Corsair TX vs. OCZ ZT 550W

by Martin Kaffei on 3/26/2012 9:30:00 AM
Posted in Cases/Cooling/PSUs , PSU , Corsair , OCZ , 80Plus Bronze , 550W , ZT , TX Buy the OCZ OCZZT550W Technology ATX12V
$89.99
$20.00 rebate
$89.99
$15.00 rebate

Corsair TX550M vs. OCZ ZT550W 550W

In this review we will compare two almost identical products from OCZ and Corsair. Even so, there are still crucial differences between the offerings. With 550W both PSUs deliver more than enough power for most current systems. On the following pages we'll find out which handle overload situations the best, who has the highest efficiency, and which PSU provides the best voltage regulation.

The ZT models from OCZ are based on a Great Wall design with some modifications in the details. Interesting features include the fully modular cable management and a silent fan control. Today we will review the smallest version with 550W. Here's a complete rundown of the features.

Available in 550W, 650W, 750WSingle +12V railFully Modular Cabling SystemDimensions: 150 x 86 x 175mm (W x L x H)80-Plus Bronze CertifiedMTBF: 100,000 hours5-year warranty140mm ball-bearing fanActive PFCATX 12V 2.2 Compliant

The second unit we test today is a Corsair TX produced by CWT. "Enthusiast Series is designed for reliable operation in high-performance PCs where clean, stable power is important." It's able to deliver the full output power at an ambient temperature of up to 50° Celsius. Like OCZ Corsair uses a double ball-bearing fan. Except the cables with mainboard connectors all cables are modular. In addition the fan grille looks unusual.

Available in 550W, 650W, 750W, 850WSingle +12V railModular Cabling SystemDimensions:150 x 86 x 160mm (W x L x H)80-Plus Bronze CertifiedMTBF: 100,000 hours5-year warranty140mm ball-bearing fanActive PFCATX 12V 2.31 Compliant Corsair TX550M Overview Corsair TX550M vs. OCZ ZT550W 550W Corsair TX550M Overview Corsair TX550M Internal Design and Fan Corsair TX550M Measurements OCZ ZT550W Overview OCZ ZT550W Internal Design and Fan OCZ ZT550W Measurements Comparison Print This Article 34 Comments View All Comments Post a Comment Last Page by Stuka87 on Monday, March 26, 2012 On the last page where things are being highlighted, shouldn't the Corsair be highlighted for efficiency and ripple since it was ahead in these categories? Unless the yellow is just meant to show there is a difference. But it seams in the rest of the areas the better supply is highlighted.

Both supplies look pretty good though, even if priced a bit higher than some similar supplies. Stuka87 Reply RE: Last Page by Martin Kaffei on Monday, March 26, 2012 Sounds more correct, right.
Thanks a lot. Martin Kaffei Reply Quality matters by lyeoh on Monday, March 26, 2012 Has Corsair really improved their quality since: http://www.behardware.com/articles/843-3/component...

FWIW, OCZ and Corsair's nonPSU stuff seem to get returned quite often too:
http://www.behardware.com/articles/843-4/component...
http://www.behardware.com/articles/843-7/component...
http://www.behardware.com/articles/843-8/component...

Both these PSUs might be OK, but why should I care? There are other manufacturers who have a better track record when it comes to quality. Poor quality in a range of similar models is understandable, but poor quality in different types/classes of products just tells me to avoid buying anything from them.

I'd prefer to see more reviews of products from manufacturers that care about quality. Who the heck wants to read reviews of food from restaurants that have a long track record of giving a significant percentage of their customers food poisoning? I don't care how good their food looks.

Are these even significantly cheaper? lyeoh Reply RE: Quality matters by Samus on Tuesday, March 27, 2012 My advice to you is stop reading BEHardware.

Those statistics for every segment they 'measured' are a joke. Just drafting such a distasteful article is a huge lapse in journalism judgement on their part. Nobody in their right mind would gauge component reliability based on return rates over a 6-month period from a single source.

The only way to measure reliability is by reviewing the initial quality in detail and putting the components into real-world scenarios to report any abnormalities over time. AnandTech and other legitimate hardware review sites do this, as does Car & Driver, Consumer Reports, Home Theater Review, Gun Directory, etc Samus Reply RE: Quality matters by seanleeforever on Tuesday, March 27, 2012 while i agree with your point of view, but AnandTech rarely review abnormalities over time. and bear in mind AnandTech is more akin to C&D not CR because AnandTech receives cherry picked product directly from manufactures. and you really have to hope what you buy from your local frys is the same as the one they choose to send for reviewing. seanleeforever Reply RE: RE: Quality matters by lyeoh on Thursday, March 29, 2012 6 month period? OCZ's poor track record goes way back longer than that: http://www.behardware.com/articles/831-7/component...
http://www.behardware.com/articles/831-4/component...
http://www.behardware.com/articles/810-6/component...
http://www.behardware.com/articles/810-4/component...

You haven't even provided a good reason why anyone should care about your opinion on this subject especially since you said "6 month period".

I'd believe BeHardware's article more than I'd believe you, especially since a few simple Google searches for product problems do not disagree with their statistics. So it's not just a freak incident where only the french retailer has higher rate of returns for OCZ and corsair stuff. lyeoh Reply ummm, 550? by fausto412 on Monday, March 26, 2012 I have a 6990 and a n AX850 PSU...that psu gets super hot when gaming. Can't imagine a 550 watt psu not melting. I think the days of the 550 watt psu are over unless you only do single card gaming and don't use the highest end cards. fausto412 Reply RE: ummm, 550? by Ken g6 on Monday, March 26, 2012 Did you miss the GTX 680 review the other day? http://www.anandtech.com/show/5699/nvidia-geforce-... The 7970 would work fine with a 550W PSU too.

Also recall that the 6990 is effectively two cards in crossfire on a single board. Ken g6 Reply RE: ummm, 550? by Samus on Tuesday, March 27, 2012 I run a GTX570, Core i7-950, 12GB RAM, 5 hard drives and some other shit off a PCP&C 500-watt PSU. Whole system is reasonably warm after hours of gaming and is completely stable.

Kill-A-Watt has never reported more than 400-watts drawn from the wall, so my 500-watt PSU never even hits 80% load.

Any never system with a single GPU draws less power, I guarantee it. 550-watt is overkill for most people with current technology. Remember most OEM systems still ship with 250-watt PSU's. Samus Reply RE: ummm, 550? by Stuka87 on Monday, March 26, 2012 I use a Antec NEO-ECO 520C with my over clocked 7950 and its perfectly fine. I never get anywhere close to even 400W at peak (And thats with a 4.1GHz Phenom II) when measured at the wall. The latest chips from AMD and nVidia are incredibly efficient. The 6990 is a pretty big power hog comparatively, and it is a dual GPU card. Stuka87 Reply Subject Comment Post Comment Please login or register to post a comment.
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