Corsair GS500 Power Supply Review

Introduction

The Corsair GS power supply series is comprised of 500 W, 600 W, 700 W, and 800 W models, with either the standard 80 Plus certification or with the 80 Plus Bronze certification, except for the 500 W model, which is available only with the standard 80 Plus certification. Let’s see if it is a good product.

By the way, we think it is very confusing to have two different power supplies with the same name. We think Corsair should have used a different name for the models with the 80 Plus Bronze certification.

The Corsair GS500 is manufactured by CWT, using the same platform as the Corsair CX series, the Enermax NAXN80+ series, the Enermax NAXN82+ series, and the LEPA B series.

Figure 1: Corsair GS500 power supply

Figure 2: Corsair GS500 power supply

The Corsair GS500 is 6.3” (160 mm) deep, using a 140 mm ball-bearing fan on its bottom (Yate Loon D14BH-12). This is an improvement over other models based on the same platform, which use a 120 mm sleeve-bearing fan. The fan glows blue when the power supply is turned on, but you can turn the LEDs off through a button located at the power supply rear panel.

The reviewed power supply doesn’t have a modular cabling system. All cables are protected with nylon sleeves that come from inside the unit. This power supply comes with the following cables:

• Main motherboard cable with a 20/24-pin connector, 21.6” (55 cm) long
• One cable with two ATX12V connectors that together form an EPS12V connector, 21.2” (54 cm) long
• Two cables, each with one six/eight-pin connector for video cards, 22.8” (58 cm) long
• Two cables, each with three SATA power connectors, 15.7” (40 cm) to the first connector, 5.9” (15 cm) between connectors
• One cable with four standard peripheral power connectors and one floppy disk drive power connector, 15.7” (40 cm) to the first connector, 5.9” (15 cm) between connectors

All wires are 18 AWG, which is the minimum recommended gauge. The number of connectors is outstanding for a 500 W power supply, allowing you to install a high-end video card that requires two auxiliary power connectors without the need for adapters.

Figure 3: Cables

Let’s now take an in-depth look inside this power supply.