Corsair AX1500i PSU review - Certification and Efficiency

Certification

So, Corsair offers a 80+ Titanium certification as certified by the 80PLUS organization (the people that certify and test efficiency). We already explained a little what that literally means. But what does such a certification entail? Well, 80 Plus (trademarked 80 PLUS) is a voluntary certification program intended to promote efficient energy use in computer power supply units (PSUs). Launched in 2004 by Ecos Consulting, it certifies products that have more than 80% energy efficiency at 20%, 50% and 100% of rated load, and a power factor of 0.9 or greater at 100% load. That is, such PSUs will waste 20% or less electric energy as heat at the specified load levels, Thus reducing electricity use and bills compared to less efficient PSUs. Sometimes, rebates are given for manufacturers who use 80 Plus-certified PSUs.

Well, we have standard, bronze, silver, gold, platinum and this now Titatium certifications. A PSU that is certified 80 PLUS Gold or 80 PLUS Platinum is more efficient than a normal unit. BTW the specs have been updated just a notch I shortly noticed prior to releasing this review, have a peek:

Below you'll find a table that shows what efficiency levels a PSU has to achieve at a given load to make the grade for a specific certification level.The Corsair AX1500i power supplies are certified by the 80PLUS organization to deliver a 96% energy efficiency at 50% load and still 90% efficiency when your PC idles (at 230Volts) . 

Above, you can see a diagram of how the PSU behaves efficiency wise.

Digitally-controlled power
State-of-the-art DSP-based power control technology providing outstanding DC voltage regulation, reliability and stability. 80 PLUS Titanium Efficiency. DSP-control and Zero Voltage Switching and Zero Current Switching (ZVS / ZVC) technology results in up to 94% energy efficiency, resulting in lower energy bills, and less heat and noise.

Ultra Low Noise Design
Thanks to its high efficiency and low heat output the AX1200i is able to operate in a silent, fanless mode up to 30% of the rated
wattage (450W), allowing for the possibility of fanless gaming. The fan speed ramps slowly above 30% load, so even fully-loaded PCs can be powered quietly.

Low Ripple and Noise: up to 3x better than the ATX Spec
Low ripple and noise equals high-quality power, allowing your performance-critical components, such as high-end graphics cards, to operate reliably for longer.

125 Amp Single +12V Rail
The AX1500i features a massive 125 Amp single +12V rail, making it the idea PSU for ultra-high end SLI and Crossfire gaming PCs based around multi-core CPUs.

Corsair LINK interface
Thanks to the DSP-based design, the AX1500i can be accessed using the Corsair Link interface. This server-inspired diagnostic tool can record and monitor real-time efficiency, power usage, and adjust fan profiles. Uniquely, the AX1500i can also be configured as a multi-rail device with individual PCI-E over-current protection (OCP) trip points.

Self Test Switch
The self test switch on the PSU confirms that all the DC output voltage rails are functioning correctly, and the fan is functional, providing a simple method of checking that the power supply is functioning correctly.

Fully Modular Cable System
The fully modular cable system provides total flexibility when building or upgrading your PC, since you use only the cables that you need. This reduced cable clutter also improves case airflow and cooling, and makes it much easier to build your high-end system and route cables.

Reliable
As with all AX PSUs, the AX1500i is built with premium components, such as high-temp 105C capacitors, and is capable of continuous power delivery at a temperature rating of 50° C, ensuring maximum performance and reliability even in the most hot-running performance PCs.
Protected
The AX1500i features a comprehensive array of protection and safety features. This includes Over-Voltage Protection (OVP), and Over-Current Protection (OCP) on the 12V, 5V, and 3.3V rails, Over-Temperature Protection (OTP), and Short-Circuit Protection (SCP).

Corsair Professional Series AXi PSUs are backed by a 7-year warranty and customer support via telephone

The Corsair 1500AXi uses a server-grade power train architecture and a Digital Signal Processor (DSP) to provide digitally controlled power. This DSP-controlled design features a proprietary control architecture to allow for dynamic, on-the-fly performance optimization.

This design delivers stable power over the whole load range, and automatically compensates for DC output cable voltage drop. This ensures tight DC output voltage regulation without the ripple/noise and other issues associated with traditional PSU architectures.

The AX1500i also incorporates digital interleaved power factor (PF) and PWM control. This ensures the highest possible power factor and lowest total harmonic distortion under all load conditions, via an optimized software algorithm. Also, the digital platform ensures fast real-time performance tuning and power-train optimization (chart above), resulting in a state-of-the art power supply that is simply unmatched in the marketplace.