First, we'll run the power supply in an open air environment. The office is about 18°C this time of year. I've programmed the load tester to run 10 tests. 8 are gradual loads and two of them are what's called "cross loads". A cross load is when you load a particular rail or rails while leaving another rail relatively unloaded. Test 0 is with the power supply off, but a load on the +5VSB. This tells us how efficient the power supply is when the PC is "off".
Corsair CX430 COLD load tests
Test #
+3.3V
+5V
+12V
+5VSB
DC Watts/ AC Watts
Eff.
Power Factor
Intake/ Exhaust
Simulated system load tests
Test 0
0A
0A
0A
2A
10W/ 12.6W
79%
.53
18°C/ 19°C
5.04V
Test 1
1.4A
1.4A
2A
1.5A
43.2W/ 61.5W
70%
.94
18°C/ 20°C
3.34V
5.12V
12.06V
5.06V
Test 2
2.9A
2.9A
4.5A
1.5A
85.8W/ 110.1W
78%
.96
18°C/ 21°C
3.33V
5.10V
12.06V
5.05V
Test 3
4.3A
4.3A
7.1A
1.5A
128.9W/ 158.4W
81%
.96
18°C/ 21°C
3.33V
5.08V
12.08V
5.05V
Test 4
5.8A
5.8A
9.7A
1.5A
172.8W/ 209.2W
83%
.97
19°C/ 23°C
3.32V
5.06V
12.10V
5.04V
Test 5
7.2A
7.2A
12.3A
1.5A
215.7W/ 260.2W
83%
.98
19°C/ 24°C
3.32V
5.04V
12.12V
5.04V
Test 6
8.7A
8.7A
14.9A
1.5A
258.4W/ 313.8W
82%
.98
19°C/ 27°C
3.31V
5.03V
12.01V
5.02V
Test 7
11.6A
11.6A
20A
1.5A
342.8W/ 423.6W
81%
.99
19°C/ 29°C
3.29V
4.99V
12.00V
5.00V
Test 8
14.4A
14.4A
25.2A
1.5A
427.1W/ 538.5W
79%
.99
19°C/ 26°C
3.28V
4.95V
11.98V
5.00V
Test CL1
14.4A
14.4A
2A
0A
142.2W/ 188.5W
75%
.97
20°C/ 27°C
3.31V
4.86V
12.42V
5.06V
Test CL2
0A
0A
28A
0A
305.5W/ 371.3W
82%
.99
20°C/ 28°C
3.32V
5.54V
10.95V
5.06V
Test 0 shows us this power supply is pretty efficient at stand by. Load test 2, 5 and 8 are 20%, 50% and 100% loads. These are the loads that need to be at least 80% efficient in order to get 80 Plus certification. Despite Corsair's claim that this unit is 80 Plus certified, we can see that at 20% and 100% load, we certainly are not at order over 80% efficient.
Our +3.3V regulation is good, the +5V dropped 3% which is border line and the +12V is good at only 1%. During our crossload tests, we see the +12V going out of specification on both the high and low side and the +5V increases to an out of spec voltage when unloaded. This tells us this PSU is group regulated before we even get to open it up. We don't ding power supplies for this behavior since these loads are very unrealistic, although I do like to see a power supply shut itself down when voltages go this far out of spec.
Let's see what the oscilloscope has to show us...
Oscilloscope Measurements for Corsair CX430
Test #
+3.3V
+5V
+12V
+5VSB
Test 1 (+5VSB Only)
Test 2
Test 3
Test 4
Test 5
Test 6
Test 7
Test 8
Test 9 (CL 1)
Test 10 (CL2)
It looks like ripple and noise is very well behaved here.
Now for the hot load tests. What we do here is take the heat from the load and pump it back into the power supply. Since this PSU is only a 430W, I don't expect it to get too hot. The more power you put out, the more heat you get.
Corsair CX430 HOT load tests
Test #
+3.3V
+5V
+12V
+5VSB
DC Watts/ AC Watts
Eff.
Power Factor
Intake/ Exhaust
Simulated system load tests
Test 1
1.4A
1.4A
2A
1.5A
43.2W/ 60.2W
72%
.94
24°C/ 26°C
3.34V
5.12V
12.05V
5.03V
Test 2
2.9A
2.9A
4.5A
1.5A
85.8W/ 108.8W
79%
.96
24°C/ 26°C
3.33V
5.10V
12.03V
5.03V
Test 3
4.3A
4.3A
7.1A
1.5A
128.8W/ 157.5W
82%
.96
25°C/ 28°C
3.33V
5.08V
12.02V
5.04V
Test 4
5.8A
5.8A
9.7A
1.5A
172.4W/ 208.5W
83%
.97
26°C/ 30°C
3.32V
5.07V
12.02V
5.04V
Test 5
7.2A
7.2A
12.3A
1.5A
214.9W/ 259.2W
83%
.98
28°C/ 33°C
3.31V
5.05V
12.01V
5.03V
Test 6
8.7A
8.7A
14.9A
1.5A
258.4W/ 313.1W
83%
.98
29°C/ 35°C
3.31V
5.03V
12.01V
5.02V
Test 7
11.6A
11.6A
20A
1.5A
342.7W/ 423.5W
81%
.99
31°C/ 39°C
3.29V
4.99V
11.99V
5.01V
Test 8
14.4A
14.4A
25.2A
1.5A
427.0W/ 540.2W
79%
.99
33°C/ 43°C
3.28V
4.95V
11.98V
5.00V
Test CL1
14.4A
14.4A
2A
0A
142.2W/ 188.5W
75%
.97
32°C/ 39°C
3.31V
4.85V
12.43V
5.06V
Test CL2
0A
0A
28A
0A
304.2W/ 370.0W
82%
.99
32°C/ 38°C
3.32V
5.56V
10.90V
5.06V
Not much changes in our results when we run it in the hot box. The temperatures got a bit hotter than I expected, but the unit remained well behaved and the fan really didn't get too loud. So other than lack luster efficiency, we're finding the CX430 to be a pretty decent unit for the money. Let's open it up and check out the build quality now.
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