The Corsair RM Series is absolutely outstanding from its 80-Plus certification to its CONTINUOUS power ratings to its nearly silent operation plus it truly is fully modular.
SILENT OPERATION
The RM series doesn't turn on the fan as long as the computer is using less than 40% of the power output. This means, unless you're beating the heck out of your machine with Maya 3-D modeling or using the entire Adobe Creative Suite at the same time, you will hear NO NOISE from your power supply. I selected this power supply for a whisper-silent build using a NZXT H630 Case, Nexus fans, and a Cooler Master Hyper 212 CPU cooler along with SSDs, so I wanted quiet. The RM series does not disappoint.
CONTINUOUS 80 PLUS POWER
When you're selecting a power supply, it is absolutely CRITICAL that you select a supply with a CONTINUOUS power rating, not a PEAK power rating. Continuous means the power supply delivers its power rating the entire time it's on with no dipping. Peak power ratings mean that the power supply can hit that power rating briefly, but cannot sustain that power delivery. If you're talking about gaming video cards and/or running lots of drives, you want continuous power. 80-Plus certification means the power supply runs efficiently, doing the best it can to use as little power as necessary so your utility bills don't skyrocket.
FULLY MODULAR
I've been using "modular" power supplies for a few years now, and I've discovered that modular can mean different things to different manufacturers. Some manufacturers believe that modular means that the accessory plugs can be added and taken away, but your main cables such as mobo power and at least one 6-pin power rail are going to permanently attached to the power supply. Not so with the Corsair RM series. You can pick and choose exactly what you want to run off the power supply.
Why is this a big benefit? For the majority of users, it's not. Sure, it's cool to fully customize your power supply, but if it's the only PSU in the box, you'll want to run the mobo power cables, for sure. Where fully modular PSUs are neat is in options: imagine you want to run a triple or quad SLI/Crossfire rig with four SSDs in RAID with four 3TB/4TB HDDs for data? You're going to need a TON of power, possibly more than a single power supply can deliver, but, you won't need two power supplies delivering power to the mobo. Now, you can run two PSUs with only one delivering power to the mobo while the other delivers power to all the HDDs, for example.
OVERALL
The Corsair RM Series is quite possibly the best solution on the market currently for power users who don't want to sacrifice silence for performance. The RM series truly gives the best of all worlds by offering quiet, consistent power at a truly reasonable price.
| Brand | Corsair |
|---|---|
| Item model number | CP-9020055-NA |
| Item Weight | 7.12 pounds |
| Product Dimensions | 7.09 x 5.91 x 3.39 inches |
| Item Dimensions LxWxH | 7.09 x 5.91 x 3.39 inches |
| Department | psu |
| Manufacturer | Corsair |
| ASIN | B00EB7UITQ |
| Is Discontinued By Manufacturer | No |
| Date First Available | September 12, 2013 |
