Corsair HX1200 PSU Review

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Load Regulation, Hold-Up Time & Inrush Current

To learn more about our PSU tests and methodology, please check out How We Test Power Supply Units. 

Primary Rails And 5VSB Load Regulation

Load Regulation testing is detailed here.

Hold-Up Time

Our hold-up time tests are described in detail here.

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The hold-up time we measured is very long, exceeding the ATX spec's requirements by far. Corsair's power-good signal is also accurate, since it drops before the rails go out of spec.

Inrush Current

For details on our inrush current testing, please click here.

We observed low inrush current levels, especially with 115V input. That's excellent, given the HX1200's high capacity.

Load Regulation And Efficiency Measurements

The first set of tests reveals the stability of the voltage rails and the HX1200's efficiency. The applied load equals (approximately) 10 to 110 percent of the PSU's maximum load in increments of 10 percentage points.

We conducted two additional tests. During the first, we stressed the two minor rails (5V and 3.3V) with a high load, while the load at +12V was only 0.1A. This test reveals whether a PSU is compatible with Intel's C6/C7 sleep states or not. In the second test, we determined the maximum load the +12V rail could handle with minimal load on the minor rails. 

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Test # 12V 5V 3.3V 5VSB DC/AC (Watts) Efficiency Fan Speed Fan Noise Temps (In/Out) PF/AC Volts
1 8.072A 1.986A 1.985A 0.996A 119.782 88.561% 0 RPM <6.0 dB(A) 49.84°C 0.985
12.166V 5.032V 3.318V 5.018V 135.253 40.48°C 115.12V
2 17.182A 2.976A 2.981A 1.196A 239.633 91.874% 0 RPM <6.0 dB(A) 51.02°C 0.994
12.151V 5.032V 3.316V 5.012V 260.827 41.46°C 115.12V
3 26.674A 3.480A 3.496A 1.395A 359.827 92.470% 0 RPM <6.0 dB(A) 52.21°C 0.996
12.138V 5.026V 3.314V 5.005V 389.129 42.28°C 115.12V
4 36.162A 3.982A 3.979A 1.600A 479.630 92.571% 0 RPM <6.0 dB(A) 53.55°C 0.998
12.124V 5.027V 3.314V 4.998V 518.119 43.45°C 115.13V
5 45.348A 4.979A 4.978A 1.802A 599.553 92.106% 0 RPM <6.0 dB(A) 54.95°C 0.998
12.108V 5.020V 3.312V 4.993V 650.935 44.78°C 115.14V
6 54.560A 5.988A 5.985A 2.005A 719.431 91.405% 700 RPM 19.0 dB(A) 41.22°C 0.998
12.090V 5.012V 3.308V 4.983V 787.084 55.93°C 115.11V
7 63.566A 6.992A 6.986A 2.207A 839.318 90.584% 710 RPM 19.2 dB(A) 42.71°C 0.998
12.117V 5.008V 3.305V 4.977V 926.561 59.37°C 115.12V
8 72.793A 7.998A 7.992A 2.410A 959.262 90.006% 830 RPM 21.8 dB(A) 43.66°C 0.999
12.101V 5.003V 3.303V 4.972V 1065.785 61.14°C 115.12V
9 82.456A 8.504A 8.514A 2.413A 1079.235 89.225% 1165 RPM 30.9 dB(A) 44.56°C 0.999
12.087V 4.998V 3.300V 4.969V 1209.563 62.35°C 115.13V
10 91.696A 9.023A 9.007A 3.541A 1199.085 88.348% 1310 RPM 34.5 dB(A) 45.36°C 0.999
12.071V 4.991V 3.297V 4.940V 1357.237 63.43°C 115.14V
11 101.758A 9.032A 9.017A 3.545A 1319.046 87.460% 1525 RPM 38.6 dB(A) 45.51°C 0.999
12.056V 4.988V 3.294V 4.936V 1508.169 64.11°C 115.12V
CL1 0.099A 18.028A 18.003A 0.004A 151.890 84.244% 730 RPM 19.5 dB(A) 43.86°C 0.990
12.158V 5.017V 3.345V 5.070V 180.298 59.99°C 115.14V
CL2 99.934A 1.003A 1.002A 1.002A 1219.611 88.433% 1345 RPM 34.7 dB(A) 45.66°C 0.999
12.071V 5.002V 3.288V 4.986V 1379.139 61.47°C 115.14V

Load regulation on every rail is tight, approaching the HX1200i's performance. That's to be expected, since both PSUs are based on the same platform.

The fan's noise is kept very low, even under high temperatures. It helps that the passive mode lasts a long time, and that the fan only speeds way up during our full-load and overload tests. In no case did we record a >40 dB(A) reading, which is amazing for a 1200W PSU.

Given its 80 PLUS Platinum badge, we expect this PSU to deliver at least 90% efficiency with 20% load, 92% with 50% load, and 89% at full load. As you can see from the table above, only the last condition isn't satisfied, mostly because of the high ambient temperature we test at. In comparison, the 80 PLUS organization tests at unrealistically low ambient temps of 23°C +/-5°C.

In any case, this is a solid-performing PSU that will easily deliver its full power for prolonged periods, even under high operating temperatures. At the same time, its fan won't be a major noise source.


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Aris Mpitziopoulos
Aris Mpitziopoulos
Contributing Editor

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

16 Comments Comment from the forums
  • davidgirgis
    In the Conclusion, 'TO' should be 'To'; and 'demands' should be 'depends'; and 'product' should be 'protect'.
    Reply
  • grozzie
    Not another plug/connector change!. I, like many people on this site, build custom PC's, part of which includes sleeved cables. One bug bear is 2 wires into 1, which is a in in the arse. I personally like the HXi series of Corsair PSU's which only have one such connection. I also think the 24 pin ATX supply is outdated and needs revision. I can't see the point of supplying motherboards with 3.3 and 5v rails. If only 12v was supplied with any or all voltage reduction made on board life would be so much simpler and neater. By providing more noise reduction at source (the PSU) gives Motherboard manufacturers an open cart to reduce the quality of voltage regulation i.e capacitor quality, on the motherboard. Is there really a need for another PSU on the market?
    Reply
  • panathas
    On the specifications table it says: "Efficiency: 80 PLUS Gold, ETA-B", which is wrong since this is a Platinum PSU.
    Reply
  • Aris_Mp
    yes we didn't pay much attention to the 80 PLUS efficiency certification :)
    Reply
  • 10tacle
    ^^What are you talking about? Register and get on Corsair's support forums:

    https://sso.corsair.com/idp/AuthnEngine#/authn

    Of course they have a customer support phone number: 888-222-4346 (North America customers).

    Anyway, back on topic, first the $#@! miners have negatively impacted our GPU market, and now they may negatively impact our PSU market. :fou: What makes this really aggravating is that the PSU makers really can't prove a PSU was used 7x24 for heavy mining operation.

    Worse, even if PSU vendors like Corsair offer a mining-specific PSU for less money with just say a 2-3 year warranty, nothing would stop the miners from buying the full 10-year variant. This mining craze is becoming a real pain to we PC enthusiasts.
    Reply
  • 10tacle
    You are making everyone's head hurt. If you want to complain about Corsair, then do so on Corsair's customer support forums and social media. Also, just FYI, Tom's only reviews what is sent to them. They do not go "cherry pick" buy products and review them. For someone who is an alleged "original reader" of Tom's I'd have expected you to understand that.
    Reply
  • jonnyguru
    jellwood... aka: Alex Jones.
    Reply
  • jonnyguru
    20057343 said:
    Not another plug/connector change!. I, like many people on this site, build custom PC's, part of which includes sleeved cables. One bug bear is 2 wires into 1, which is a in in the arse. I personally like the HXi series of Corsair PSU's which only have one such connection. I also think the 24 pin ATX supply is outdated and needs revision. I can't see the point of supplying motherboards with 3.3 and 5v rails. If only 12v was supplied with any or all voltage reduction made on board life would be so much simpler and neater. By providing more noise reduction at source (the PSU) gives Motherboard manufacturers an open cart to reduce the quality of voltage regulation i.e capacitor quality, on the motherboard. Is there really a need for another PSU on the market?

    Bro.. You're all over the place. :D

    So only the 24-pin is pin incompatible with the Type 3 cables. And yes... it's because of the extra sense wires. If you're really going to get all wound up about having to do 2-to-1 wires when doing custom cables, you know what you should do? Don't do 2-to-1 wires. They're only sense wires. The lack of them doesn't prevent the PSU from working. It'll just make your voltage regulation "as bad" as any other PSU that doesn't have the sense wires.

    Yes. The ATX spec is out of date. But Intel wrote it and nobody is going ot implement a new standard without Intel's blessing. They even released a whole new ATX design guide last month that changes almost everything (T1 timing, T3 timing, standby efficiency..) but DID NOT TOUCH the pinout (they made -12V "optional", but that's hardly much of a change).

    Reply
  • beatnutz
    Jellwood: I find it hard to believe that someone who does not know how to write a proper sentence is preparing any students for anything. Let alone the ACT.
    Reply
  • beatnutz
    Jellwood: I find it hard to believe that someone who does not know how to write a proper sentence is preparing any students for anything. Let alone the ACT.
    Reply