CORSAIR TX-M Series TX550M CP-9020133-NA 550 W ATX12V v2.4 / EPS v2.92 80 PLUS GOLD Certified Semi-Modular Power Supply

Pros: -Corsair's signature clean, minimalist, modern design - light gray colors mesh well with white, blue, black, and myriad other color schemes -A whopping 7 years of warranty -All of the cables are black from end to end and the modular cables are flat for manageability and appearance -As modular as you'd need - the only non-modular cables are the motherboard 24-pin and CPU 8-pin connectors -Matte finish feels premium and the unit is compact and sturdy-feeling (e.g. no flex around the housing) -Extremely cool and quiet -54 amps on a single +12v rail and 80 Plus Gold, which indicates up to 90% efficiency - what more could you ask for from a 650W PSU?

Cons: -Only 5.5 inches between the base of the PCI-E 6+2-pin plug and the base of the other PCI-E 6+2-pin plug on the same cable - this means that if your video card only needs power from one 6+2-pin plug, the other plug on the same cable will probably just be dangling unmanaged since it can't quite reach the cable management holes. This could be a blight for cable management freaks who tend to be drawn to modular PSU's for their ability to eliminate unneeded cables and connectors. -Although the manual lists them under "package contents," I do not believe the package includes a case badge or cable storage bag

Overall Review: I've been a fan of Corsair's since they sold primarily RAM sticks and power supplies, and although they've branched out quite a bit, they still consistently offer products that are reliable, attractive, reasonably priced, and with good quality control. I was pleased to see Corsair revamping its esteemed TX lineup, this time with an even sleeker design and better build quality and specs. I built over a dozen PC's using the TX series, and when someone requested a quality power supply, it was typically my recommendation. Corsair's newest TX-M series has met or exceeded my expectations. I went with something more budget-oriented for testing. Specs are as follows: Intel i5 7600K @ 4.8GHz Turbo ASUS PRIME Z270-K Motherboard CRYORIG H7 CPU Cooler Thermaltake F31 Tempered Glass Edition Case Sapphire RX 580 8GB Nitro+ Crucial MX300 525GB Corsair LPX 16GB DDR4 3000 Corsair TX650M Power Supply (bottom-mounted) (A note about this build: I would have chosen the Ryzen 5 1600 instead if it were available at the time the build began. Also, the tempered glass on the F31 leaks a fair bit of noise.) The build is a dream. It's near silent, with the TX650M completely inaudible. There is no audible coil whine or electrical noise on any of the components, which is an indicator of quality power delivery. Likewise, my Rosewill LCD power supply tester indicated that all of the rails are operating within 0.1v of their specified voltages. I would absolutely recommend this PSU to anyone looking for something reliable, sleek, and high quality with attractive modular cables. I would also recommend it to someone looking to put together a mid- to high-end build, particularly single-GPU. Corsair has delivered a quality product.

Pros: - GOLD certified - Very efficient - Quiet - Powers my build without breaking a sweat - Semi modular

Cons: - None at all

Overall Review: Installed this with a new build using a kaby lake i7 and a 1070. Not a single problem with the power supply at all throughout the build. So far absolutely no problems during usage, even under heavy load. The fan is incredibly quiet and it fit in my case without issues. Due to its high efficiency, this power supply would be great in a htpc with a lot of drives, or a home file server. I would even put this in a small office server. I've waited a bit to review so I could really break this in, and it has put up with a ton of heavy demand for a month straight without any issues. 5 eggs, highly recommended for any project you have that needs 600W (I always leave about ~%10 overhead clearance)

Pros: Quiet Fan is always pushing some air Modular (Semi) Enough cables to sport 2 GPUs Good power range

Cons: I hate working with these hard cables where the ends almost always seem to be oriented the opposite to what it needs to connect to. It's only Semi-Modular. That being said, the 2 permanently connected wires, of them for certain at least one would always be connected anyway even if fully modular. The 2nd wire to the extra CPU power is still almost always connected. So being semi is probably fine for 99% of people. Cost is only ~$10 less than the next better Corsair model, which isn't enough to justify why you'd choose this one.

Overall Review: I ran this for a couple of weeks in my new Ryzen 7 1700X, Titan X Pascal system. It worked fine. The fan runs always at some speed and for me always stayed silent. I couldn't hear it running ever. I had planned on using my already owned AX1200i. The 1200 is overkill, but it has a zero fan mode and with the extra headroom, the fan has never turned on. So why does that matter over this 850 when it's fan was inaudible to me? Dust is why. With zero fan mode, because it never draws in, it doesn't ever really get dusty. With this 850 on the lower end without any zero fan or other bells and whistles, eventually you'd have to take the time to blow it out. I don't understand Corsair and their 20 different lines of PSUs. They've got too many, too closely aligned with too many similar traits with not enough price distinction. I think this is a fine PSU on it's own merits. But when the next model up is only $10 more and it's fully modular and has a zero fan mode, why would this be my choice? Even from aesthetics, this PSU is just a run of the mill plain old looker and the next line up has some elegance in appearance. Still I can't fault this unit. It's got quality internals for a decent price and enough power to cover a fairly high end system just fine. I certainly think you could buy it take your $10 saved for a decent meal out.

Pros: Very high-end looking for the price. Most other companies don't offer the cables looking as nicely as this one does. The fan is virtually silent even at very high loads and the aesthetics of the unit pretty much fits every color theme due to the black and gray. Warranty length is exceptional, just make sure you keep your proof of purchase saved. I don't think I'll end up using this warranty if the PSU keeps functioning as it should, obviously. Great improvement from the last TXm series, this is now 80+ gold certified as opposed to bronze, I will not be opening up the unit but I'm sure the internals are nothing but high end for this price range. More than enough connections to plug in a full sized system without hassle, didn't expect this from a unit in this price range, but I'm glad no adapters nor extensions are needed. Have now recommended for this unit to be purchased by a friend as well, don't see another PSU being worthy at this price range, we'd be looking at the HXi or RMx/RMi series for a step or two above but honestly not necessary.

Cons: None

Overall Review: Would definitely recommend for any system use, up to 2 cards depending on power draw.

Pros: Solid Gold Rated PSU with almost silent fan. This PSU runs super cool and efficient. The Semi modular design is nice and allows you to keep the clutter inside your system to a minimal. Corsair has never failed me and this is another example of quality hardware from Corsair.

Cons: None

Overall Review: You could nit pick about the semi modular aspect.

Pros: This power supply is great. It's very quiet and everything is modular except for the main plug to the motherboard. This allows you to only plug in what you need, instead of having wires hanging that are unused. It even came with zip ties to keep everything nice and neat. It runs very cool. I have no heat problems, even after days of use. It also has voltage protection, short protection, and even temp protection! Awesome power supply.

Cons: None!

Overall Review: It comes with multiple modular cables and features a 120mm fan for optimum cooling. They made a beautiful and efficient product.

Pros: The power supply is a semi modular design. The main power cables to the power supply, including the 24 pin connector is hard wired. It includes several variations of sata power cables and pci e cables. The 80+ gold indicates that it is designed to perform at 80% efficiency at maximum load on the psu. I set this up and ran on my older motherboard with a 3770 Intel chip. The power supply is extremely quiet, I have my power supply as a bottom mount. The cooling fan provided inside of the power supply is a 120mm fan, this will help relieve the heat extremely well. I also noticed when the power supply was just resting, I lifted it up and it is fairly cold to touch from room temperature. The metal frame on it is a very good conductor of heat. The box comes very clean and packed pretty tight. If you are one to store the boxes for future reference or storage, this wont take up much space on the shelf.

Cons: Only real con I can see here, the cables that extra cables provided are not rounded. They are all flat cables, which can make it difficult to mount. But this is not worthy of an egg reduction, just note it if you are looking to have all rounded cables. The main power cable to the board is rounded with a mesh around it.

Overall Review: I was happy to see the power supply came with 10 small zip ties to help with wire maintenance. The power supply case itself is machined very well. It has smoothed edges which aren’t going to cut you when installing the power supply. It is easy to handle, and the mounts line up great! Running my machine at 650w tends to be the perfect power usage for my machine. I used to run at 450W, but it would every now and again experience slow down. As well as it would seem to get extremely hot on max load.

Pros: Solid build quality with good components Fantastic 7 year Warranty Silent Operation Great Voltage regulation Priced Competively

Cons: Not fully modular Somewhat stiff cables

Overall Review: Having built dozens of computers using Corsair PSU's, I was interested to see how the refreshed TX-M series stacked up. It has been updated to Gold Certification from the old version's Bronze and the warranty has been extended to an amazing 7 years, which is great for a mid range PSU. The appearance is perhaps a bit understated and plain, but looks good IMO as I am not into bling. Inside the unit, the soldering was good overall and the use of quality Japanese capacitors is always a plus. Overall build quality appears typical for this price point with no glaring issues and is a solid showing for Great Wall, whom is the OEM. I normally prefer a Fully Modular design, but the Semi Modular design is fine here. The flat cables have a decent length and easily was able to reach everything in my mid size case. They are a little stiff, but I had no issues getting them positioned how I wanted them. Voltage regulation was good. With 3.34V, 5.08V and 12.17V showing under moderate load with little variation. Efficiency was excellent under gaming load as well, showing 90% efficiency with around 300W being pulled from the wall. Which is right on Gold specification. Exhaust temps were low at 91F under this load. The PSU Fan was near silent during the tests. So overall, performance was excellent. Overall I am very Pleased with the revised Corsair TX-M Series 550W. Excellent warranty, good build quality, quiet operation and priced right. An easy recommendation at this price point!