LTT Labs tears down the NZXT C Gold Core 750/850/1000 W series and finds near-identical PCBs, chassis, and topology with only switching components and capacitors swapped per wattage.
Key Takeaways
All three C Gold Core models share the same PCB, chassis, thermal design, and electrical topology; differences are limited to switching components, bulk capacitors, and cable selection.
Higher-wattage models use more highly rated switching components and larger bulk capacitors to handle increased current and store more energy smoothly.
The 12V-2x6 connector on the 750 W model is capped at 300 W; the 850 W and 1000 W models support the full 600 W output.
All three models tested at 80PLUS/Cybenetics Platinum despite being marketed as Gold, a common practice when manufacturers cannot guarantee the higher tier across unit variance.
Efficiency, ripple noise, load regulation, and brownout performance were nearly identical across the series, with a minor unexplained 3.3V ripple difference in higher-wattage units.
Hacker News Comment Review
The single comment flags the key open question the article leaves unresolved: whether higher-wattage SKUs use better-quality components or merely higher-rated equivalents, a distinction that matters for longevity and failure modes.
Notable Comments
@alexjurkiewicz: asks whether wattage tiers bring component quality improvements or only higher ratings, a gap the teardown data does not answer.
