Corsair CX430 Power Supply Review
Load Tests
Contents
We conducted several tests with this power supply, as described in the article Hardware Secrets Power Supply Test Methodology.
First we tested this power supply with five different load patterns, trying to pull around 20%, 40%, 60%, 80%, and 100% of its labeled maximum capacity (actual percentage used listed under “% Max Load”), watching the behavior of the reviewed unit under each load. In the table below, we list the load patterns we used and the results for each load.
If you add all the powers listed for each test, you may find a different value than what is posted under “Total” below. Since each output can have a slight variation (e.g., the +5 V output working at +5.10 V), the actual total amount of power being delivered is slightly different than the calculated value. In the “Total” row, we are using the real amount of power being delivered, as measured by our load tester.
The +12VA and +12VB inputs listed below are the two +12 V independent inputs from our load tester. During this test both were connected to the power supply single +12 V rail (the EPS12V connector was installed on the +12VB input).
| Input | Test 1 | Test 2 | Test 3 | Test 4 | Test 5 |
| +12VA | 3 A (36 W) | 6 A (72 W) | 9 A (108 W) | 12 A (144 W) | 15.5 A (186 W) |
| +12VB | 3 A (36 W) | 6 A (72 W) | 9 A (108 W) | 12 A (144 W) | 15.25 A (183 W) |
| +5V | 1 A (5 W) | 2 A (10 W) | 4 A (20 W) | 5 A (25 W) | 7 A (35 W) |
| +3.3 V | 1 A (3.3 W) | 2 A (6.6 W) | 4 A (13.2 W) | 5 A (16.5 W) | 7 A (23.1 W) |
| +5VSB | 1 A (5 W) | 1 A (5 W) | 1 A (5 W) | 1.5 A (7.5 W) | 2 A (10 W) |
| -12 V | 0.5 A (6 W) | 0.5 A (6 W) | 0.5 A (6 W) | 0.5 A (6 W) | 0.5 A (6 W) |
| Total | 90.6 W | 170.2 W | 257.9 W | 338.7 W | 431.9 W |
| % Max Load | 21.1% | 39.6% | 60.0% | 78.8% | 100.4% |
| Room Temp. | 45.5° C | 44.0° C | 44.3° C | 47.9° C | 49.6° C |
| PSU Temp. | 45.7° C | 45.8° C | 46.1° C | 48.0° C | 49.8° C |
| Voltage Stability | Pass | Pass | Pass | Pass | Pass |
| Ripple and Noise | Pass | Pass | Pass | Pass | |
| AC Power | 110.1 W | 202.3 W | 310.6 W | 415.6 W | 543.8 W |
| Efficiency | 82.3% | 84.1% | 83.0% | 81.5% | 79.4% |
| AC Voltage | 118.4 V | 117.6 V | 116.4 V | 115.5 V | 115.2 V |
| Power Factor | 0.922 | 0.928 | 0.943 | 0.952 | 0.957 |
| Final Result | Pass | Pass | Pass | Pass | Pass |
The Corsair CX430 can really deliver its labeled wattage at high temperatures.
Efficiency was between 79.4% and 84.1%, which is compatible with a good entry-level product. In fact, since this unit doesn’t even have the standard 80 Plus certification, we were expecting it to present lower efficiency than it actually did.
Voltage regulation was superb, with all voltages within 3% of their nominal values, including the -12 V output. This means that voltages were closer to their nominal values than required by the ATX12V specification, which says positive voltages must be within 5% of their nominal values and negative voltages must be within 10% of their nominal values. This tighter regulation is great to be seen on a low-end power supply.
Noise and ripple levels were always extremely low. Below you can see the results for the power supply outputs during test number five. The maximum allowed is 120 mV for +12 V and -12 V outputs, and 50 mV for +5 V, +3.3 V and +5VSB outputs. All values are peak-to-peak figures.
Figure 17: +12VA input from load tester during test five at 431.9 W (28.2 mV)
Figure 18: +12VB input from load tester during test five at 431.9 W (27.2 mV)
Figure 19: +5V rail during test five at 431.9 W (10.2 mV)
Figure 20: +3.3 V rail during test five at 431.9 W (19.6 mV)
Let’s see if we can pull more than 430 W from this unit.