Corsair RMx Shift Release

Introduction

The RMx series has been Corsair’s bestselling PSU ever since the first version of it came out back in 2015. It’s seen its refreshes in 2018 and 2021 with a cheaper-to-produce base platform, a different fan, better low-load efficiency and much more we could mention here. But today, after months of it showing on Intel reports, leaking out via various sources, and hours of online discussion, Corsair has shifted their focus on the RMx and took the connectors to the side with it, this is the RMx Shift series.

We have previously reviewed the RMx, rather favorably. It will be quite interesting to see how the Shift series stacks up against its more common brethren. If you’re interested in reading the prior RMx review, the link is here.

The ” RMx Shift” concept

The idea of the RMx Shift is simple. Currently, connectors are put in a way that you connect them from the front of the unit. This can interfere with HDD bays, radiators, and much more… Since you often have some room left behind the panel, you could also put the connectors on the side, and route them from there. This won’t interfere with anything next to the PSU and could lead to easier cable management.

MSRP

750w – 149,99-175,90 USD
850w – 159,99-191,90 USD
1000w – 209,99-241,90 USD
1200w – 259,99-285,99 USD

At face value, this is rather rough compared to the rest of the market… But these kinds of units often retail well below their MSRP, so we’ll wait and see how retail pricing for it is.

Compatibility

Corsair makes the following note for compatibility with the RMx Shift on their site:

The PSU and cables will fit in any PC case that supports ATX PSU format and is at least 210mm (8.3″) wide. The PSU must also be accessible from the side when mounted in the case.

While it would’ve been nice to see compatibility charts from Corsair for their cases, we’ll likely see validation of either users or third-party reviewers soon. Either way, hopefully giving a clearer indication to users which cases do and don’t fit.

ATX 3.0

Corsair also made RMx shift its first PSU to officially market itself as ATX 3.0. While RM1000e, HX1000i 2022, and HX1500i 2022 were already qualified for the specification by Intel, they were not marketed as such yet because of the lack of 12VHPWR cable and the common connection made by users that if it’s ATX 3.0, it has to include 12VHPWR (the spec doesn’t require this anywhere). While it doesn’t include a native cable, it does use a 2x 8-pin micro fit to 12VHPWR cable to achieve the same result, honestly in what I consider a safer way.

If you do happen to be interested in learning more about ATX 3.0, we have published an article here.

Type 5

The RMx Shift is also the first retail unit to use Corsair’s new type 5 pinout. While type 4 added four sense wires to the 24-pin connector, making it physically incompatible due to the extra four pins, type 5 is incompatible in a completely different way. While most units on the market have used Molex Minifit (or similar from different manufacturers), Corsair shifted to the smaller Microfit connector here, allowing more room between connectors and less room needed per connector.