Cooler Master V1100 and V1300 SFX Platinum PSU review
Conclusion & Video – Pushing the boundaries of SFX
Conclusion – Insanely powerful SFX PSUs
It is rare that we get to review a power supply that is truly ground-breaking. Honestly, I am shocked by the fact that these PSUs can both deliver over 1,000 watts of power within the compact SFX form factor. For years, PSUs of this performance level were limited to the larger SFX-L form factor. Now, Cooler Master has forced us to adjust our expectations of the SFX form factor.
With the release of Cooler Master’s new V 1100 SFX Platinum and V 1300 SFX Platinum, compact PCs are longer limited by power draw. There aren’t many hardware configurations that can consume more than 1,300 watts of power. Even with an overclocked i9-14900K and an overclocked RTX 4090, you should not be able to push the limits of these new PSUs. If anything, SFX/Mini ITX PCs will be limited by cooling capability, not the power deliver capabilities of these power supplies. SFX PC builders no longer need to wonder “is my PSU strong enough?” These PSUs are strong enough for anything you can throw at them, at least within reason.
Noise-wise, these two units remain quiet under load unless they are pushed to their limits. Even then, these PSUs are not overly noisy. That said, if you want a power supply that is completely silent, you probably shouldn’t be buying a PSU that’s this power dense.
Pushing a lot of watts in not a lot of space
When looking at our test results, it is clear that pushing this many watts into the SFX form factor has its downsides. Maximum voltage ripple for these PSUs are higher than anything else we have tested. We believe that this is due to the fact that Cooler Master simply does not have the space to fit larger capacitors into this power supply. That said, voltage ripple levels are still low at less than 0.05V. We aren’t concerned by these levels of ripple, it’s just an area of potential improvement for Cooler Master’s future SFX units. Perhaps integrating small capacitors into their modular cables could reduce the ripple on future generation units? We have seen this method used successfully by other manufacturers in the past.
The only real gripe that we have with Cooler Master’s V1100 SFX Platinum and V1300 SFX Platinum power supplies is their included 12VHPWR cables. While their improved overall design is welcome, their angled nature can be problematic. Not all 12VHPWR cables are oriented in the same way on all graphics cards, which can make angled 12VHPWR connectors a problem. That said, users of these power supplies can simply purchase an aftermarket 12VHPWR cable from CableMOD is they don’t like this PSU’s stock cables.
What Cooler Master have created here is impressive. Pushing this many watts into an SFX power supply is an astounding feat. The entire reason why the longer SFX-L PSU form factor exists is because of this design challenge. Cooler Master saw this challenge and overcame it. Nobody else offers PC builders a 1300W SFX power supply. Cooler Master have successfully pushed the industry forward with their new V SFX Platinum series power supplies. For doing that, Cooler Master’s new PSUs deserve the OC3D Innovation Award.
You can join the discussion on Cooler Master’s V1100 SFX Platinum and V1300 SFX Platinum power supplies on the OC3D Forums.
