Corsair GS800 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 how the reviewed unit behaved 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 power listed for each test, you may find a different value than what is posted under “Total” below. Since each output can vary slightly (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. On 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. Since the reviewed unit has a single +12 V rail, both inputs were connected to the power supply single +12 V rail (+12VB was connected to the power supply EPS12V connector and all other cables were connected to the load tester +12VA input).
| Input | Test 1 | Test 2 | Test 3 | Test 4 | Test 5 |
| +12VA | 5.5 A (66 W) | 12 A (144 W) | 17.5 A (210 W) | 23 A (276 W) | 29 A (348 W) |
| +12VB | 5.5 A (66 W) | 11 A (132 W) | 17 A (204 W) | 23 A (276 W) | 29 A (348 W) |
| +5V | 2 A (10 W) | 4 A (20 W) | 6 A (6 W) | 8 A (40 W) | 10 A (50 W) |
| +3.3 V | 2 A (6.6 W) | 4 A (13.2 W) | 6 A (19.8 W) | 8 A (26.4 W) | 10 A (33 W) |
| +5VSB | 1 A (5 W) | 1.5 A (7.5 W) | 2 A (10 W) | 2.5 A (12.5 W) | 3 A (15 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 | 171.9 W | 326.0 W | 482.5 W | 637.5 W | 798.4 W |
| % Max Load | 21.5% | 40.8% | 60.3% | 79.7% | 99.8% |
| Room Temp. | 46.4° C | 46.2° C | 47.9° C | 46.5° C | 48.4° C |
| PSU Temp. | 47.2° C | 48.3° C | 49.6° C | 51.5° C | 51.5° C |
| Voltage Regulation | Pass | Pass | Pass | Pass | Pass |
| Ripple and Noise | Pass | Pass | Pass | Pass | Pass |
| AC Power | 205.6 W | 380.5 W | 571.0 W | 770.0 W | 995.0 W |
| Efficiency | 83.6% | 85.7% | 84.5% | 82.8% | 80.2% |
| AC Voltage | 114.2 V | 112.6 V | 111.0 V | 109.1 V | 105.6 V |
| Power Factor | 0.970 | 0.987 | 0.992 | 0.994 | 0.995 |
| Final Result | Pass | Pass | Pass | Pass | Pass |
The Corsair GS800 passed with flying colors in our tests.
Efficiency was relatively high for an entry-level product, peaking 85.7%, but at full load it dropped to around 80%.
Voltages were always within 3% of their nominal voltages, meaning that voltage regulation of this power supply is better than required, as the ATX12V specification allows 5% tolerance (10% for -12 V). The only exception was the -12 V output during test five, which exit this tighter tolerance, but was still within 5% of its nominal value.
Noise and ripple levels were always within specs, even though the noise levels at +12 V and +5 V were a little bit higher than we’d like to see to consider a power supply “flawless” (we always like to see power supplies with noise levels below half of their limits). Since this is an entry-level model, we can’t complain. 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 798.4 W (75.4 mV)
Figure 18: +12VB input from load tester during test five at 798.4 W (68.2 mV)
Figure 19: +5V rail during test five at 798.4 W (31.4 mV)
Figure 20: +3.3 V rail during test five at 798.4 W (10.8 mV)
Let’s see if we can pull even more from the Corsair GS800.