The new Corsair AX power supply series have 80 Plus Gold certification, full modular cabling system, and single +12 V rail, being based on Seasonic’s X Series. Seasonic offers 400 W (fanless), 460 W (fanless), 650 W, and 750 W models in their X series, while Corsair offers 750 W, 850 W, and 1,200 W models. We’ve already tested the Fanless 400 W and 650 W models from Seasonic, and they proved to be outstanding products. Let’s see if the Corsair AX850W achieves the same outstanding performance.

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Figure 1: Corsair AX850W power supply

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Figure 2: Corsair AX850W power supply

The Corsair AX850W is 6.3” (160 mm) deep and comes with a 120 mm dual ball bearing fan from the Japanese manufacturer Sanyo Denki on its bottom. It has a full modular cabling system, meaning that even the main motherboard cable is modular. This system has 10 connectors and the power supply comes with the following cables:

• Main motherboard cable with a 20/24-pin connector, 23.6” (60 cm) long
• Two cables with two ATX12V connectors each that together form an EPS12V connector, 23.6” (60 cm) long
• Four cables with one six/eight-pin connector for video cards each, 23.6” (60 cm) long
• Two cables with four SATA power connectors each, 15.7” (40 cm) to the first connector, 5.9” (15 cm) between connectors
• Two cables with two SATA power connectors each, 15.7” (40 cm) to the first connector, 5.9” (15 cm) between connectors
• Two cables with four standard peripheral power connectors each, 15.7” (40 cm) to the first connector, 5.9” (15 cm) between connectors
• One adapter to convert one standard peripheral power connector into one floppy disk drive power connector

All wires are 18 AWG, which is the minimum recommended gauge.

The cable configuration is very good for an 850 W product, allowing you to have up to two high-end video cards without the need of adapters. It would be even better if the unit came with two extra video card power connectors for allowing the installation of a third high-end video card.

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Figure 3: Cables

Let’s now take an in-depth look inside this power supply.