Corsair SF600 SFX PSU

[HEXUS]

Does going small mean compromises?

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[DanceswithUnix]

Rather than meaning compromises, I like using SFX PSUs in any space constrained build with an ATX adapter plate (Silverstone PSUs have one in the box) as it opens up lots of space for airflow or bigger coolers.

[CAT-THE-FIFTH]

Rather than meaning compromises, I like using SFX PSUs in any space constrained build with an ATX adapter plate (Silverstone PSUs have one in the box) as it opens up lots of space for airflow or bigger coolers.

Yep,I used the SF450 in my system rebuild:

http://forums.hexus.net/pc-hardware-...-450w-psu.html

It really helped with airflow and the PSU has really nice acoustic characteristics.

Having said that,the biggest negative is the lack of an adaptor plate,which is not that easy to find in the UK and pushes the price up by £5 to £10.

[DanceswithUnix]

Having said that,the biggest negative is the lack of an adaptor plate,which is not that easy to find in the UK and pushes the price up by £5 to £10.

That might drive me back to Silverstone for my next purchase then. My wife's PC is showing thermal problems, and the SFX conversion on my daughter's PC allowed a far bigger CPU fan which made the machine just so much quieter.

[CAT-THE-FIFTH]

That might drive me back to Silverstone for my next purchase then. My wife's PC is showing thermal problems, and the SFX conversion on my daughter's PC allowed a far bigger CPU fan which made the machine just so much quieter.

Scan is about the only company to sell them and actually have stock.

[DanceswithUnix]

Scan is about the only company to sell them and actually have stock.

Which is where my Silverstone PSUs came from

[jonnyGURU]

Well.. Corsair could always include the bracket and increase the price £5 to £10. Of course, that would be penalizing those who don't actually NEED the bracket...

[CAT-THE-FIFTH]

Well.. Corsair could always include the bracket and increase the price £5 to £10. Of course, that would be penalizing those who don't actually NEED the bracket...

I am sure most of us don't need the suede effect bags,badge or some other bits either!

A number of us do need the adaptor though,and it limits the reuse of the PSU and I would rather Corsair increases the price than all the faff of having not included the plate in the first place. I don't honestly think at this price level,an extra fiver is going to make a difference.

In fact I would rather prefer instead of suede effect bags and a metal badge,that they include the plate.

Literally only two retailers in the UK do it and its not even the Corsair one! The plate is the Silverstone one which is rather ironic,since they already include one as mentioned before.

Just think of this as feedback to Corsair!

[DanceswithUnix]

The adapter is a bit of stamped metal. If you can get an entire PC case for a tenner with metal frame and plastic moldings, the adapter can't cost more than tens of pence. Heck, the saving in metal used compared to an ATX PSU is probably more than the material that goes into the adapter.

Silverstone seem to do two adapters, the one that is a fiver that is black, and the one that came bundled with their PSUs which are the same plain grey stamped metal as their cases (which is great if the PSU is going into one of those cases as it blends right in).

[jonnyGURU]

You can't say you'd rather see one over the other in the package if you don't even know the costs involved. The suede bag, badge, etc. literally costs pennies. The bracket does not because you not only have to take into consideration the cost of the stamped metal, but tooling, etc. and other costs that have to amortized into the total cost of the product.

Corsair wanted to provide a BETTER SFX solution (better performance, lower noise, etc.) for the same price as what's already on the market. If the bracket is included, that's no longer possible. If someone is willing to buy an inferior product just so they can get an adapter bracket, I just think that's flawed logic.

[DanceswithUnix]

You can't say you'd rather see one over the other in the package if you don't even know the costs involved. The suede bag, badge, etc. literally costs pennies. The bracket does not because you not only have to take into consideration the cost of the stamped metal, but tooling, etc. and other costs that have to amortized into the total cost of the product.

Corsair wanted to provide a BETTER SFX solution (better performance, lower noise, etc.) for the same price as what's already on the market. If the bracket is included, that's no longer possible. If someone is willing to buy an inferior product just so they can get an adapter bracket, I just think that's flawed logic.

I hear you, and if it really is a significantly better PSU then that is good in itself. But I'm not convinced the evidence is in your favour in terms of the costs.

Silverstone don't make an SFX adapter plate, they make two. That kind of surprises me, and says to me that the tooling for the cheap one is very cheap.

If you use one of these PSUs in an SFX case, then yes it is wasted money. But so far the only builds I have used them on are uATX cases where I use them to improve airflow within the case and I have ended up with a quieter system. This involved removing a perfectly decent working branded PSU (so I am already kind of wasting money in the name of a quieter machine) and dropping in the SFX unit, making use of the extra space to put in a quieter CPU fan.

Now, if I could get an adapter plate easily then it probably wouldn't be an issue, but last I looked I could only buy from one retailer in this entire country: https://www.scan.co.uk/products/silv...supply-bracket.

So I have to buy from that retailer anyway, and it is going into a low end machine, and the cheapest branded SFX psu they sell is https://www.scan.co.uk/products/300w...lus-bronze-psu and that comes bundled with the adapter plate already.

I really hope these PSUs take off as a form factor in general, and at that point the adapter should be as cheap as the 2.5 to 3.5in HDD plates you see around. While they are hard to source and yet cost much less than the postage, having it bundled seems sane.

[CAT-THE-FIFTH]

I could even understand if it was one of the lower wattage units - the higher end SF series will be used in a range of higher end builds with different cases,which will lead to situations like that. That level of the market is bit less price sensitive - so an extra £5 won't sway people!

Remember,these are £70 to £100 PSUs. Not a £30 to £35 one like the CX or VS series which are for a more price sensitive market.

My main builds have all been SFF or mini-ITX since 2005 and I had a range of different cases and even TFX PSUs,which have cost like £80.

Plus,even if Corsair were to ignore this suggestion,I would suggest Corsair sell a second set of aftermarket cables which are longer,if you need a longer set for a different type of SFF or an mATX build.

Remember,in the latter case,which DanceswithUnix does use the SFX PSUs,it means people like him are buying a £70 to £80 PSU instead of a cheaper one which is better for companies bottom lines!!

[krazy_olie]

The more the better.

Mini-ITX with an SFX PSU is perfectly sufficient as a single GPU gaming machine for most people and eventually we will see the price difference come down.

[DanceswithUnix]

Remember,in the latter case,which DanceswithUnix does use the SFX PSUs,it means people like him are buying a £70 to £80 PSU instead of a cheaper one which is better for companies bottom lines!!

Click the link, the 300W PSU I used in my daughter's PC (just an AMD 5800K APU and a R7 260X GPU so more would be silly) is £40 including the bundled adapter plate, and I think the price has gone up a bit since I bought one!

£40, I think for what you get that is a bit of a bargain.

Edit to add: If that was the real JonnyGuru, I hope we haven't scared him off

[jonnyGURU]

If that was the real JonnyGuru, I hope we haven't scared him off

Been here for years.. will be here for more.

I look forward to seeing Corsair's SFX offering expand. The success of this Gold product will be the benchmark.

And while I can tell you that shorter cables are bound to join the selection of individually sleeved cables Corsair currently offers, it's more likely you'll see something from CableMod first. Smaller companies like that always move much quicker.

[DanceswithUnix]

I look forward to seeing Corsair's SFX offering expand. The success of this Gold product will be the benchmark.

I hope *all* the PSU companies expand into SFX. Given how the mainstream parts are heading, with 65W being plenty for a CPU and Nvidia's new range topping 1080 coming in at 180W and looks like Polaris will be less, I can see small PSUs in small cases becoming normal. Having an emerging standard that wasn't intended for a 1u server should help with the fan noise and allow some interesting new case designs.

But then even my old machine has no real need for a 650W PSU, I mainly bought it from the fan speed profile showing it would be near silent at the 300W it does see when gaming.

In fact I do wonder, apart from the Crossfire overclocked monster machines does anyone need an ATX PSU any more? Perhaps that comes down to whether the fan noise is much worse from the smaller fan, but 80mm isn't that small.