Corsair TX650M 650W 80+ Gold PSU Review

  

Voltage Ripple and Efficiency Testing

When reviewing new power supplies at OC3D, we use our dedicated SunMoon PSU Tester, one of the most expensive (if not the most expensive) tools in the company’s arsenal. Here we can see exactly how well a unit functions. We look at both a PSU’s efficiency and power stability. To do this, we utilise bespoke PSU testing equipment to give us an in-depth look at each power supply’s performance. This kind of data collection is not possible when using a PSU with standard PC components. 

(SunMoon PSU Tester with Corsair’s RM750 Power Supply)  

Efficiency Tests

As an 80+ Gold Rated power supply, Corsair’s new TX650M model delivers the exact efficiency levels that we expect from it. It sits slightly below Corsair’s recently released RM750x (2021) power supply, but when we are looking at efficiency deltas of around 1%, we see no reason to fault Corsair’s TX650M. 

When put under our testing workloads, Corsair’s TX650M performs as intended, delivering the unit’s advertised performance levels. In a sense, this data is very boring, but at least it is the good kind of boring. Corsair has promised an 80+ Gold efficiency power supply, and they have delivered. It’s nothing to complain about and nothing to celebrate either.

  
Voltage Ripple Tests

Voltage ripple is often underlooked by consumers, being best described as the stability of specific voltages that the PSU delivers. A PSU with bad ripple will see voltages vary a lot more, which can damage components or shorten their lifespan in extreme cases. Voltage ripple stability is one of the many reasons why you should buy a high-quality power supply and avoid anything that isn’t 80+ certified.

An important thing to note here is that none of the PSUs in this graph is “bad”, even bottom of the chart units like the original Corsair RM1000 (2014) bring usable within your system without any issues. Even so, having low ripple is an important factor to consider when purchasing a new PSU. Cleaner power will help extend your PC’s components’ lifespan by placing each product’s power circuitry under less strain. Even if the RM1000 is usable in a modern system, though, we would expect all new high-end power supplies to perform better than this unit in terms of ripple. A lot has changed since the days of the RM1000.

Corsair’s new TX650M delivers ripple levels that match Corsair’s 2021 RMx series, highlighting that the lower cost of the TM-X series does not come at the cost of voltage ripple. While some units deliver stronger performance in this regard, these units use PSU cables with in-line capacitors and are inherently more expensive. The TX-M series is budget-oriented, and these are great ripple levels for the TM-X series’ target price. Notice that ASUS’ premium Thor series of PSUs have more voltage ripple. This is a strong result from Corsair.