Introduction

We would like to thank Cooler Master for supplying the review sample.

Cooler Master has had a significant presence in the PSU market by mostly focusing on the mainstream- and medium categories, since their high-end models weren't all that competitive, facing off against opponents with far more current designs and better overall performance. CM’s favorite OEM, Enhance, although a good one, is apparently more familiar with budget-orientated units instead of cutting-edge designs that offer the highest possible performance, and CM has, as such, chosen to work with Seasonic, the OEM that has for many years now helped highly successful companies dominate the enthusiast market, on their new V Series. This collaboration will surely cause significant upsets to the PSU market, leading, in the end, to better products at lower prices through the competition it will generate, which will highly benefit the consumer. With only one company on top, things get out of control easily, but new strategies need to be devised to create competitive products with a better price/performance ratio if another large company claims a significant piece of the market pie.

The fresh V series consists of three models with 700 W, 850 W, and 1000 W capacity. Each features Gold efficiency, a fully modular cabling system, very high build quality, an FDB fan, and, finally, a warranty of five years. Today’s review sample is the strongest member of the series, and its model number is V1000. Like the other V units, this one is also based on Seasonic’s fresh KM3 platform Corsair's AX760 and AX 860 PSUs utilize, so we expect it to be a really strong performer.

Specifications

The PSU is 80 Plus Gold certified and can deliver its full power continuously at even up to 50°C, as the ATX spec recommends. It is equipped with all protection features except for OCP (Over Current Protection), since OCP is redundant to a single rail 1kW unit.

The fan used is, according to CM, equipped with a Fluid Dynamic Bearing (FDB), and the information that its manufacturer, Protechnic, provides proves this to be true. It is a high quality fan worthy of a PSU belonging to the high-end category.

With a length of 17 cm, the unit is a tad longer than most modern ones, but definitely still small for its high capacity. Its weight is on the low side since its high efficiency allows for smaller internal heatsinks. Finally, the warranty is long enough at five years, although the direct competition offers seven, and the price looks good for what the unit promises.


The single +12V rail is powerful and can deliver up to 83 A of current, so it will easily feed an ultra high-end system with multiple VGAs. The minor rails are sufficiently strong, but the 5VSB rail should, ideally, deliver at least one more ampere, although 3 A will cover almost every sort of need.

Cables & Connectors, Power Distribution

The V1000 has an adequate number of PCIe connectors to power up to four high-end VGAs. The number of SATA connectors, on the other hand, looks small for its category given that lower capacity units feature similar connectors in the two digits. We would also like to see at least two additional 4-pin Molex connectors. CM might have been generous with PCIe connectors, but they were rather conservative with the number of peripheral ones. Thankfully, the length of all cables will suffice in all cases, and you won't come across any compatibility issues, even in full tower enclosures. But there is a catch here: the distance amongst peripheral connectors is too small and should at least be 3-5 cm more. Finally, all connectors utilize the standard 18AWG gauges, which allow for good flexibility and relatively low voltage drops.

Since this PSU features a single +12V rail, we do not have anything to comment on about its power distribution.

Packaging

The package doesn't feature a gaming design or vivid colors like those of most CM products, but a rather serious theme instead. The front has a dark photo of the PSU with the modular panel exposed, and the CM logo and the 80 Plus Gold badge are scattered across its upper corners. We also find the capacity description, given in extra-large fonts, and a brief description of the unit's most crucial advantages.




One of two sides has the unit's technical specifications and the power specifications table. The other sides, shown in the photos above, only feature the model number.


The rear has a description of all available connectors, a brief multilingual features description, two graphs showing the unit's efficiency curve with 230VAC and 115VAC input, and the fan's voltage and speed curve.