Why does the Corsair vs series get such a bad rep?

Skirres · October 9, 2019

I saw the tier list on PSU's and searched for my power supply and was surprised to see how low it ranked. I personally have no idea why and would appreciate someone elaborating

PSUGuru · October 9, 2019

Several reasons.

for the old VS series (2012 I think?) it was a low quality poor performing poorly designed unit. Not sure on protections, but I believe it lacked some. It’s also group regulated. I’ve heard many reports of those things just Dying.

the new VS is better, but still not something you’d use in a gaming system. Office PCs, sure but nothing beyond that. Still group regulated and the OCP is configured to be way too loose. Allows the 12v rail to drop down to 11v, which isn’t good. Ideally you’d want go be between 11.6v-12.4v to stay within spec.

The old one is something to avoid entirely. The new VS can be used on PCs that draw less than 100w but I wouldn’t use it for more than that.

if you already have it, then yes, I do suggest a replacement.

mariushm · October 9, 2019

It's rated for the value advertised at 30 degrees Celsius ambient temperature.

If the temperature inside the case rises above 30 degrees you're supposed to derate it by 10-20% of its maximum output.

sleeve bearing fan, which will probably last for the 3 years the psu is warranty'ed.

Old design, with low efficiency... you can find newer more efficient designs for a couple dollars more.

45$ gets you a Seasonic S12III 450w ... it's not great, but at lest it's rated at 40c ambient and has 5 years warranty... shows they're confident in their product.

From time to time there's $10-15 mail in rebates for this model or the 500w model, bringing the price down to $30

same price gets you a Thermaltake Smart 500w : https://pcpartpicker.com/product/Wbhj4D/thermaltake-smart-500w-80-certified-atx-power-supply-ps-spd-0500npcwus-w

October 9, 2019

3 hours ago, PSUGuru said:

Several reasons.

for the old VS series (2012 I think?) it was a low quality poor performing poorly designed unit. Not sure on protections, but I believe it lacked some. It’s also group regulated. I’ve heard many reports of those things just Dying.

the new VS is better, but still not something you’d use in a gaming system. Office PCs, sure but nothing beyond that. Still group regulated and the OCP is configured to be way too loose. Allows the 12v rail to drop down to 11v, which isn’t good. Ideally you’d want go be between 11.6v-12.4v to stay within spec.

The old one is something to avoid entirely. The new VS can be used on PCs that draw less than 100w but I wouldn’t use it for more than that.

if you already have it, then yes, I do suggest a replacement.

I have seriously contemplated sending you a cease and desist for having the word "guru" in your name.

Use a VS in a PC that uses less than 100W? Are you serious?

The +12V dropped to 11.076 in Aris's tests because the OCP didn't trip when the PSU was loaded to 132.69% of it's rated value.

Do you read AND comprehend the reviews you read or do you just spew out nonsensical bullshit?

3 hours ago, Skirres said:

I saw the tier list on PSU's and searched for my power supply and was surprised to see how low it ranked. I personally have no idea why and would appreciate someone elaborating

The old VS was bad because it was double forward, group regulated, 230V input only, rated at 30°C, sleeve bearing fan and had a .6mm housing. The problem with group regulation is that it crashes when used with high end cards and if it didn't crash from transient loads from high end graphics cards, the transformer will make a lot of noise. That's going to be true of ANY group regulated PSU. The group regulation and lack of DC to DC means it can struggle to stay running with certain crossloads or sleep states. That's going to be true of ANY group regulated PSU. mariushm pointed out why 30°C rating is bad. The 230V input is a problem if you have unstable mains. If your AC drops below ~200V for more than one power cycle (50Hz typically where 230V is used), the PSU would shut off. Sleeve bearing fans don't last as long as rifle, FDB or DBB and the .6mm housing would damage easily in transit and that's actually why most of the VS's that failed did fail.

The new VS is all of the same with all the same negatives (double forward with group regulation and sleeve bearing fan) except that it's full range input (meaning it works properly all the way down to 90V input), rated at 40°C and has a .8mm housing that is much stronger than the old version.

To summarize: if you're using a graphics card capable of high frame rates, which equate to ver high power spikes (we call transients) and a newer mobo/OS that supports deeper sleep states, you should not be using a VS. Never mind the fact that the PSU probably won't function properly after 5 years.

But if it's working with the hardware you have now, then you have nothing to worry about. Unless it's over five years old, then I would consider replacing it.

3 hours ago, mariushm said:

It's rated for the value advertised at 30 degrees Celsius ambient temperature.

The old one was 30°C rated. The current VS is rated at 40°C.

PSUGuru · October 10, 2019

1 hour ago, jonnyGURU said:

I have seriously contemplated sending you a cease and desist for having the word "guru" in your name.

Use a VS in a PC that uses less than 100W? Are you serious?

The +12V dropped to 11.076 in Aris's tests because the OCP didn't trip when the PSU was loaded to 132.69% of it's rated value.

Do you read AND comprehend the reviews you read or do you just spew out nonsensical bullshit?

The old VS was bad because it was double forward, group regulated, 230V input only, rated at 30°C, sleeve bearing fan and had a .6mm housing. The problem with group regulation is that it crashes when used with high end cards and if it didn't crash from transient loads from high end graphics cards, the transformer will make a lot of noise. That's going to be true of ANY group regulated PSU. The group regulation and lack of DC to DC means it can struggle to stay running with certain crossloads or sleep states. That's going to be true of ANY group regulated PSU. mariushm pointed out why 30°C rating is bad. The 230V input is a problem if you have unstable mains. If your AC drops below ~200V for more than one power cycle (50Hz typically where 230V is used), the PSU would shut off. Sleeve bearing fans don't last as long as rifle, FDB or DBB and the .6mm housing would damage easily in transit and that's actually why most of the VS's that failed did fail.

The new VS is all of the same with all the same negatives (double forward with group regulation and sleeve bearing fan) except that it's full range input (meaning it works properly all the way down to 90V input), rated at 40°C and has a .8mm housing that is much stronger than the old version.

To summarize: if you're using a graphics card capable of high frame rates, which equate to ver high power spikes (we call transients) and a newer mobo/OS that supports deeper sleep states, you should not be using a VS. Never mind the fact that the PSU probably won't function properly after 5 years.

But if it's working with the hardware you have now, then you have nothing to worry about. Unless it's over five years old, then I would consider replacing it.

The old one was 30°C rated. The current VS is rated at 40°C.

Generally yes, I do. However, I sometimes misremember things and I have not looked too deeply into the VS. I just know bits and pieces.

I stand corrected.

Also, I am named PSUGuru because I am starting up a review site caller that. I am still learning and obviously I need to fact check more before I post.