Is this Corsair PSU worth the extra money compared to the non-Shift variant?
Updated: Jun 20, 2024 11:47 am
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Corsair are one of the PSU manufacturers we rate most highly; they tend to release reliable products, which is exactly what you want in a power supply. The company has been in the PSU game for a long time and occasionally treat us to a bit of design innovation, such as with this particular model. The Corsair RM1000X Shift is essentially the same as the standard RM1000X, but with one simple design change: the power connectors are now located on a different side of the case, designed to make cable management that much easier. Read on to see what we thought of this new setup.
Specifications
Wattage: 1000W
Modularity: Fully modular
Efficiency rating: Gold
Compliance/compatibility: ATX12V v3.1, PCIe 5.0, EPS 2.92
Dimensions: 150 x 85 x 180mm
Weight: 1.88kg / 4.14lb
What We Think
The RM1000X Shift is a great PSU. It introduces an innovative yet straightforward adjustment that streamlines the process of building, upgrading, and managing cables. Like the standard RM1000X it has quiet operation, high efficiency, and is ATX 3.1 compatible, however it does cost quite a lot of money and buyer’s need to make sure the rearranged modular panel is compatible with their particular case.
Pros
Side panel great for cable management (if compatible with your case)
Zero RPM mode for ultra-quiet operation
ATX 3.1 compatible
PCIe 5.0 cables are included to power the latest Nvidia and AMD GPUs
Cons
Expensive
Included cables can be a bit on the short side
Pricing
Corsair Gold-rated PSUs aren’t the cheapest out there, and you pay extra for the privilege of the side-placed panel over the standard RMx series. For instance the RM1000x is available for $189.99, whereas the RM1000x Shift costs an additional $30, at $209.99. Still, you can be sure of the quality of the product you get and have the pieces of mind of the 10 year warranty.
Below is the pricing for the different Wattage variants of the Corsair RMX Shift series:
RM750X Shift (750W) = $149.99
RM850X Shift (850W) = $159.99
RM1000X Shift (1000W) = $209.99
RM1200X Shift (1200W) = $269.99
Design
The 100W capacity on this PSU is sufficient to run the most powerful graphics cards and CPUs currently on the market. Like the standard version the RM1000X Shift is ATX 3.1 compatible and has a native 16-pin PCIe 5 connector, meaning it is fully compatible with the latest GPUs including the Nvidia 40-series graphics cards, and will provide the very best power stability and protection against spikes. In total you get seven PCIe connectors to accommodate multiple GPUs or add-in cards.
The fan is the Corsair NR140P (12V, 0.22A), which is 140mm in size and has fluid dynamic bearings, which help to make it pretty quiet, as we will see in the test results below.
In terms of the key selling point of this PSU: the shifted positioning of the power connectors, this does make it a lot easier to put your build together, with the cables a lot more visible and accessible when you take off the rear panel of your case. It removes a lot of the fumbling around when you’re plugging and unplugging cables after the PSU has been installed.
One thing to note though, we did find the cables included with the power supply to be a bit on the short side in our build. Given it’s a fully modular PSU you can always swap these for osme alternative ones, but it’s less than ideal.
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Size & compatibility
Besides the rearranged modular panel RM1000X Shift has the standard ATX form factor, so any ATX case should be able to fit it in no problem. Thaat being said the rearranged modular panel might not be accessible in all cases: some case chassis have PSU compartments/shrouds that might cover up the side with the cabling, so just make sure that your chosen case won’t obstruct this section before you buy.
The Corsair RM1000X Shift comes with the following dimensions: 150 x 180 x 85mm. Note the 750W and 850W variants are a little smaller in terms of the depth though.
Sound & efficiency
As you’d expect from a Gold-rated PSU (both in the 80 Plus standard and the Cybernetics standard), the efficiency of the RM1000X Shift is pretty damn good. Looking at the Cybernetics website for the details of their testing, we see that when tested at 115V it averaged an efficiency of 88.494%, with the 5VSB efficiency coming in at 76.997%. When tested at 230V the efficiency result was 90.176% and 78.295% in the 5VSB test.
In terms of noise output the Corsair RM1000X Shift is pretty quiet. It has an overall Cybernetics noise rating (LAMBDA) of A. In testing it measured with an average noise output of 23.62 dB(A) at 115V and 23.59 dB(A) at 230V.
Warranty & Support
As with most Corsair Gold PSUs you get a 10 year extended warranty on this power supply, which is ideal and a testament to the confidence Corsair have in the reliability and quality of the product.
