BLOG

CORSAIR RMx SHIFT Power Supplies: Everything you need to know

RMx SHIFT power supplies are the latest innovation from CORSAIR in the PSU product category. For the longest time, power supplies were one of the more boring components found in a PC: Necessary, but uninteresting.

If you’ve been into PCs for a while, you’ll remember the grey box with a mess of multi-colored cables poking out of a singular hole. It worked, but it looked ugly, and none of the cables were removable, so even if you only needed five of them, you were stuck with the remainder, so you had to find a way to stash those out of the way. It was rarely pretty or great for airflow.

Later on, PC enthusiasts were gifted with the concept of modular power supplies. These allowed the user the freedom to entirely remove unused cables, or add more as the needs of the user evolved. The modular PSU is the closest cousin to the RMx SHIFT, speaking of which:

CORSAIR RMX SHIFT PSUS: SIDE-MOUNTED CONNECTIONS

While the RMx Series of PSUs do fall into the category of “Modular Power Supplies”, really, they’re in a class of their own. This is because CORSAIR made the innovative design choice to move all the ports from the back to the side. This might sound like a minor change, but having the cables plug into the exposed side of the PSU instead of the end makes building a PC significantly easier.

RM1200x_SHIFT_17 (1)

Normally, these cables poke straight into where the (sometimes unremovable) hard drive cages live, meaning that you have to awkwardly bend them round a tight corner to then run up the back of the motherboard tray. With the CORSAIR RMx SHIFT PSUs, the cables are basically already there, making for easier access and more direct cable runs.

So, the initial build is made simpler, but the same goes for future upgrades. Need to add another SATA 6-pin cable for some additional storage? Previously you’d have to snake it through the mess of cables already there to find the port, essentially flying blind. With RMx SHIFT, however, that vacant port is right there perfectly visible and accessible as soon as you open the side panel.

CORSAIR TYPE-5 MICRO-FIT CONNECTORS

In addition to the quality-of-life improvement made by moving the connections to the side, we’ve also integrated our Micro-Fit connectors, too.

Ostensibly, these are very similar to the typical PSU cables you’re familiar with, however, we’ve miniaturized the end that connects to the PSU. This means that the PSU is less cluttered, which has benefits to cable management, ease-of-use, and allows for a more compact power supply.

RM1200x_SHIFT_WHITE_RENDER_12
RM1200x_SHIFT_WHITE_RENDER_13

Additionally, these small cables, combined with the side-mounted connections mean that the storage-fiends can rest easy as you won’t need to sacrifice on storage space because that area is no longer dominated by PSU cables.

It's worth noting here that all RMx SHIFT PSUs come with the 12VPWR cable as standard, making them the perfect sidekick to GPUs like the 4070, 4070Ti, 4070 SUPER, 4080 SUPER, 4090, and any other GPU that utilises the 12VHPWR port.

CORSAIR RMX SHIFT: RELIABILITY, EFFICIENCY, AND SILENCE

We’ve been making power supplies for a long time here at CORSAIR. So, aside from the innovations made specifically for the SHIFT PSUs, we’ve also applied the other features we’ve been developing since entering the PSU game years ago.

Given that the PSU is vital in terms of system stability, we’ve worked hard to make sure that the RMx SHIFT power supplies are as reliable as possible. This provides peace of mind and means you won’t have to splash out on a new power supply for a long time.

To ensure this, each and every RMx SHIFT contains 100% industrial-grade, 105°C-rated Japanese primary electrolytic capacitors. If the quality of the components isn’t enough, every RMx SHIFT PSU comes with a 10-year warranty, too. We weren’t lying when we said that these PSUs are as reliable as possible.

RM1200x_SHIFT_WHITE_RENDER_02 (1)

The RMx SHIFT line of PSUs are now available in white, too!

Of course, a gaming PC is expensive, and depending on your build, it can consume a lot of power, too. So every SHIFT PSU has 80 PLUS GOLD, and Cybenetics GOLD efficiencies ratings. Basically, there is very little wasted power, which is better for the environment, and more personally, better for your wallet.

In addition to the Cybenetics GOLD efficiency rating, Cybenetics has also graced the RMx SHIFT lineup with an A in their noise certification system. So, for those that sit very close to your PCs, or are just more bothered by noise than the rest of us, this is good news as it means the SHIFT PSUs are super quiet. Additionally, they operate totally silent if you’re below a certain system load threshold, as the fan won’t even spin until you start doing something intensive.

CORSAIR RMX SHIFT FULL PRODUCT LINEUP

Ok, now you’re well educated on the benefits, innovations, and quality of the SHIFT PSUs, you’re certainly hungry to find out which wattages that they come in, so that you can plan your next upgrade or build. Here’s the rundown:

PRODUCTS IN ARTICLE

RELATED CONTENT