The NZXT C650 650W PSU Review: Designed To Last
by E. Fylladitakis on August 11, 2020 8:00 AM EST- Posted in
- Cases/Cooling/PSUs
- PSUs
- 80Plus Gold
- NZXT
- 650W
- Modular
Conclusion
NZXT designed the C650 to land in the sweet spot of price and performance – offering excellent performance while remaining competitively priced – with an eye towards enticing enthusiasts who want to purchase an advanced PSU without breaking the bank. It's a great spot for buyers, but for manufacturers it can be a difficult one to compete in, especially with the prices of more advanced PSUs dropping with each passing day.
With its all-black chassis and cables, the NZXT C650 is an aesthetically neutral product, designed to subtly match the interior of any modern PC system. It features no lighting, which is a good thing for users that want to actually prevent the PSU from becoming the center of attention. Although NZXT is a company that enjoys making visually extravagant products, it seems that they preferred to keep the attitude - and cost - down on this one.
Quality is the strongest selling point of the NZXT C650. It is a unit based on a platform from Seasonic, arguably the most reputable PC PSU OEM, and it also happens to be a platform that was originally developed with long-term reliability in mind. The platform is designed so as to be efficient with the least possible stress on its parts, while the parts are all top quality products supplied by highly reputable manufacturers. It is no wonder why NZXT backs this unit up with a 10-year warranty – it is a product that, above all else, is designed to last.
The performance of the NZXT C650 is very good overall, with the designer clearly focusing on the power quality of the 12V line given the excellent figures we measured from the 12V rail. Readings from the 3.3V and 5V rails were not quite as good, though this isn't unique to NZXT, as most manufacturers tend to neglect the secondary voltage lines just a bit in favor of the major 12V line. The C650's thermal performance and acoustics were also well-balanced, creating a PSU that is quiet when expected and cool enough that it's not struggling to maintain that quiet nature.
As a result, the NZXT C650 is a great PSU overall, with NZXT making the right choice to focus on quality and longevity. The $110 price tag on the PSU is a little bold for an 80Plus Gold unit, and its current availability is rather limited – presumably due to COVID-released shipping backups – which is challenging the market potential of the product. Nonetheless, we feel that the very high quality and estimated longevity of the C650 will entice a significant portion of advanced users and enthusiasts, who enjoy purchasing products that will last them for many years to come.
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Threska - Monday, August 31, 2020 - link
I could see someone going with a shorter ATX power connector. Especially since in my case it really is a short distance and most cables are really long.plonk420 - Tuesday, August 11, 2020 - link
less clutter in your case if you don't have very many components. my daily driver is a 2400G + m.2 ...and 3 SATA devicesLord of the Bored - Wednesday, August 12, 2020 - link
That doesn't explain why you'd want to remove the main ATX power connector.I grant that there ARE some situations where you don't want the motherboard power connector, but they are very rare and the people that need them are used to "manually reconfiguring" the power supply already.
GreenReaper - Wednesday, August 12, 2020 - link
You may, however, wish to replace it if the cable has been frayed somehow, or a connector broke.Might not happen for most people, but you'll be (relatively) glad if it does for you.
Arbie - Tuesday, August 11, 2020 - link
Very important info missing from your cables chart is their lengths. At least, this becomes very important if one neglects to check it...Stele - Wednesday, August 12, 2020 - link
"A trained eye will easily identify the OEM behind the NZXT C650 to be Seasonic" Ya know, it does expressly say right on the PSU label that Seasonic is the OEM...MrVibrato - Wednesday, August 12, 2020 - link
That's what makes a trained eye: To know where to look (:NeatOman - Wednesday, August 12, 2020 - link
Would have liked to see ripple measurements and at different loadsjonnyGURU - Friday, August 14, 2020 - link
Hey guys! This PSU is designed to last while all other PSUs are not!!!! What kind of bullshit marketing is that?Alien88 - Sunday, August 16, 2020 - link
Why are there almost no regular power supplies below 500W or so nowadays? A typical home PC build using an APU and SSD is never going to draw more than around 150W, yet unless you buy a flex ATX or similar PS, you are stuck using a massively overpowered PS that will have shit efficiency at typical operating powers of a regular PC. It seems that virtually all ATX PSs are aimed at the gaming market. For those who neither want nor need a separate GPU, there are very few viable choices. The sad thing is, most people buy a PC with a ridiculously overpowered graphics card simply because they might need it one day, or they simply don't know any better and think they actually need one. Vega graphics has proven that to be untrue (I have a 2400GE and yet do DTP and other graphical design and editing stuff for magazines etc without issue). Imagine how much energy is being wasted globally because of poor hardware choices and a lack of options from manufacturers.