While we can neither confirm nor deny speculation and rumors, we can read a trend or two in between the lines. Those rumors and trends? That we could see power-hungry components from this next generation of GPUs and CPUs. While we still have yet to have confirmation of NVIDIA’s next release or what the next AMD Radeon offerings will look like, the announcement of AMD’s Ryzen 7000 CPU series and some clever interview questions from our compatriots over at TechPowerup give us more than a hint of where the ceiling will be - at least for CPUs.
At the core of this discussion is the oft-overlooked heart of any PC system: the power supply. It’s not quite as sexy as a fancy new motherboard or gpu and it certainly isn’t the most bedazzled accessory, but reliable and stable power delivery is vital if you want your PC to run well… and for a long time. And this is where NZXT hopes to provide a simple, but solid foundation for the future with the C1000 Gold 1000W PSU.
Within this product spotlight, we will look at some of the features the C1000 Gold has to offer, where it falls within the current landscape of PSUs, some pros and cons, and what it was like to use in our H7 Elite build.
Specifications
- Retail Price: $179.99
- Dimensions (W x L x H): 150mm x 150mm x 86mm
- Material(s): Steel, PCB and plastic
- Compliance Standard: ATX12V v2.52 / EPS12V v2.92
- PF Correction: [email protected]
- AC Input Rating: 100V-240V 13A-6.5A 50Hz-60Hz
- DC Output Rating:
- Voltage: +3.3v +5v +5Vsb +12V -12V
- Max Load: 22A 22A 3A 83.5A 0.3A
- Output Power (watt): 120W 120W 15W 1002W 3.6W
- Energy Efficiency: 80 Plus Gold
- 10% loading: 85%
- 20% loading:87.5%
- 50% loading:90.5%
- 100% loading:87.5%
- Operation Temperature: 0 to 50°C
- Regulation & Certificate (EMC & Safety): cTUV-SUDus / CUL (UL60950/62368-1) / TUV / (EN60950/62368-1) / CB / (IEC 950/62368-1) / CCC / CEC /BSMI / RCM / EAC / CE / LVD / UKCA
- MTBF: 100,000 hours
- Included Cables:
- 1 x 24-pin ATX Power (600mm)
- 2 x 8-pin CPU Power (700mm)
- 3 x 8-pin PCIe Power (650mm, 150mm extension)
- 2 x SATA Power (500mm, 150mm extension)
- 2 x Molex Power (500mm, 150mm extension)
- Output Connectors:
- 1 x 20+4-pin ATX power
- 2 x 4+4-pin CPU power
- 6 x 6+2 pin PCIe power
- 6 x SATA Connector
- 6 x Molex Connector
- Fan Specs:
- Dimensions: 135 x 135 x 25 (mm)
- Rated Voltage: 12VDC
- Rated Speed: 0-2300 ± 10% RPM
- Airflow: 93.02 CFM (Tpy.)
- Noise: 44.5 dBA max
- Bearing: FDB (Fluid Dynamic Bearing)
- Warranty: 10 years
While this isn’t the first PSU we have seen come out of NZXT, the C1000 represents the top of the product stack in a refresh of the C-series lineup. Beginning with a 650W PSU starting at $129.99, the C-series offers incremental power increase up to the 1000W unit we’re looking at today.
(Left: NZXT C1000 Right: NZXT E850)
These PSUs offer a zero RPM fan mode for silent operation and the cables are fully modular, features that usually come with a premium price tag. NZXT, however, has priced them competitively with other major brands on the market. At $179.99, the C1000 jockeys for position with the Seasonic PRIME GX-1000 and Corsair’s RM1000x. This is a pleasant surprise for an NZXT product!
Since we’re talking about the modular nature of this series, we should talk a bit about the cables packaged with the unit. Like the E850, the C1000 comes with a branded purple pouch containing all of the cable connections you could possibly need for your build. For the most part, the cables are decent from the factory. With the exception of the power cable, each of the C1000’s cables has nice woven sleeves, but the cables themselves are a bit stiff. This makes cable routing and management a bit awkward, especially with the 20+4 pin motherboard power cable. We’ll cover more of that later.
Unfortunately, at the time of writing this article, aftermarket cable availability is a little dicey. While CableMod does have some custom options buried deep in their configurator, earlier sets (like the ones I purchased for the E850) will not work with the C1000. For the time being, we will have to wait to see if compatible options become more widely available for better PC build theming.
Speaking of PC builds, we used the C1000 in our recent build in the NZXT H7 Elite case. This build features NVIDIA’s RTX 3090 and AMD’s Ryzen 9 5900X, so power, specifically for the GPU, is a strong consideration. Because of the nature of the case, the installation was pretty smooth. The mounting holes are easy to distinguish from the typical venting holes on a PSU, so there was no confusion about what needed to line up where.
When it came to the cabling, we were able to plug in the cables to the PSU that we needed before screwing the PSU to the case, tucking the excess length into the bottom cavity of the H7 Elite. We did our best to tie these cables back, but this is where the stiffness of the cables gave us some trouble. Even in its woven casing, the motherboard cable is fairly thick, making it (as mentioned earlier) pretty unruly to manage, but it is the 6+2 pin GPU cables that were, in my summation, the most difficult to work with for this build.
Let me explain:
Because of the 350W TDP, we have made it our practice to split the power connections to the RTX 3090 between two cables even though each included cable has two 6+2 pin connectors on it. In the previous build this GPU was in, we had used the Corsair RM850x for the PSU. This PSU included a few different options for the GPU cables, including two single 6+2 pin cables with a fair bit more flexibility than the C1000’s cabling. So, using two of the C1000’s included cables, we could route them where we needed them, but the stiff and bulky nature of the cables cluttered the build more than we would have liked it. This proved especially when we tried to route power to a vertically mounted GPU.
Final Thoughts
The C1000 is NZXT’s response to growing power needs in the PC component landscape. It is functional for meeting the needs of this scaling and fairly easy to install. Its modular design and optional zero RPM fan give the series that premium NZXT feel that we all know, but there are some things worth considering when approaching this unit.
If users care about strict cable management, they might struggle if they don’t have a decent internal PC case space to work with. Also, the current limitations of third-party options may cause some pause for the more picky PC builder. However, the cables, while a bit stiff for my preferences, do have a high-quality feel to them, similar to those found with the older E-series.
If you are looking for a powerhouse PSU that can pump out the juice needed for the next-gen, NZXT provides a modest offering to be considered in the C1000. The C1000 is priced competitively within its efficiency and power delivery field, making it an attractive choice. If 1000W is way more than you are looking for, NZXT’s other C-series models might be worth your consideration as well.
The product described in this article was provided by the manufacturer for evaluation purposes.
