I will evaluate MSI’s flagship PSU today, the Ai1600T which uses a semi-digital platform, provided by CWT, to deliver 1600W of power. This PSU is Cybenetics Titanium rated, and it also has a Cybenetics A++ noise rating, meaning that it has a dead silent operation.
The MEG Ai1600T PCIE5 is (or will be) included in my best ATX v3.x & PCIe 5.x PSU picks article.
Since I was not worthy to be added to NVIDIA’s long list of RTX 5090 FE recipients, I decided today to offer you a review of a good PSU choice. Anyone can somehow test a GPU, but very few worldwide can evaluate a power supply, and even fewer do it correctly and accurately.
MSI is pushing a lot in the PSU market, creating already a good name for itself, and it looks to be the more prominent competitor for Corsair, which was left alone in the field after EVGA’s diminish. Still, it has a lot of room to cover since Corsair has a large team of experienced engineers dedicated to its PSU products, led by one of the most important figures in the PSU world, Jon Gerow (AKA Jonnyguru). The fan fact is that Corsair and MSI have the same primary OEM, CWT, but I should note that Corsair also works with other major OEMs like Great Wall and HEC.
Back to the product under review, the MEG Ai1600T, a high-end PSU utilizing a semi-passive platform developed by CWT, with model name CTF. This unit is Cybenetics Titanium rated, and it has pretty large dimensions (190mm depth) to accommodate a 135mm fan. It can deliver up to 1600W of power under full load, and since it is ATX v3.1 certified by Cybenetics, it can also deliver 3200W, if required, for short periods (0.1ms). According to MSI, all protection features are present, which I will verify (or not) during the evaluation of the protection features.
1500-1650W ATX v3.x PSU Reviews:
- ASRock Taichi TC-1650T ATX v3.1 PSU Review
- be quiet! Dark Power Pro 13 1600W PSU Review
- NZXT C1500 ATX v3.1 PSU Review
- Seasonic Prime PX-1600 ATX v3.0 PSU Review
- Seasonic Prime TX-1600 ATX v3.0 PSU Review
- Seasonic Prime Noctua TX-1600 ATX v3.1 PSU Review
- Super Flower Leadex Titanium ATX v3.0 1600W PSU Review
- XPG Fusion 1600W Titanium PSU Review
- Manufacturer (OEM): CWT (Channel Well Technology)
- Max Power: 1600W
- Cybenetics Efficiency: [115V] Cybenetics Titanium (91.556%), [230V] Cybenetics Titanium (93.218%)
- Noise: Cybenetics A++ ( <15 dB[A])
- Compliance: ATX v3.1, EPS 2.92
- Operating Temperature (Continuous Full Load): 0 – 50 °C
- Alternative Low Power Mode support: Yes
- Power 12V combined: 1600W
- Number of 12V rails: 1
- Power 5V + 3.3v: 120W
- Power 5VSB: 15W
- Cooling: 135mm Dual Ball Bearing Fan (ZFB132512H)
- Semi-Passive Operation: ✓ (Selectable)
- Modular Design: Yes (Fully)
- High Power Connectors: 2x EPS (2x cables), 5x PCIe 6+2 pin (5x cables), 2x PCIe 12+4 pin (600W)
- Peripheral Connectors: 8x SATA (2x cables), 8x 4-pin Molex (2x cables)
- ATX Cable Length: 600mm
- EPS Cable Length: 750mm
- 12+4 pin PCIe Cable Length: 600mm
- 6+2 pin PCIe Cable Length: 600mm
- Distance between SATA / 4-pin Molex: 150mm
- In-cable capacitors: No
- Dimensions (W x H x D): 150 mm x 85 mm x 190mm
- Weight: 2.52 kg (5.56 lb)
- Warranty: 12-years
- MSRP: $700
Power Specifications
| Rail | 3.3V | 5V | 12V | 5VSB | -12V | |
| Max. Power | Amps | 22 | 22 | 133.33 | 3 | 0.3 |
| Watts | 120 | 1599.96 | 15 | 3.6 | ||
| Total Max. Power (W) | 1600 | |||||
When I saw the fan curve of this PSU from the Cybenetics report, I wasn’t expecting such a poor cooling solution for this PSU! With far better built (and cheaper!) noise-optimized ATX 3.1 PSUs in the market like the Seasonic Prime Noctua TX-1600 or the Cooler Master Silent X Platinum 1300, I really don’t see the point in throwing $699 USD for a PSU that doesn’t even come with fan failure protection.
Such a dissapointing PSU from MSI…
NZXT with price around $369 (it’s around $329 in Indonesia) outclassed MSI MEG A1600T with its price around $700
Really, MSI?