Codegen P-Case 460W - Low Price, Poor Quality
by Martin Kaffei on April 27, 2012 8:30 AM EST- Posted in
- Cases/Cooling/PSUs
- PSUs
- Codegen
- P-Case 460W
- Q3335-A2
Cables and Conenctors
| Cables and Connectors (650W) | ||
|
Connector type (length) |
Main | 1x 24-pin (30cm) fixed |
| ATX12V/EPS12V | 1x 4-pin (30cm) fixed | |
| PCIe | 0x 6/8-pin | |
| Peripheral | 1x HDD, 1x SATA (ca. 30, 45cm) fixed | |
| 1x HDD, 1x SATA, 1x FDD (ca. 30, 45, 60cm) fixed | ||
The main cables are very short at less than 40cm, and there are only two SATA and two Molex power connectors along with a single FDD connector for disk drives and some fan controller. We don't want to be too quick to judge, but this is not a good configuration for a 460W PSU; it looks more like a 200W PSU. We'll get into more details now.
Voltage Regulation
| +3.3V Regulation/Ripple and Noise | |
| Load | Voltage |
| 5% | 3.36V (8mV) |
| 10% | 3.35V (12mV) |
| 20% | 3.34V (27mV) |
| 50% | 3.29V (34mV) |
| 80% | |
| 100% | |
| 110% | |
| Crossload +12V max. | |
| Crossload +3.3V/+5V max. | |
| +5V Regulation/Ripple and Noise | |
| Load | Voltage |
| 5% | 5.21V (12mV) |
| 10% | 5.19V (14mV) |
| 20% | 5.16V (19mV) |
| 50% | 5.02V (25mV) |
| 80% | |
| 100% | |
| 110% | |
| Crossload +12V max. | |
| Crossload +3.3V/+5V max. | |
| +12V Regulation (Worst Ouput)/Ripple and Noise (Worst Output) | |
| Load | Voltage |
| 5% | 12.31V (16 mV) |
| 10% | 12.36V (10mV) |
| 20% | 12.44V (46mV) |
| 50% | 12.78 V (80mV) |
| 80% | |
| 100% | |
| 110% | |
| Crossload +12V max. | |
| Crossload +3.3V/+5V max. | |
Noise Levels
| Loudness (subjective) | |
| Load | Opinion |
| 5% | audible fan bearing |
| 10% | low rotation noise |
| 20% | low rotation noise |
| 50% | strong rotation noise |
| 80% | |
| 100% | |
| 110% | |
Efficiency and PFC
| Efficiency and Power Factor 230 VAC | ||
| Load | Efficiency | PFC |
| 5% | 58.50% | 0.477 |
| 10% | 66.62% | 0.513 |
| 20% | 71.01% | 0.540 |
| 50% | 73.32% | 0.576 |
| 80% | ||
| 100% | ||
| 110% | ||
The power factor reaches a maximum of 0.576. We had to test this PSU with 230VAC only but everybody can image how low the results would be with 115VAC input. Under load the power supply is clearly audible, and the fan's bearing can be heard sometimes. The PSU didn't survive 80% load and died. It was impossible to document the results here. Moreover there was a clear overvoltage on 12V during 50% load. According to ATX specification the upper limit is 12.60V. In addition ripple & noise could be lower.
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27 Comments
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Belard - Saturday, April 28, 2012 - link
There is junk like this all over the world, *cough* raidmax. Or even worse no name brands. Its bad enough they low quality, but the fake labels don't do anyone favors. If they slap on a 200 Watt label, a customer will be less likely to blow something up. 200w is okay for a bottom end system.They also fake rating tests by running the psu in a frig room.
Geez... spend the extra $10 bucks. Cheapest good psu I buy sometimes is the 430w thermaltake. None have failed. Usually $35 before rebate.
Movieman420 - Saturday, April 28, 2012 - link
If your budget is that tight it's fine to go for a cheap psu, just try your best to research before you buy...find out who builds the low end units for brands like Corsair, Antec, Ocz etc and try to locate a no-name version. I agree with an earlier post...anything much under $50 is probably gonna be questionable.knedle - Saturday, April 28, 2012 - link
In Poland, people usually call it not Codegen, but Coedsh***.Right now it's pretty hard to find their PSUs in stores, but few years ago they were used in some low end builds in which customer wanted "something to browse internet and really cheap case + PSU". I have helped many customers that had real problems because of those cheap PSUs - not only computer not turning on, but also damaged motherboard or hard drive due to PSU supplying 7V on 5V lane, or even 14V on 12V lane.
Buying that it's total waste of your money.
ZippityZoopBop - Saturday, April 28, 2012 - link
Yeah, somehow I'm not surprised that Codegen is still pushing out shitty products. They were terrible a decade ago, and it's a real shame that we don't have some form of international governing body to stop these fire hazards from making it to market.WT - Wednesday, May 2, 2012 - link
At 30 EUR, it seems like you do get what you pay for, but a hot deal does help every now and then.Currently, Best Buy is selling an Antec 450w PSU for $30 + FS, making this a very attractive PSU for a mid range system build. Check out the thread in the Hot Deals forum for a link and more info.
dj christian - Monday, May 7, 2012 - link
Martin while you are at it are you going to review a Hantol PSU with fake 80-plus certification and with a fake pfc made of cement? Just for laugh i mean : )http://www.hardwaresecrets.com/blog/Hantol-PSU-Fak...
frontwing - Thursday, December 26, 2013 - link
Used this PSU in a Codegen case icw a budget gaming system for almost 3 yearswithout any problems.