400-450W PSU Roundup
by Christoph Katzer on November 6, 2007 4:00 AM EST- Posted in
- Cases/Cooling/PSUs
Corsair 450VX 450W
The 450VX Corsair is another power supply based on the same basic power supply as the Antec Earthwatts, a fact that will become clear when we crack open the housing. However, unlike the Earthwatts, Corsair chose to use the exact same housing and black paint job as the original Seasonic unit, and they use a 120mm fan located on the bottom of the housing. The length of the power supply is 140mm, allowing it to fit in most PC cases. The packaging is quite good and the power supply comes wrapped up in a little bag - not necessarily as environmentally friendly as other options, but there's a good chance shipping won't cause any damage to the PSU.
The 450VX comes with a single 12V rail rated at 33A. The original design used two 17A 12V rails (as does the Earthwatts), but given the lower total wattage the single 12V rail may make for easier power management - there's no need to worry about whether you're overloading one rail and not using the other rail enough.
All cables come with sleeving, even between the connectors, so despite the moderate 450W rating we can expect the cost to be somewhat higher than competing models. The main 24-pin ATX cable is 60cm long, which is good for some of the larger cases. There are six Molex and six SATA connectors on four cables with a maximum length of 60cm. The first connector is only 30cm from the power supply, which might be a bit close to the PSU for some peripherals, but unless you plan on using all six connectors this should not present a problem. The maximum length is the bigger concern here, and it might prove difficult to reach the bottom drive bays on a full-size tower case if the PSU is located at the top of the box.
The inside looks quite empty, as is often the case with these smaller power supplies. It is not necessary to have as many components -- or as large of components -- considering the smaller amounts of current passing through the PSU. The heatsinks are quite small, but higher efficiency should help to keep heat levels down. Hitachi makes the primary capacitor, rated at 330µF with 400V. The fan blows air directly at the circuit board and heatsinks, which should easily provide adequate cooling.
The 450VX Corsair is another power supply based on the same basic power supply as the Antec Earthwatts, a fact that will become clear when we crack open the housing. However, unlike the Earthwatts, Corsair chose to use the exact same housing and black paint job as the original Seasonic unit, and they use a 120mm fan located on the bottom of the housing. The length of the power supply is 140mm, allowing it to fit in most PC cases. The packaging is quite good and the power supply comes wrapped up in a little bag - not necessarily as environmentally friendly as other options, but there's a good chance shipping won't cause any damage to the PSU.
The 450VX comes with a single 12V rail rated at 33A. The original design used two 17A 12V rails (as does the Earthwatts), but given the lower total wattage the single 12V rail may make for easier power management - there's no need to worry about whether you're overloading one rail and not using the other rail enough.
All cables come with sleeving, even between the connectors, so despite the moderate 450W rating we can expect the cost to be somewhat higher than competing models. The main 24-pin ATX cable is 60cm long, which is good for some of the larger cases. There are six Molex and six SATA connectors on four cables with a maximum length of 60cm. The first connector is only 30cm from the power supply, which might be a bit close to the PSU for some peripherals, but unless you plan on using all six connectors this should not present a problem. The maximum length is the bigger concern here, and it might prove difficult to reach the bottom drive bays on a full-size tower case if the PSU is located at the top of the box.
The inside looks quite empty, as is often the case with these smaller power supplies. It is not necessary to have as many components -- or as large of components -- considering the smaller amounts of current passing through the PSU. The heatsinks are quite small, but higher efficiency should help to keep heat levels down. Hitachi makes the primary capacitor, rated at 330µF with 400V. The fan blows air directly at the circuit board and heatsinks, which should easily provide adequate cooling.
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zeroidea - Wednesday, November 7, 2007 - link
The Antec PS featured in this article is currently on sale at staples.com for $30.http://www.staples.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/S...">Link
SilthDraeth - Wednesday, November 7, 2007 - link
I know it falls outside of the 450Watt max, but it is still below the 500 watt barrier. I just bought the psu for a midrange system I built my mom, I know it works well, but I don't have the ability to test everything.One can wish right?
Noya - Tuesday, November 6, 2007 - link
If you look around (buy.com), the Corsair 450vx can be had from $51-61 pretty regularly, and at that price it's untouchable. I must say I've had one for about two months and haven't had any problems with it.smthmlk - Tuesday, November 6, 2007 - link
Can we have a full list of caps in each unit? Noting the primaries is nice, but what about the others? Thanks.Talcite - Tuesday, November 6, 2007 - link
Thanks for finally putting up O-scope readings, it's quite nice to see them. One thing I'm concerned about though is the lack of explication or analysis.For example, is the entire o-scope range 200mV in the 12v readings or is it one division? Also, there's a number of strange spikes in all the o-scope readings. I'm pretty familiar with the 450VX o-scope readings (mostly from other sites) and I haven't noticed any spikes of that nature in their readings. It probably isn't, but is the equipment faulty?
Thanks for putting the readings up anyways though, they're a nice addition.
Super Nade - Tuesday, November 6, 2007 - link
Those strange spikes are probe noise. If the probe is coupled incorrectly, you will see this artifact. This cold be due to any number of factors like EMI for instance. Following the ATX guideline on using 0.1 uF output coupling caps will minimize this to a great extent.MrOblivious - Tuesday, November 6, 2007 - link
You have to look at the sampling time on the readings to compare between sites. Different sampling times will make the traces appear a bit different.phaxmohdem - Tuesday, November 6, 2007 - link
I just recently built a rig for a buddy using a Thermaltake PurePower (or ToughPower.. can't remember) 480W Unit and it works like a champ powering a Core2 Quad Q6600 CPU, 2GB RAM, 2HDD's, two Optical Drives, 8600GT, TV Tuner and a few fans. (Wish I knew about the Corsair PSU when I spec'd that system out).But yeah, Unfortunately most people equate Watts to overall quality.... not unlike the MHz war of days gone by. Power supplies are one of the hardest components to convince people to spend extra on for some reason. FFS, electricity is kind of the basis of the whole dam computer!
Eventually it ends up as "Oh well. Go ahead and get that 600W $30 power supply and let me know how that goes for ya. I could use a good laugh, and don't say I didn't warn you."
strikeback03 - Tuesday, November 6, 2007 - link
Maybe Anandtech should go ahead and list the weight of each PSU. That has long been used as an estimate of quality.jonnyGURU - Tuesday, November 6, 2007 - link
Not any more. Topologies have changed to the point where you can have very light quality units and very heavy crap. Weight is NOT a factor.