Corsair Professional Series HX1050 Power Supply Unit Review

A really good selling point of this unit is that it means you don’t have to spend any extra cash buying a case, or it can be used as a temporary solution while you are purchasing or modding your chassis.

Unfortunately, the box has it’s limitations- it is only compatible with MATX boards and cannot accommodate graphics cards, large CPU coolers or watercooling, here are some pictures of the finished build:

As I hope you have gathered, the box is not designed to be used as a rudimentary case, but it is so enormous that it could be! I am a sucker for some good packaging and it is great to see that Corsair want to make your unboxing experience fell as good as possible- the quality of the packaging really reflects the quality of the product. The front of the box is nicely printed with a close-up of unit as well as the key information and features.

Moving round to the back we can see that it is covered with information and statistics such as the key features, connectors, efficiency and power ratings. It is all presented in a logical and easy to understand manner which is exactly what I would want if I was browsing a shop to buy a PSU.

The top and bottom of the box keep up the colour scheme and includes a little more information about the unit.

Inside the outer box is a thicker cardboard box, as we are used to seeing from Corsair, inside which you will find your power supply and accessories nicely packaged.

The unit itself is extremely well protected between two thick foam wedges, a velvet bag and a plastic bag inside that which should keep it safe from some of the worst couriers. The foam holds the unit into place to prevent it from rattling and also absorbs heavy impacts.

Included in the box is a plethora of accessories all packaged in the quality we have come to expect from Corsair. It contains everything you will need to get your unit installed as easily and quickly as possible.

You will find:

• Corsair HX-1050
• Modular cable bag
• Manual
• Mounting screws
• Cable ties
• Power lead
• Case badge

You will find most of the cables you need hardwired onto the unit. Although I would have preferred a fully modular design, if you are not using 2x PCIe power connectors on a 1050W unit there is something wrong! All the connectors use a clippable design to provide maximum compatibility, hardwired onto the unit you will find a 20+4-pin ATX power connector, 4+4-pin CPU connector and 2x 6+2-pin PCIe power connectors. My only gripe with this design is that the PCIe power connectors are very visible on a windowed chassis and as many graphics cards still use a 6-pin connector you end up with a few unsightly pins dangling from the side which is why I think the PCIe connectors should have been modular.

I was also disappointed with the quality of the braid for such a high-end unit, although I have yet to see a PSU manufacturer do their braiding to a particularly good standard.

The modular cables, on the other hand, look fantastic as they use black cables which reduces the visibility of the wires though the braid. Also, we can see that Corsair employs ribbon style cables for the SATA and Molex connectors which gives them a really stealthed appearance.