Corsair RM550x Power Supply Review

The lowest-capacity unit Corsair's RMx line outputs up to 550W and is 80 PLUS Gold-certified. It features fully modular cabling, offers great performance and is nearly silent throughout its operating range, too.

By Aris Mpitziopoulos
published

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Ripple Measurements

To learn how we measure ripple, please click here.

The following table includes the RM550x's ripple levels. The limits, according to the ATX specification, are 120mV (+12V) and 50mV (5V, 3.3V and 5VSB).

Swipe to scroll horizontally
Test12V5V3.3V5VSBPass/Fail
10% Load4.2mV7.0mV5.2mV8.3mVPass
20% Load4.8mV7.2mV5.3mV8.0mVPass
30% Load5.4mV7.3mV5.4mV8.1mVPass
40% Load6.3mV7.3mV5.9mV8.1mVPass
50% Load7.0mV7.6mV5.9mV8.5mVPass
60% Load7.4mV7.8mV7.2mV8.5mVPass
70% Load7.0mV8.0mV8.2mV8.6mVPass
80% Load7.5mV7.9mV9.1mV8.8mVPass
90% Load8.2mV8.2mV9.4mV9.5mVPass
100% Load8.9mV9.2mV11.3mV10.3mVPass
110% Load9.6mV9.2mV12.5mV10.5mVPass
Cross-Load 16.3mV8.4mV7.4mV9.2mVPass
Cross-Load 28.7mV8.8mV12.2mV9.3mVPass
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Ripple performance is jaw-dropping! The RM550x easily matches Super Flower's high-end platforms. Corsair uses every trick in the book to offer the lowest possible ripple, and its results justify that effort.

Ripple Oscilloscope Screenshots

The following oscilloscope screenshots illustrate the AC ripple and noise registered on the main rails (+12V, 5V, 3.3V and 5VSB). The bigger the fluctuations on the screen, the bigger the ripple/noise. We set 0.01V/Div (each vertical division/box equals 0.01V) as the standard for all measurements.

Ripple At Full Load

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Ripple At 110-Percent Load

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Ripple At Cross-Load 1

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Ripple At Cross-Load 2

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Aris Mpitziopoulos
Aris Mpitziopoulos
Contributing Editor

Aris Mpitziopoulos is a Contributing Editor at Tom's Hardware US, covering PSUs.

36 Comments Comment from the forums
  • Dark Lord of Tech
    I just wish they would get the price down , these are a great lineup \ RX.
    Reply
  • basroil
    From the performance it seems like CWT is finally something to consider... It's showing Leadex Gold/Seasonic levels of performance.
    Reply
  • Dark Lord of Tech
    I love the RMX and RMI series , price just keeps me away from the purchase , very very solid.

    Knock a little off the price and these would fly out of warehouses.
    Reply
  • William Henrickson
    They were on sale when new. I snagged an RM750i for $105 -w- shipping
    Reply
  • Dark Lord of Tech
    Yeah the 550w should be about 79.99 to 89.99 , no rebates.
    Then I would grab a few.
    Reply
  • JQB45
    Yeah the 550w should be about 79.99 to 89.99 , no rebates.
    Then I would grab a few.

    Corsair RMx 550W 80+ Gold Certified Fully-Modular ATX Power Supply
    http://pcpartpicker.com/part/corsair-power-supply-cp9020090na
    $79.99

    $89.99 for the 650W version.

    UPDATE:

    Sorry thats with mail in rebates...
    Reply
  • Dark Lord of Tech
    I don't do rebates , takes to long , and maybe you get it maybe you don't , I'll wait for a newegg drop.
    Reply
  • Nintendork
    We really need more platinum/titanium PSU's at 300-500w. Most PC's stays near idle and with the efficiency focused gpu's/cpu's they rarely exceed 100w unless you tax them.
    Reply
  • turkey3_scratch
    Plus companies often don't even send you the rebates, sometimes they just say it was too late or some other bull crap like that. I agree with Blackbird. I've been waiting for a review of the 550 RMx, and what I get out of this review is that it trades blows with the 550 G2 that saying one or the other is better is just silly and extremely nit-picky. They are both incredible. Both offer a 7 year warranty, as only higher-wattage G2s offer the 10 year warranty. They are just so close, that when it comes to picking the better one, the cheaper one is better, and the G2 is cheaper.

    I've actually quit including rebates in my pcpartpicker lists. They are a pain and I don't think they reflect the true cost of an item.
    Reply
  • turkey3_scratch
    17653281 said:
    We really need more platinum/titanium PSU's at 300-500w. Most PC's stays near idle and with the efficiency focused gpu's/cpu's they rarely exceed 100w unless you tax them.

    I wish so, but unfortunately if this were to happen they would end up priced the same as any Platinnum/Titanium 650W unit. It's just the way it works. Quality low-wattage models are priced almost the same as the higher-wattage models. I would like to see something like a Titanium 250W model come out from Seasonic. Something like $40, fully modular. Will never happen, though.
    Reply