I don’t think there are any companies who have embraced the RGB trends more than Corsair has, both with their product lineup which has some of the best RGB fans, RGB lighting for your office, RGB memory, and of course keyboards and mice as well as on the memes side of things as well. Corsair has been on point with RGB memes, embracing it and doing April fools jokes like RGB thermal paste. Even the first gif that pops up on Twitter when you type in RGB is their social media manager with RGB glasses and keyboard. But even with all of that their PSU lineup hasn’t had an RGB model available with the competition doing it years ago. But that changed recently with the Corsair CX-F lineup, and today I’m going to check out the CX750F RGB and see what the new lineup is all about so put on your RGB glasses and get ready!
Product Name: Corsair CX750F RGB
Sample provided by: Corsair
Written by: Wes Compton
Amazon Affiliate Link: HERE
**Disclaimer**
LanOC Reviews only covers the features of power supplies due to not having the equipment to test them up to our standards. Because of this, you will not see a performance section, a final verdict, or awards. Therefore, we prefer to call this a preview rather than a review. Thank you for understanding; we keep our standard to the absolute highest for you, our reader.
Specifications |
|
Wattages Available |
550W, 650W, 750W |
Colors |
Black and White |
80 PLUS Efficiency |
Bronze |
Form Factor |
ATX |
Dimensions |
150mm x 86mm x 140mm |
Modular |
Fully Modular |
Cable Type |
Sleeved and flat, black cables |
Adjustable Single/Multi 12V Rail |
No |
iCUE Compatibility |
No |
ATX Connector |
1 |
ATX12V Version |
v2.4 |
EPS12V Connector |
2 |
EPS12V Version |
v2.92 |
Floppy Connector |
0 |
PCIe Connector |
4 |
SATA Connector |
8 |
Intel C6C7 sleep state compatible |
Yes |
Continuous output rated temperature C |
40°C |
Multi-GPU ready |
Yes |
Fan size mm |
120mm |
Fan bearing technology |
Rifle Bearing |
MTBF hours |
100,000 hours |
Zero RPM Mode |
No |
C-Link Ready |
Yes, via lighting controller (purchased separately) |
Special Technology |
120mm RGB Fan Push-button for manual RGB control RGB-In port for software control ARGB Compatible (with included adapter) |
Protections |
OVP (Over Voltage) UVP (Under Voltage) SCP (Short Circuit) OTP (Over Temp) OPP (Over Power) |
Warranty |
Five Years |
Package Contents |
CX-F RGB Series ATX Power Supply AC Power Cord DC Modular Cable Set Cables for RGB Connection Cable Ties Product Manual |
Packaging
In normal Corsair style, the box for the CX750F RGB has that Corsair yellow as the main color. This will get your attention in retail and matches their peripherals and fans. Beyond that, the front of the box is surprisingly simple with a large picture of the power supply powered up with the RGB fan on in the middle. Then they have the model name in the largest easiest to read font on the bottom left with the shortest possible description, “RGB ATX Power Supply”. That does cover the main two features though, this is an ATX form factor power supply and it does have RGB so they aren’t wrong. The Corsair logo is up in the top left corner. The wattage is in the model name and then on the bottom right corner they have the 80 Plus Bronze certification logo.
On the back of the box, they have that same full picture of the CX750F RGB as well as three more that show the side, front, and top profile of the power supply. Those also include dimensions as well. The back has a shortlist of features that are repeated in Spanish and French. Then down at the bottom, they have graphs showing the power supply efficiency across 0-750 watts load and its fan noise levels across the same.
I like that Corsair also slipped in pictures of the power connections that show the number of cables you get with the power supply down on the bottom edge of the box.
When you open the box up, inside the power supply comes wrapped up in a plastic bag and it has foam that slides on both ends to keep it safe. For documentation, they include a manual as well as a small book on the warranty which is five years by the way. Next to the CX750F RGB, you get a big plastic bag of power cables. Then they have hidden away the power supply cable and a small reclosable bag with four black mounting screws and 8 black zip ties. I know given the 80 Plus Bronze rating that this is more of a budget-focused model and I wouldn’t expect them to use one of their nice canvas bags for the cables like Corsair has used in the past. But I do wish that the plastic bag that the cables came in was at least reclosable so you can store any extra unused cables in in in the future.
Photos and Features
For the CX-F RGB series of power supplies, Corsair has options available in 550 watt, 650 watt, and 750 watt which is what I have on hand today. This along with the 80 Plus Bronze rating fits the budget-friendly focus, covering all of the wattages you might want. Even the new RTX 3080 only has a recommendation for an 850-watt power supply and I would consider that to be beyond budget range. The CX750F RGB and all of the CX-F RGB power supplies are fully modular and normal ATX sized. They do still get a step above the normal plain box for a power supply. Corsair gave the corners a nice angled edge just like their RX series.
Being a normal ATX power supply the CX750F RGB comes in at 86mm tall 150mm wide, and 140mm deep. Being 10mm shorter than the width is a nice feature. This is an especially short ATX power supply, most only go down to 150mm at best.
The side profile of the CX750F RGB gives you a good look at the top and bottom 45 degree angled edges. Beyond that, I love that Corsair didn’t use a color theme for the CX-F lineup on their side branding. The strip down the side is black which just ends up looking like a different texture on the already black housing. It has the Corsair logo on the left and then the CX750F RGB model name in a bold font. Around on the flip side, they have this same look, but they have it upside down for anyone who needs to install the PSU with the fan facing in.
The inside end of the CX750F RGB is where you will find all of the modular cable connections. I like that Corsair also printed on here which type of cable set is needed for the CX750F RGB if you want to use their pre individually sleeved cable sets. For connections, you have the two large connections for the motherboard 24-pin on the top left. Then on the right, there are four 8-pin plugs for the CPU and PCIe power cables. The CX750F RGB has three 6-pin plugs under the motherboard power for the SATA and Molex cables. Then because this is an RGB power supply there is a four-pin RGB plugin. By default, it does a rainbow effect, but you have the option to hook up to your motherboard or Corsairs iCue software if you have a controller.
The outside facing end of the CX750F RGB has the 120v power plug of course and next to that a power switch. A majority of the end has tight together holes for ventilation, this is where the PSU’s fan blows out. Then where some power supplies have a button to turn on or off a zero RPM mode for the fan the CX750F RGB has a button for the RGB. This button lets you switch between different preprogrammed lighting modes. This means if you don’t want to hook it up to your motherboard or an RGB controller you do have some lighting options available.
Depending on how you mount the power supply into your case this could be the top or bottom of the CX750F RGB. But on this side, they just have one large sticker. The top has the same branding as the side as well as the black strip. Then below that, they have a breakdown of the wattage and voltages. This sticker also has a spot for the serial number sticker and one for the QC check sticker as well.
On the other side, this is where you have the intake fan which is also where you can see the RGB lighting that the CX750F RGB has available. This is because it uses a 120mm fan and inside of the honeycomb grill, we can see the translucent fan blades and the corsair logo in the center. The fan inside doesn’t look like a fan design that they sell individually, but with its 7 blades, it does look like their ML series of fans. Only we know from the specifications that this fan has a riffle bearing design so it isn’t their magnetic levitating fan. The fan is listed at 100,000 hours for the MTBF and they aren’t running a zero RPM design here, it Is on all of the time but does ramp up in speed as their noise graphs on the box suggest. It stays at its lowest speed from 0-150 watts and slowly ramps up until 225 watts where it ramps up at a higher rate from there on. This means that at idle or non-gaming usage it should stay quiet.
Before diving into all of the modular cables I did want to touch on the two RGB cables included. So the top cable is a standard Corsair iCue cable that plugs into the CX750F RGB and is the same plug that other Corsair products use. They then also include an adapter that goes from the Corsair style plug to a normal RGB plug for your motherboard.
The cable layout for the CX750F RGB is fairly standard. All of the cables except for the 24-pin are black flat cables which are always nice and are easy to hide. You get two 8-pin CPU power cables and they are around 26 inches long. The motherboard 24-pin cable is a black flat cable at its core but for some reason, they sleeved it which I still think makes it harder to work with and doesn’t look as good and it comes in around 25 inches. There are two PCIe power cables which both have dual 6+2 plugs on them that cover most GPU power plugs or work with the adapters Nvidia is using on their Founders Edition cards. These cables are both 24 inches to the first plug and around 29 at the second plug. Then for accessory cables, you get two SATA cables and one Molex. The SATA power cables at long at 33 inches at the end. They have four power plugs, one at 18, one at 23, the third at 28, then the last at the end at 33 inches. These are different from Corsair's old SATA cables as well, for one we get four plugs now where we used to see three. But they also don’t have punch down connections anymore, they have direct cables running into each plug joined with the cable that goes to the next plug. The Molex cable is the same style but is shorter with the first plug at 18, second at 22, third at 25, and last at 29 inches.
So the RGB lighting is of course the main feature for the CX750F RGB so I did want to touch on what kind of control you have with the button on the back. In my testing what I found is that you switch between different lighting effects by pressing and holding the button on the rear. This gets you effects like the one pictured below which is the rainbow effect that slowly wraps around changing colors. They have another that is similar to that in iCue they would call sequential. There is a breathing style that changes the color on each breath and another similar to that flashes and changes the color. They also have static colors as well. Pressing the button quickly lets you flip between settings in that effect mode which for the static options lets you change the color or in some of the others it speeds things up or slows it down. I’m surprised that Corsair didn’t just put a USB port like they have with water cooling kits and past non-RGB power supplies. But I like the options the button provides while also having the option to tie it in with your motherboard or a Corsair controller if you have one. The lighting itself is basically like any of their RGB fans which is bright, especially in the dark.
Overall
As always I should repeat the warning at the start of this coverage. This isn’t a full review, we just don’t have the equipment needed to test the CX750F RGB up to our normal standard. That said I did do some initial testing just to get a feel for things using the Passmark Inline PSU Tester as well as a look at the noise. The Passmark testing takes a surface level look at the performance and you are on your own for providing the load which with one Passmark tester can only be ran through one 6-pin power PCIe cable so you are limited on GPU options if you want to see all of the power usage. I upgraded our bench from the RTX 2070 I have used in the past to the new RTX 3070 which pulls more power and tested things out. I ran the test once with zero load, aka with no test bench hooked up. Then at idle and again using AIDA64’s stress test I ran the FPU CPU test and the GPU test to pull almost 400 watts. The no-load and the idle tests came out good without any issues and even solid slew rates which the last few Cooler Master PSUs had issues with.
When I did the load testing, a majority of the time it was still solid but there was a swing in the ripple results on the 12v1, 5v, and 12V CPU connections which had them swinging out of spec.
In the end, I would still recommend checking out a full review with proper testing like the one from TechPowerUp for the testing side of things. Overall I like what Corsair is trying to do here. They are offering the lighting option on an otherwise budget power supply which doesn’t always get the “fancy” options. They saved money by dropping the cable bag, by going with 80 Plus Bronze, and by going with the button approach. I also like the overall styling, Corsair does a great job of not making their power supplies look like a plain old box and the Corsair CX750F RGB is no different. My only other complaint would be the lack of a bag to store your cables in later. Just a reclosable plastic bag would do even. But you do have the box, so it isn’t the end of the world.
The Corsair CX750F RGB has an MSRP of $109.99, where does it stand in the market? Well, you are going to be paying a premium for the lighting. A normal 750 watt 80 Plus Bronze power supply with modular cables from a reputable brand is going to be closer to $85 and sometimes less than that. But when you compare it to the pricing of other RGB options it is close to the pricing of the non-name brands.
In the end, it comes down to if you need/want the RGB lighting. This isn’t a power supply I would recommend if you are going to hide it away under a PSU shroud and that is the big issue. These were more of an option a few years back, now the odds are the fan will be facing down and not visible or hidden behind a big cover. That’s most likely the reason Corsair hasn’t brought these out before now. But that doesn’t mean there aren’t cases that it does work in. I’ve got RGB power supplies in my wife's unicorn vomit Thermaltake Core P1 build and I also have one in a D frame build. Both cases let you show the PSU off at least somewhat. So keep that in mind when deciding if this is for you, or if you have to have the Corsair CX750F RGB keep it in mind when picking out the case you will use it in.
*Followup* I did send our PSU out to Corsair to have them test it as well and on propper testing equipment it did test fine with at most 47mV ripple. I'm waiting on our replacement to come in to see if the Passmark tested still shows any issues. But again this is why I only consider this a preview and look at the features. For full PSU performance testing you should still also check out coverage from a few of the reviewers who have those capabilities.
Live Pricing: HERE