Page 2 - Physical Look - Outside
Our Cooler Master V SFX Platinum 1100W unit is pretty standard with its all-black exterior. Just like its predecessor, the Cooler Master V850 SFX Gold 850W, this is an SFX unit, which is distinct in size in comparison to a larger ATX unit. It shares a similar indented opposite side panel. We also have a slightly gritty surface, which is resistant to scratches. The top shows off a relatively large opening with a hole and a grille made up of concentric rings. The Cooler Master logo can be found right in the middle. A 92mm fan sits underneath this area for intake of air. Four screws surround this top area to ensure the whole power supply is connected and another four screws are found here for mounting the fan to the unit. On the other hand, one different design aspect is how far the modular connectors protrude out. These ones extend further out, which could be due to the need for more space internally for components while still maintaining the SFX size.
The Cooler Master V SFX Platinum 1100W has standard dimensions with a depth of 10.0cm, width of 12.5cm, and a height of 6.35cm. This is a modular unit, which makes the size even more impressive. Most modular power supplies are longer than non-modular units to accommodate its connector board at the back. Even for smaller media PC enclosures, this length should not be a problem. Instead, you may run into some lacking length issues with respect to the included cables, as you will see further down in this page.
Like most power supply units, we have a typical honeycomb mesh with the hexagonal pattern for its ventilation area. This is often used because it maximizes airflow while minimizing air resistance without compromising on structural integrity. The ventilation area plays an important role to let heat flow out the back. Most modern power supplies have an automatic full range 110V to 240V AC line voltage selection, so there is no need for a manual switch as seen on older power supply units. Therefore, the back has just a power switch and a standard power input. There is no fanless switch here, as there is no zero-RPM fan mode with the Cooler Master V SFX Platinum 1100W. This is a notable change from its predecessor. However, this could also result in a more relaxed fan curve.
As we have mentioned, the Cooler Master V SFX Platinum 1100W is fully modular. This means all cables are completely detachable from the main unit. While it is somewhat questionable with regards to why this is necessary, since cables such as the ATX 24-pin and ATX 4-pin/EPS 8-pin practically have an 100% chance of being connected at all times, it is still beneficial when building your computer initially to make routing cables easier.
The rear cable connection panel is clean with similar connectors grouped together and laid out logically. Each grouping is labeled so you know where to plug your cables in. On the top row, we have a 16-pin 600W 12VHPWR PCIe 5.0 plug. Next to this, we have five PCI Express or CPU connections. Any of these 8-pin connection points can be used for either PCI Express or ATX/EPS connections. The bottom row has two set of connections for the motherboard in the form of two headers split into 18-pin and 10-pin groupings. Finally, we have three 6-pin connections for peripheral outputs such as SATA or Molex connections. Unfortunately, the plugs are made so that even incompatible cables will still fit into the incorrect plug, so do be aware of which end of the cable you are using here. This is a design oversight that should have some sort of protection to prevent this. Otherwise, this is a pretty reasonable set of plugs for this wattage.
Overall, the external build quality of the Cooler Master V SFX Platinum 1100W is excellent. Gaps between the metal panes are kept to a minimum and everything seems to fit quite snugly together. All of the edges are smooth enough so that users should not accidentally cut themselves while handling or installing the power supply.
The voltage specification label is located on the outer panel of the Cooler Master V SFX Platinum 1100W. There are two main virtual rails. Up to 20A can be delivered via the +3.3V rail for a total of 66W, while the 20A on the +5V rail brings the output to 100W in this area. The total combined output for the +3.3V and +5V rail is 120W. In other words, your power allocation combination must fall within the limits of the listed specifications. Meanwhile, a single +12V rail delivers up to 91.6A for a maximum 1099.2W. Overall, the combined power output for the whole Cooler Master V SFX Platinum 1100W is an unsurprising 1100W. It does sound a bit confusing to understand how this works at first, but generally speaking, this configuration allows fairly flexible power demands and should be sufficient to accommodate most users. On the other hand, I have seen similar power outputs in the +3.3V and 5V rails on lower rated units, including the FSP Dagger Pro 850W and the aforementioned Cooler Master V850 SFX Gold 850W.
The Cooler Master V SFX Platinum 1100W is 80 Plus Platinum certified, which means that it is certified to be at least 90%, 92%, 89% efficient at 20%, 50%, and 100% load, respectively. In addition, it is also Cybenetics ETA Platinum certified. Cybenetics ETA Platinum means at 115V input, it is certified to be between 89% and 91% overall efficiency, power factor above 0.975, greater than 76% 5VSB efficiency, and less than 0.16W vampire power. Higher certifications available for power supplies of this type include 80 Plus/Cybenetics ETA Titanium and Cybenetics ETA Diamond at press time.
A total of ten modular cables are included out of the box. All modular cables are flat and easy to bend, making them extremely easy to work with. Most of the wires are 18 AWG. However, Cooler Master has fattened the higher current PCI Express cables and EPS12V to 16AWG. There are no in-cable capacitors on any of the cables.
The following modular cables are included out of the box:
- 1x ATX 20+4 pin, 30.0cm
- 1x ATX/EPS 4+4 pin, 45.0cm
- 1x ATX/EPS 8 pin, 45.0cm
- 1x 12VHPWR PCIe 12+4 pin, 40.0cm
- 3x PCIe 6+2 pin, 40.0cm
- 2x SATA, 4 connectors, 10.0cm to first connector, 15.0cm spacing thereafter
- 1x Molex, 4 Molex connectors each, 10.0cm to first connector, 12.0cm spacing thereafter
While these cables are also pretty short compared to ones included with modular ATX power supplies, these are somewhat expected for SFX units. If there was one cable I would like to see lengthened, it would be the SATA and Molex cables, as 10.0cm to the first connector is a bit too short to use the first connector in a slightly larger case. However, they have increased the length between each connector, which should make it easier to use in larger cases. I should also mention the newer 12VHPWR connection is oriented at a 90-degree angle and made to be more durable to prevent some of the issues we have seen with this connector and issues with poor contact.
Page Index
1. Introduction, Packaging, Specifications
2. Physical Look - Outside
3. Physical Look - Inside
4. Minor Tests and Conclusion
