Corsair will discontinue the 80 Plus rating for power supplies. Instead, it will adopt Cybenetics' efficiency standard. Don't worry, this switch is very easy.

80 Plus Gold becomes Cybenetics Gold; 80 Plus Platinum becomes Cybenetics Platinum. The Cybenetics product line also shows efficiency with metals that work in much the same way as 80 Plus.

However, these efficiency ratings by Cybenetics are, in Corsair's own words, "a more comprehensive evaluation of PSU performance than the previous ones."

"However, Cybenetics' tests are much more thorough and detailed than the 80 Plus, leading to more accurate results.

Some of Cybenetics' new ratings are completely unfamiliar. This is Cybenetics' noise rating, which offers a grading system from "Standard" to "A++" for measuring noise levels. The lower the grade, the more noticeable and noisy the PSU is; you can read a bit more about how Cybenetics tests PSUs on their website.

The CEO of Cybenetics is Aris Mpitziopoulos, who has reviewed numerous power supplies for PC Gamer and has been a trusted source for the best PSU guides for gaming for years. He is also someone who is outspoken about the limitations and problems with the 80 Plus program.

"We are excited to have Corsair working exclusively with us and hope other brands will soon follow," says Mpitziopoulos. He also tells me that Cybenetics is working on ISO 17065 certification in order to apply for Energy Star next.

The 80 Plus certification has become the de facto standard for evaluating PSU efficiency. However, in recent years, more and more manufacturers have been leaning toward Cybenetics certification as an alternative. Corsair, Thermaltake, FSP, MSI, and even Intel are now covered by it.

Intel officially points out the validity of Cybenetics certification alongside 80 Plus in its ATX specification for power supplies. The full document can be found here [pdf warning], but it is not light reading.