Corsair SF750 Platinum power supply review Introduction

Corsair SF750 Platinum power supply review Introduction

We put the new Corsair SF750 Platinum power supply on our test bench today. It’s the most powerful model in the Corsair SF series. There are also variants with less power – a 600 and 450 W ones, both also with 80 Plus Platinum Certification. This is important because the energy consumed does not go to waste (at least not in a significant amount), and this affects your energy bill. The Corsair SF750 Platinum is a small form factor (SFX) power supply, but it’s still possible to install it in ATX systems. It comes with 80 Plus Platinum certification, which means that it’s 92% efficient at 50% load @ 115 V, and even 94% efficient @ 230 V. It seems to be an interesting product for people with HTPC chassis who need an efficient, powerful, and reliable solution.

It’s a fully modular PSU, so even the motherboard connectors are not attached permanently (but you still have to use them, correct?). This feature is not really necessary, as an increasing number of cases are now fitted with a power supply shroud (at least ATX-sized ones), but it’s still easier to manage cables this way. The fan works in hybrid mode (semi-passive), so you should be able to achieve a very nice acoustic experience. The fan size is 92 mm, whereas the entire power supply measures just 128 mm. The fan uses FBD bearings, and it’s controlled by a temperature sensor. The SF 750 Platinum is built with 100% Japanese 105℃ capacitors, so you can really count on the reliability of this unit.

Corsair’s SF750 Platinum is backed by a 7-year warranty. This is a good offer, but Seasonic provides even twelve years of warranty for their Prime series and 10 years for their Focus SGX model (the same PSU format as the one reviewed here). MSRP is about 149.90 EUR. Ok, let’s check out this SFX PSU from Corsair, shall we?

Corsair markets the SF series as their 80 Plus Platinum power supplies. Certification is performed by an organization called (yes, you guessed it right) 80 PLUS. But what does this mean “on paper”? It’s a program that was introduced in 2004 and intended to promote efficient energy use in computer power supply units (PSUs). Only products that have more than 80% efficiency at 20, 50, and 100% load, and a power factor of 0.9 or more, are eligible. This means that the PSU will waste 20% or less electric energy as heat, reducing power consumption and bills as compared with less efficient designs.

As you can see above, there are 80 Plus, Bronze, Silver, Gold (these three are from 2008), Platinum (2009), and Titanium (2012) certificates. Nowadays most computers with a single GPU don’t need more than a 600-650 W PSU, as power consumption has dropped over the years. The PSU tested today is the most efficient at 50% load (375 W), but the differences above and under this threshold are not significant. You don’t need to keep it exactly at half load, but for better noise performance, longevity, etc., it’s better to stay below the maximum wattage. The reviewed sample is 80 PLUS Platinum certified – up to 90~92% efficiency @ 115 V (at 20~100% loads) and has active PFC with a power factor of up to 0.99. It consumes < 0.3 W in its off-mode, complying with the ERP standard. If you want to check the Corsair SF750 PLATINUM’s measurements taken by the 80 Plus organization, you can have a look at them here.