Modular power supplies tend to be popular
among enthusiasts and system builders because they let us only fuss with
routing the essential power cables; any leftover cables can stay in the box
until we need them. Sadly, though, modular power supplies in the sub-500 watt
range are few and far between, yet small form factor, HTPC, and basic PCs offer
fewer cable routing options and dramatically less space to spare. Corsair
apparently felt our pain and released the CX430M, a compact, low-wattage
modular power supply that’s a perfect fit for any value build.
Corsair
CX430M Power Supply
The CX430M meets the 80 PLUS Bronze
certification, offering up to 85% energy efficiency, which gives your energy
budget a break and keeps the unit running cool at idle and under full load. The
unit features hardwired +12V 20 + 4-pin ATX and + 12V 4+4-pin CPU power
connectors. The former is sheathed in plastic mesh, and the latter is flat
style. Corsair made the CPU power cable extra-long; at more than 26 inches, you
should have no trouble routing it behind the motherboard and over the top edge.
The cable bend is very shallow, only adding about half an inch to the PSU’s
profile. This PSU looks like it was built for small cases, measuring a mere 5.9
x 3.4 x 6.3 inches (WxHxD).
This
PSU looks like it was built for small cases, measuring a mere 5.9 x 3.4 x 6.3
inches (WxHxD).
There are four modular cable ports to the
right of the hardwired bundle. The modular cables include a pair of SATA cables
(two connectors per cable), one for peripherals (three 4-pin Molex connectors
and one floppy connector), and one with a single 6 + 2-pin PCI-E connector. To
hook up our GeForce GTX 580, we had to use a Molex-to-PCI-E power adapter, but
this is more graphics card that this PSU was built to handle.
The CX430M features a single +12V rail that
supports 32A (384 watts) maximum at its peak. There’s 20A each for the +5V and
+3.3V rails, which get 110 watts of the overall total to play with. Like the
rest of the quality power supplies you can get from Corsair, the CX430M
features overvoltage and overpower protection, under voltage protection, and
short-circuit protection. Corsair also backs this power supply with a solid
three-year parts and labor warranty and lifetime access to Corsair’s tech
support and customer service.
The
CX430M features overvoltage and overpower protection, under voltage protection,
and short-circuit protection.
To put this PSU through its paces, we ran
POV-Ray Beta 3.7 (stresses all CPU cores) and the Aliens vs. Predator (stresses
GPU) benchmark, simultaneously. Our test system is loaded with plenty of
power-hungry parts, including an Intel Core i7-3770K, a GIGABYTE GA-Z77X-UP7
motherboard, and a ZOTAC GeForce GTX 580. Running on all cylinders, the system
drew a maximum of 374 watts, at a power factor of .971.
The Corsair CX430M makes a perfect power
supply any general-purpose system. It’s quiet, energy-efficient, and thanks the
modular cabling, flexible. We also demonstrated that it has what it takes to
drive a single high-end graphics card, so gamers on a budget can add this unit
to their short lists.
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Info
§ Price:
$59.99
§ Manufacturer:
Corsair
§ Website:
www.corsair.com
Test system specs
§ Processor:
Intel Core \1-3570K;
§ Motherboard:
GIGABYTE GA-Z77X-UP7;
§ GPU:
ZOTAC GeForce GTX 580;
§ RAM:
4GB Crucial Ballistix DDR3-1333;
§ Storage:
128GB Crucial RealSSD C300;
§ OS:
Windows 7 Enterprise (64-bit)
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