Introduction

After many years, Corsair has decided to revamp its HXi line with two new units, featuring 1000 W and 1500 W max power. I will look at the flagship model, the HX1500i, utilizing a cutting-edge CWT platform, using digital circuits for its significant functions. The use of digital circuits allows monitoring and control of the HX1500i through Corsair’s iCUE application. Besides monitoring the PSU’s performance, you can select between single and multiple 12 V rails through software and also set a fan speed profile that meets your needs. I find iCUE to be a bit more complex than required, but it is richly featured, and the ability to have custom fan speed profiles is a vital asset.

The HX1500i is rated as Platinum in the 80 PLUS and Cybenetics schemes, and it also has a Cybenetics A- noise rating, which translates to 25-30 dBA average noise output. Not many high-capacity PSUs can achieve such a noise rating, so the HX1500i is suitable for a quiet gaming system. With 200 mm depth, this is not a small PSU, so you should ensure that your chassis can accommodate it, before spending 400 dollars purchasing the unit. I prefer large PSUs over downsized ones, which can be noisier due to restricted airflow in their internals. The use of large fans also helps in keeping the noise low.

You won’t find 12VHPWR connectors in the HX1500i’s bundle, but this is not a problem since you can order one from Corsair. Moreover, NVIDIA made it clear that there is no need for ATX 3.0 and PCIe 5.0 compatible PSUs for its Ada Lovelace GPUs. PSUs following the ATX 2.53 guideline and with the appropriate capacity won’t have a problem powering the upcoming GPUs by using adapters. I suggest you get at least a 12+4 pin cable and avoid using adapters. It seems NVIDIA has fixed the power spike issues that we noticed in the RTX 3000 series products, and the new DC-DC converters apply less stress to the power supply. This is good news for all consumers, most of whom won’t have to replace their power supply, not yet at least.

Specifications