguru's testing; but the majority of people, rather than realizing that was a good safety measure, took it instead as "the CX750M can't do more than 650W" when in fact it was just Oklahomawolf's hot box. So maybe to avoid another mishap like this altogether they just removed OTP and cheered over the money savings at the same time?

    I don't care for this PSU too much anyway. It seems to be a power supply that likes to focus on good ripple (as every modern PSU does these days) and decent voltage regulation but falls short in nearly every other aspect. I don't see it being much of any improvement over the original CX750M, the whole purpose of was probably just to cut costs. I'd happily take 60mv of ripple on my 12V rail in turn for some better holdup time, a higher quality fan and perhaps caps (if those Suscons aren't the best), and OTP.
    Reply
  • jonnyguru
    It does have OTP. There's something wrong with Aris's unit and I'm going to investigate it.
    Reply
  • JackNaylorPE
    I keep reading posts referencing the new CXM series, but the conclusions section which most readers skip to seem to follow Mom's advice ... "if ya don't have anything good to say, don't say anything" ... anything negative is left out. If the CX750M is going to be competitive, it has to address the elephant in the room that is the EVGA 750 B2 that sells for $50.
    Reply
  • RCFProd
    18929743 said:
    I keep reading posts referencing the new CXM series

    Aren't those usually either the 450w, 550w and 650 watts? Those are different units compared to the 750 watts I think.

    18929743 said:
    If the CX750M is going to be competitive, it has to address the elephant in the room that is the EVGA 750 B2 that sells for $50.

    Plenty of better options for power supplies around CX750M's price range, must be said. Isn't the EVGA B2 750w 65 dollars?
    Reply
  • turkey3_scratch
    Ya B2 is well priced http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817438028&cm_re=evga_750_b2%5c-_-17-438-028-_-Product
    Reply
  • JackNaylorPE
    The CX450M, CX550M and CX650M were redesigned last year and manufactured by CWT using a custom Corsair design, while the CX750M (and I think the 850 model) was based upon CWTs PUQ B patform. This latest revision seems to be even newer .. and even beyond that, it appears to have changed yet again after the review samples went out as noted in the article the newer 650M's use a "470uF bulk cap but use instead a 330uF one".

    Note that the CXM series is reported as the lowest quality Corsair PSU available in the US.... yet several VS models remain available thru US e-tailers. One thing I have always observed, specifically with regard to PSUs and coolers is that forum posters, even when referencing an article that says the reviewed item was a "good budget model" or "good for the money, tend to drop the words "budget" and "for the money" when recommending it. So while it may be a logical choice for a G3258 or GTX 1050 build w/ no overclocking, I don't quite understand why a Hyper 212 or a CX series PSU gets recommended for a 6700k / 1070 build especially where OP states an interest in overclocking the bejeezes out of everything.

    Here's the only reviews I have seen besides this one:
    http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/corsair-cx650m-psu,4770.html
    http://www.jonnyguru.com/modules.php?name=NDReviews&op=Story&reid=486


    18929767 said:

    Aren't those usually either the 450w, 550w and 650 watts? Those are different units compared to the 750 watts I think.

    Plenty of better options for power supplies around CX750M's price range, must be said. Isn't the EVGA B2 750w 65 dollars?

    NCIX almost always has it for $50 in conjunction w/ Corsair MIR and instant savings... sometimes others like newegg

    NCIX = $45 (Savings Code 97531-1714. SAVE $25.00 off our regular price of $89.99 Special price ends 11/30/2016 + Save $20.00 USD with manufacturer's mail-in rebate!)
    http://www.ncixus.com/products/?usaffiliateid=1000031504&sku=97531&promoid=1714

    newegg = $89.99 - $20 instant savings - $20.00 rebate card = $49.99
    http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817438028
    Reply
  • powernod
    If i was short on budget i wouldn't hesitate to use Corsair's CX-M line of PSUs.
    Solid units for that kind of price.
    I don't expect to have Seasonic PRIME 750's performance with 80$ !!
    Reply
  • turkey3_scratch
    18930459 said:
    If i was short on budget i wouldn't hesitate to use Corsair's CX-M line of PSUs.
    Solid units for that kind of price.
    I don't expect to have Seasonic PRIME 750's performance with 80$ !!

    If I needed 750W and it was between the EVGA 750 B2 and the CX750M, I'd probably take the former.
    Reply