CoolerMaster V1200 Platinum Unboxing

[djdestiny]

As we have seen thus far, CM V-series have been a hit with enthusiasts what with it's lower than standard prices for a PSU of it's caliber.
Moving forward they have launched a new model based on Seasonic's XP3 platform which has up to 1200W power output.
So, OK, there have been 1200W platinum PSUs before. (Corsair AX1200i)
But, this is far cheaper. By almost or about 70$ in fact. What do we lose for $70? Not really a lot, all you lose is usb monitoring & configuration which, in my experience with Corsair Link is that it hardly works when you want it to.
Let me get to the unboxing

CoolerMaster is in fact advertising it as a mining power supply AND a analog PWM PSU that beats out digital power supplies in stability.
According to CoolerMaster it has 1% voltage regulation on the 12v rail.
Will this perfect a score on jonnyguru by the Wolf? I don't know.

CM claims you can save a money with a platinum power supply, the issue with that claim is that there aren't many smaller platinum power supplies.
They tend to be ginormous most of the time or expensive because it's fanless so if you have a small computer you can't save any money going to a platinum power supply over time besides the obvious fact that only a couple of Seasonic Platinums are brought in locally.

It's hard for me to say that auto/hybrid fan control is a first but what I must add is that putting the switch on a PCI bracket is rather a bit ... foolish.
Have you ever reached to the PCI slots to turn the switch?
Couldn't they have done what Seasonic did and left the switch on the power supply?
I don't know.
Good thing the default mode is hybrid instead of auto, could be a bad thing or a good thing what do you think?

Here's the inner box. Nothing to see here.

Marks of an obvious seasonic manufactured PSU, if you look at most seasonic boxes they have this smiley face.
Will it cut me if I open the box?

No it didn't.
And in the box there is the PSU covered well under soft foam in a nice bag as well as the accessories along with the hybrid fan controller and the cables bag. As well as the user manual

These are the cable bags.

To be continued ...

 

[djdestiny]

I like that they used all ribbon cables. (apart from the 24pin as that would be a nightmare to manage) 24pin ATX cable is black on the inside and sleeved on the outside

A look of the modular connector section. Believe it or not but every connector is utilized in this PSU, unlike the Seasonic Platinum 1200 which is 1 less PEG plug compared to the V1200
It must said, CoolerMaster is a bit late to bring out a Mining-oriented PSU considering the market has already died down considerably.
(I did see this PSU a while back already though ...)

The sides are printed not printed on a sticker and then pasted on.
Nice quality touch.

This is the CM V1200's fan grille. It is actually a aluminium plate above the PSU and the plate along with the fan is bolted onto the PSU's chassis
This is the fan that cools the unit it's a FDB bearing 135mm fan from Protechnic.
These aren't the best fans in use for a PSU but it gets the job done well.
It's a shame it isn't PWM controlled like the delta-built PSUs from Antec but only Delta uses PWM fans

Plan view. Simple dark background info sticker.

Not shown are normal screws used to secure the PSU to the case,
not so good as even a FSP Aurum S has thumbscrews for that job.
But zipties are provided in the package which is a real surprise but nonetheless a good addition,
I always run out of zip ties on smaller cases but clearly this PSU is meant for a big chassis.

For more explanation on what 1200w+125w = 1200w of course, it is a VRM technology utilizing PSU that taps off the 12V line to convert for the peripheral voltages.
this is more efficient and maintains tight regulation irrespective of load on other voltages and you can get full power out of 12V which is what is used all the time these days
About the -12V voltage line, when will the ATX 12V spec get rid of it? It's not used AFAIK.
5VSB is the supply line that supplies your motherboard when the main 12V is switched off.
A unstable 5VSB leads in a dead motherboard

Rounding up the unboxing and review I would like to say that this is a really well-built PSU albeit rather heavy but the heft feels nice.
Techpowerup has given a 9.5/10 rating for this PSU so this goes to show how good this PSU is.
Here it is : Cooler Master V Series Platinum 1200 W Review | techPowerUp

Upsides?
It's small for what it does.
Quiet
Clean design and not extremely weird looking like a Thermaltake DPS
Cheap as in sensibly-priced. It's by no means a cheap PSU but it's sensibly priced and cheaper than it's competitors of the same caliber and has performance to back that up
Quality build and has a nice heft to it.
Downsides?
The PCI mounted fan mode controller is the only issue with the power supply. I have installed it in my rig but will most? I don't think most would even bother.

Wrapping up :
I have to say this is a really good value power supply if you use a Tri-Fire/Tri-SLI system like inoran81 does *cough* (when are you going to finish your rig ah) or K-Dash.
Built well and looks great. Would you buy one anytime soon?

 

[escksu]

Not surprising since this is essentially a Seasonic PSU. Seasonic PSU always gather top results from johnnyguru.

Only issue is price and warranty.

 

[Alphas]

Really overkill, waiting for 2KW psu now!

 

[djdestiny]

Not surprising since this is essentially a Seasonic PSU. Seasonic PSU always gather top results from johnnyguru.

Only issue is price and warranty.

368$ from fuwell cybermind. Warranty is 7 years.

Really overkill, waiting for 2KW psu now!

2kW ... :x

 

[djdestiny]

Update : From PC Themes it's 349 or thereabout. Epic value