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
Cold Test Results
For the testing of PSUs, we are using high precision electronic loads with a maximum power draw of 2700 Watts, a Rigol DS5042M 40 MHz oscilloscope, an Extech 380803 power analyzer, two high precision UNI-T UT-325 digital thermometers, an Extech HD600 SPL meter, a self-designed hotbox and various other bits and parts. For a thorough explanation of our testing methodology and more details on our equipment, please refer to our How We Test PSUs - 2014 Pipeline post.
The Corsair CM450M makes a borderline pass through our efficiency test, just meeting the standards required for 80Plus Gold certification. The energy conversion efficiency reaches 92.1% at 50% load. An average conversion efficiency of 90.2% is achieved within the nominal load range (20% to 100% of the unit's capacity). It seemingly does not perform very well at very low loads, with a conversion efficiency of just 76.1% at 5% load. That however corresponds to an actual load of just 23 Watts and more powerful units would likely fare far worse at so low a load. With a load of 45 Watts, a fairly reasonable figure for the idling state of an average home PC, the conversion efficiency jumps to 83.5%.
As the power output of the CM450M is low and the conversion efficiency is high, it does not have high cooling requirements. Our testing results are not surprising, as the little 450W PSU maintains very low operating temperatures even when heavily loaded. The cooling fan does remain inaudible across most of the load range but it increases its speed at higher loads, reaching audible (but not intrusive) figures.
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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).