Value and Conclusion
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| 8.7 | The RM1000 could take a much higher spot in my performance graph if it only had better ripple suppression, but CWT must have missed something as my sample registered high ripple on the +12V rail, which matters the most, and enough to put the 3.3V rail on the verge of failing the test. Ripple suppression with 90% of its maximum-rated-capacity load was, thankfully, much better, but I expected it to perform well throughout its entire load range since it is a 1 kW PSU. The RM1000 performed very well in all other tests, achieving a tight enough voltage regulation on the major rails and very high efficiency with, especially, low loads, where it easily smoked the competition. All the rails also registered incredibly low voltage drops in the rather demanding Advanced Transient Response tests. However, not only is ripple suppression poor as I also spotted a problem with the RM1000's hold-up time, which was below the limit the ATX spec sets. Larger bulk caps are apparently necessary, but those would also cost more and lower overall efficiency. For last I left this unit's very quiet operation, although my sample suffered from a bit of coil whine with mid-level loads, which might annoy noise-sensitive users—the most likely crowd to purchase RM units because they are, aside from passive units, considered among the quietest units available today. To sum up, the RM1000 could easily get a recommendation and a score above 9.0 from me with a few fixes, but its mediocre ripple suppression managed to spoil the overall positive picture. Corsair, which so far has had a great reputation with PSUs, should immediately take a look into the RM1000's increased ripple to fix this issue as soon as possible with CWT, this unit's OEM. While this problem only occurs at very high loads, near to the unit's full capacity, it is unjustifiable. I would also like to see a higher triggering point for its OTP (Over Temperature Protection) since I encountered shut downs once I put a full load on the PSU while ambient temperatures were no higher than 44°C-45°C. |

