Corsair PSU

Ingleberry

Ingleberry

Ingleberry

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Joined
16 Jul 2010
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154
Location
London
Couple months ago purchased Corsair 400w PSU from OCUK which has been excellent PSU genuinely very quiet at both idle and load, cool and suited my igpu means perfectly. To take advantage of OCUK GPU sales, everyone told me I needed more power therefore upgraded to CX600 where my concerns begin.

CX600 installed has a very different character compared to 400w Corsair PSU, I am not sure if the CX600 is faulty because at idle runs much hotter, has very high pitch electrical noise along with louder fan (I’m not very concerned about the fan noise). Turning PC off the electrical noise remains for 30secs or more, sounds can be described as electrical pulsing noise like you get at electrical sub stations, is this normal for higher wattage PSU or faulty behaviour?

Thanks, Ingleberry
 
I get the same with my tx 850 when at %100 load but just put up with it, not sure its a fault, just a "bug" if you like.
 
Which GPU did you buy as the CX400 would probably have been fine.

The CX600 i bilieve are inferior products based on what ive read on here and not as good as previous corsair products
 
the CX 400W packs enough punch for almost all gfx cards on the market, what card have you got, also, i think the problem your experiencing is Transistor whine? or Coil whine?
 
A 400watt PSU would only be suitable for low end GPU's plus system, depending on system CPU,etc, the 400watt would not give you much leeway for a better GPU and overclocking. Can't see the point in buying a 400watt PSU, l purchased a good quality 850watt PSU for my latest build plus to meet future requirement's and also l can tranfure it to my next build, saving you money in the long run.

I've read that your PSU is most efficient when run at 50% to 70% of its capacity, once you get above that it shortens its lifespan, reliabilty, due to components working harder and this could cause it to go Bang>pop>smoke and even taking out mobo components with along it.
 
Depends what card we're talking about here. I wouldn't use the Corsair CX400W with a very high end card (even though it'd probably handle it), but with a mid-range and below it should be fine. It's a very capable PSU, you must look beyond the 400W tag. My system doesn't usually pull more than that and I have a 620W PSU.
 
I very much doudt it would handle a high end GPU, l certianly would not try to run my PC even at stock with the CX400 or even your's. What do you class a mid range card as? it's not the amount of Watts it kicks out but the total Amp's on the 12V Rails you need.

Example of a Review -GPU 5670 -
The card requires you to have a 450 Watt power supply unit at minimum if you use it in a high-end system. That power supply needs to have (in total accumulated) at least 35~40 Amps available on the +12 volts rails.

The CX400 would run that no problem, but once you get into GPU's like the 5770/460 + system your starting to task the CX400. I certainly would not run the CX400 above that level of GPU + System.
 
A 400W PSU will not run a GTX 570.

My CX430 should be able to run a PII 955 and a HD6850/GTX460 when I upgrade, but I wouldn't run it on a higher-end system.
 
The CX400 is a completely different animal than the CX430/500 psus, its massively over-engineered and can put out much more than its power tag says all day long,

http://www.hardwaresecrets.com/article/Corsair-CX400W-Power-Supply-Review/750

The CX430/500 are considered a step backwards, as they dont provide anywhere near the amps available.

34663.png


this is using a overclocked i7 test system, as you can see many high end cards wont be an issue, including a GTX570.
 
OLDPHART said:
I very much doudt it would handle a high end GPU, l certianly would not try to run my PC even at stock with the CX400 or even your's. What do you class a mid range card as? it's not the amount of Watts it kicks out but the total Amp's on the 12V Rails you need.

Example of a Review -GPU 5670 -
The card requires you to have a 450 Watt power supply unit at minimum if you use it in a high-end system. That power supply needs to have (in total accumulated) at least 35~40 Amps available on the +12 volts rails.

The CX400 would run that no problem, but once you get into GPU's like the 5770/460 + system your starting to task the CX400. I certainly would not run the CX400 above that level of GPU + System.
Click to expand...

You should look up some more info on the CX400. Although it's not the best recommendation, you underestimate its capabilities.

stulid said:
The CX400 is a completely different animal than the CX430/500 psus, its massively over-engineered and can put out much more than its power tag says all day long,

The CX430/500 are considered a step backwards, as they dont provide anywhere near the amps available.

this is using a overclocked i7 test system, as you can see many high end cards wont be an issue, including a GTX570.
Click to expand...

Thanks for proving I'm not insane.
 
Yes number of Watt's play,s its part , but its the number of AMP'S on the 12v Rails thats more importent. The review you linked use to shows the CX400 30Amps on the 12v rails but can put out about 36Amps before it failed.

The CX400 would not run these cards it has a total of 30 AMPS > but puts out 36AMPS then failed -

GPU 5870 -
The card requires you to have a 500 Watt power supply unit at minimum if you use it in a high-end system. That power supply needs to have (in total accumulated) AT LEAST 40 AMPS available on the +12 volts rails.

GPU 570 -
On your AVERAGE system the card requires you to have a 600 Watt power supply unit.

GPU 470 -
On your AVERAGE system the card requires you to have a 550 Watt power supply unit. We recommend AT LEAST 35 Amps in total available on the +12 volts rails (accumulated).

So which PSU would you chose a 650Watt with 40Amp 12v rails or 750Watt with a 35Amp 12v rails and why?
 
OLDPHART said:
Yes number of Watt's play,s its part , but its the number of AMP'S on the 12v Rails thats more importent. The review you linked use to shows the CX400 30Amps on the 12v rails but can put out about 36Amps before it failed.

The CX400 would not run these cards it has a total of 30 AMPS > but puts out 36AMPS then failed -

GPU 5870 -
The card requires you to have a 500 Watt power supply unit at minimum if you use it in a high-end system. That power supply needs to have (in total accumulated) AT LEAST 40 AMPS available on the +12 volts rails.

GPU 570 -
On your AVERAGE system the card requires you to have a 600 Watt power supply unit.

GPU 470 -
On your AVERAGE system the card requires you to have a 550 Watt power supply unit. We recommend AT LEAST 35 Amps in total available on the +12 volts rails (accumulated).

So which PSU would you chose a 650Watt with 40Amp 12v rails or 750Watt with a 35Amp 12v rails and why?
Click to expand...

Clearly not if Anandtechs real world findings above show the true power draw, graphic card manufacturers will always over spec what is needed to protect themselves.

alexhull24 said:
Thanks for proving I'm not insane.
Click to expand...

your safe.


Similar question asked here - http://forums.overclockers.co.uk/showthread.php?t=18216430& ATIorNvidia knows the score.
 
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OLDPHART said:
Yes number of Watt's play,s its part , but its the number of AMP'S on the 12v Rails thats more importent. The review you linked use to shows the CX400 30Amps on the 12v rails but can put out about 36Amps before it failed.

The CX400 would not run these cards it has a total of 30 AMPS > but puts out 36AMPS then failed -

GPU 5870 -
The card requires you to have a 500 Watt power supply unit at minimum if you use it in a high-end system. That power supply needs to have (in total accumulated) AT LEAST 40 AMPS available on the +12 volts rails.

GPU 570 -
On your AVERAGE system the card requires you to have a 600 Watt power supply unit.

GPU 470 -
On your AVERAGE system the card requires you to have a 550 Watt power supply unit. We recommend AT LEAST 35 Amps in total available on the +12 volts rails (accumulated).

So which PSU would you chose a 650Watt with 40Amp 12v rails or 750Watt with a 35Amp 12v rails and why?
Click to expand...

The reason why manufacturers "over egg" the wattage requirements of their GPUs is for the exact reason you stated at the end of your post (in bold now). Whilst people on this forum are well informed about the perils of no-name "high power xtream superduper 750w no brand" PSUs, the general population is not so smart.. and they actually believe that a 750W PSU costing £25 is the bees knees.

A cheap and nasty 750W PSU may well power a high-end card. But a lower power, better quality PSU will do the same.. and will probably not explode/burn or destroy your other components.

Also, for some perverse reason, some people still link "high power requirements" in a GPU with "better card"..
 
stulid said:
http://www.xbitlabs.com/articles/video/display/radeon-hd5870_7.html#sect0

shock horror as 5870 is powered with a cheiftec 410w psu!!!!
Click to expand...

IMAO > but look at the rest of his PC SPEC june 2009 hardly draws any power from the supply, l don't think the OP's system is that out dated lol.

Intel Pentium 4 560CPU (3.6GHz, LGA775)-DFI LANParty UT ICFX3200-T2R/G mainboard (ATI CrossFire Xpress 3200 chipset)-PC2-5300 SDRAM (2x512MB, 667MHz)-Western Digital Raptor WD360ADFD HDD (36GB)
Chieftec ATX-410-212 PSU (410W )

The PSU + AMPS size l put up where from reviews testing the GPU not from the GPU manufactures, so what you are saying that the CX400 could run my "overclocked i7 system"

My Spec > i7 920 at 4.2GHz and my 470 at 850/1700/2000, See Sig powered by CX400, l think not.

ATIorNvidia knows the score 492 posts > lol yes and theres three other replies telling the OP to get at least a 500Watt and l would be the fourth. So why do we have a range of PSU's, Its because power draw of PC components are different I.E > CPU's, GPU's, etc, plus the system may be overclocked.

How many time's have we seen a PC system[could be overclocked] not run properly and people have asked for help, they have a descent PSU but not the right power[ watts + amps on the 12v rail] and its been solved by upgrading the PSU of the same make or other brand, not all PC's are equal power wise.
 
OLDPHART said:
random rubbish with zero proof or links or substance
Click to expand...

do you think the older pentium cpu uses much less power than a newer cpu based on a smaller micro architecture?

I will let you decide.

and anyway we are talking about the op, not you, who cares what your running!!

enough people have said the opposite to you about the CX400, dont you think there could be some truth in it?
 
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The new CX series have their power rating measured at 30C and are not 80+ certified. Corsair also has bumped up the power rating by adding more amps to the 3.3V and 5.0V lines.

The Antec High Current Gamer 520W has around the same number of amps on the 12V line as the Corsair CX600W and is 80+ Bronze certified.

What Corsair have done is taken CTW DSA PSUs and overrated them. This explains why the PSUs are rated at 30C and are not 80+ certified.
 
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