Under the Hood
Here are a few pictures showing the layout and components inside the Corsair AX850 power supply. The overall layout looks excellent with components neatly organized and excellent soldering on the PCBs. Corsair is once again using Seasonic as the OEM for the AX850, which appears to be based on Seasonic’s popular X-Series.
One of the key design features of the Seasonic X-Series that is incorporated into the AX850 is the two DC-to-DC converters used to generate the +3.3V and +5V outputs, are located on the modular cable connector board. This eliminates some of the internal distribution wiring that could produce voltage drops under high loads, which results in lower losses and higher efficiency compared to traditional designs that have the VRMs on the main PCB.
(Courtesy of Corsair)
A pair of Nippon Chemi-Con electrolytic capacitors are used on the primary, both rated for 390 uF, 400V, and 105°C. The secondary features mostly solid polymer caps also made by Nippon Chemi-Con – very nice.