Corsair’s CX500M power supply currently retails for £52.20 at Scan Computers and £54.98 at Overclockers UK. In the USA readers can pick it up for $59.99, or $39.99 with a $20 rebate card. That said the Corsair CX500M certainly offers some solid value for money. As we’ve seen from our testing the Corsair CX500M is a very capable power supply unit and while it may be very affordable it is actually very premium in terms of how solid its voltage regulation and ripple/noise suppression is. The CX500M also offers good efficiency, PFC and cable management options. These cable management options are improved by the semi-modular design and use of flat black cables. Additionally Corsair are standing behind the unit with a 3 year warranty and for most quiet-lovers out there this power supply should suffice as it never gets that loud unless pushed really close to maximum (which would never happen if you use the right components).
There isn’t that much to dislike about the CX500M from Corsair other than maybe the fact the fan could be a little quieter and that the 24pin isn’t using black cables like the rest of the cables.
Pros
- 3 Year warranty is generous for a budget unit
- Quiet under most usage scenarios
- Good voltage regulation, PFC and noise/ripple suppression
- Higher than stated efficiency
- Modular cables are all black
- Widespread availability
- Very affordable
Cons
- Not fully modular
- 24pin may irritate some who want a clean build
- Loud at 80/100% loads
- Mediocre PFC at 20% load
eTeknix says: “It is easy to see why Corsair’s CX series has become some popular. At an affordable price you get a well build power supply, backed by a 3 year warranty and capable of delivery clean stable power suitable for any demanding single GPU gaming system. The Corsair CX500M is an ideal choice for any system builder creating a mid range system and the semi-modular design with black cables is a luxury you don’t normally find on such affordable units. The Corsair CX500M comes highly recommended for eTeknix as a great high quality power supply if you’re on a tight budget. ”
Thank you to Corsair for providing this review sample.
It’s easy to recognise a CWT build with it’s trademark green tape. A decent PSU for a mid range builds although I’m not keen on the 85 degree caps, probably of Chinese origin but costs need to be kept down. Doesn’t this unit incorporate a MOV?
CX series PSUs has always been a good choice for low and this one is no exception.
Good unit for it’s price tag when compared to the output it can give.
And Ryan, another good review. 🙂
Why didn’t you emphasize what capacitors are used in this power supply? The components used in this psu really sucks.
Actually they don’t. You’re probably thinking of the first version of the CX500M where the components used were much worse. The problems with the first version are the main reason Corsair released this V2.
This PSU sucks ass, and excuse the language. in 3 months, this PSU shuts off 2 times. When I boot up my computer, it starts powering on for a few seconds, and it stops, for a few seconds, and boots again in a loop. I know I’m writing like crap, and I should get an F for this comment, but please bear with me, this PSU is not what I recommend. I need an english teacher.
New here , me thinks that this is the best review i have seen the effort placed here second to none, as for the psu i have the very same running a dual boot on separate hdd.So far i have no complaints however it is early days and i haven’t kicked the arse of it Yet..
can i split the 8p 12v of this PSU?
I’m using it right now, got a refurb for $35 USD from my local tech shoppe can’t complain it’s powering…
CPU: AMD A10 APU / 7870K
CPU Cooler: Corsair H55
Memory: PNY Anarchy DDR3 16GB 2400mhz
MoBo: Gigabyte GA-F2A88xn-wifi
SSD: OCZ Trion 150 480GB
HDD: Generic 5400RPM 16MB 500GB
GPU: MSI Radeon RX 470 Gaming X 4GB
The only issue I’ve had with this build was the RAM, Mobo doesn’t seem to like this memory when turned up to 2400MHz…