When testing in a power supply laboratory it is difficult to take fan noise readings as the noise from the Chroma corrupts everything. The next best thing in our circumstances was reading off the fan speed with a tachometer to get an idea for the noise. In the Enermax Europe PSU lab we had to do exactly that and we recorded the fan speed at each load scenario. The ambient temperature during testing held constant at 26 degrees, with 1 degree of variation. Each power supply had a consistent time period of 5 minutes to stabilise between each load scenario.
In my experience the following general relationships apply between noise levels and fan speeds, though it can vary greatly between the type of fan used.
- Below 800 RPM – Inaudible/Silent
- 800 to 1000 RPM – Barely audible
- 1000 – 1200 RPM – Audible but still quiet
- 1200 – 1400 RPM – Moderately noisy
- 1400 – 1800 RPM – Noisy
- 1800 RPM or higher – Intolerable
While the Corsair CX500M certainly wasn’t the quietest power supply we tested it was quiet for 0-60% loads, a bit noisy at 80% load and quite noisy at 100% load. Overall though the supplied Yateloon fan is a lot quieter than some other OEM fans used in power supplies (such as ADDA ones).
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…