The Corsair CS450M PSU Review
by E. Fylladitakis on June 10, 2015 8:00 AM EST- Posted in
- PSUs
- Corsair
- Cases/Cooling/PSUs
- 80Plus Gold
Hot Test Results
Going by the results presented in the following tables, the Corsair CM450M offers good power quality. It is not going to break performance records but the CM450M performed well considering its price range. The maximum ripple on the 12 V line was 72 mV at 100% load, a good figure considering both that the design limit is at 120 mV and that this is a unit rated for operation at 40°C. The same goes for the 3.3V/5V lines, which reached a maximum ripple of 30 mV and 34 mV correspondingly. Voltage regulation is fair, at 2% for the 12V line and just a little higher for the 3.3V/5V lines.
| Main Output | ||||||||
| Load (Watts) | 91.52 W | 226.95 W | 337.9 W | 447.81 W | ||||
| Load (Percent) | 20.34% | 50.43% | 75.09% | 99.51% | ||||
| Line | Amperes | Volts | Amperes | Volts | Amperes | Volts | Amperes | Volts |
| 3.3 V | 1.77 | 3.4 | 4.42 | 3.38 | 6.63 | 3.36 | 8.84 | 3.32 |
| 5 V | 1.77 | 5.16 | 4.42 | 5.12 | 6.63 | 5.07 | 8.84 | 5.01 |
| 12 V | 6.28 | 12.16 | 15.69 | 12.07 | 23.54 | 11.98 | 31.39 | 11.92 |
| Line | Regulation (20% to 100% load) |
Voltage Ripple (mV) | |||||
| 20% Load | 50% Load | 75% Load | 100% Load | CL1 12V |
CL2 3.3V + 5V |
||
| 3.3V | 2.5% | 12 | 20 | 26 | 30 | 26 | 32 |
| 5V | 2.8% | 16 | 20 | 28 | 34 | 28 | 30 |
| 12V | 2% | 20 | 32 | 50 | 72 | 60 | 34 |
Once again, we need to mention that this is a PSU rated at 40°C and we perform our testing at temperatures higher than 45°C - we could reduce the ambient temperature of our hotbox testing but we chose not to do so as the results would then not be comparable to those of our previous reviews.
High ambient temperatures, even if they are above the unit's rated temperature, do not seem to affect the CM450M significantly. On average, the energy conversion efficiency is reduced by about 0.5%. The efficiency loss is slightly higher as the load increases, reaching a maximum of 0.74% reduction at 100% load. It is nothing short of a miracle for this PSU to be capable of such performance with an ambient temperature higher than 46 °C.
Once again, the low output and high efficiency of the CM450M allow it to maintain fairly low internal temperatures. The maximum internal temperature is just over 71°C at maximum load, with an ambient temperature of 47.2°C. The cooling fan is partially to blame for that, as it now begins to increase its speed faster and reaches a higher maximum speed as well. Nevertheless, the CM450M does operate silently when lightly loaded, even under those adverse conditions.
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pvdw - Wednesday, June 10, 2015 - link
Thanks for the good details in the review.One significant point that's missing is a comparison to competing PSUs. Something similar to the CPU or SSD comparisons is really needed to save time narrowing down our choices. Also, perhaps end with something like the SSD reviews where you mention which is still your recommended PSU for home/office and single GPU.
Murloc - Wednesday, June 10, 2015 - link
you can't really compare PSUs like that imho....djw39 - Wednesday, June 10, 2015 - link
Would like to see a comparison vs seasonic g series 450w, or even the 360whans_ober - Wednesday, June 10, 2015 - link
+1YoloPascual - Wednesday, June 10, 2015 - link
Seasonic, unanimous decision.just4U - Wednesday, June 10, 2015 - link
Either that or the Antec/Cooler Master variants made by Seasonic.I have some pretty big problems with Corsair PSUs of late.. their builder series keep failing.. and I haven't heard a lot of good news about the CS---M series which is being priced fairly high here in Canada. (for instance.. this model at $95..)
sparks.nl - Thursday, June 11, 2015 - link
I have The Seasonic G 360W version and the CS450. They are both fine.There is a difference with the G 450W. This version is longer then the CS450W.
For me lenght is a problem (HTPC PSU).
ShieTar - Thursday, June 11, 2015 - link
I'd love to see the comparison to the Superflower Golden Green HX 450W.Similar Specs (but 2 PCIe-cables), and in Europe at least its usually a good 10€ cheaper than the Corsair, Cooler Master and Sea Sonic options. Would be good to understand what you sacrifice for that price difference.
lagittaja - Sunday, June 14, 2015 - link
You sacrifice a lot. Golden Green =/= Golden Green HX.Super Flower went Corsair and the quality we all loved in GG lineup is gone in the GG HX.
BrokenCrayons - Wednesday, June 10, 2015 - link
Thanks for reviewing more a more reasonable PSU! This sort of information is a lot more useful than the 1kw+ supplies that are a niche product with limited appeal. It's a pity that other companies aren't willing to send competing units. Does Anandtech ever purchase components as retail products directly from physical or digital shelves? If so, that opens up quite a lot more than potentially cherry picked units supplied from a vendor directly (not accusing Corsair or any other company of doing that, but without going directly to the shelves, there is a possibility of getting a sample that isn't representative of what an average person might be able to acquire).