Corsair CX430M Modular Power Supply Review

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Apoptosis
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Corsair CX430M Modular Power Supply Review

Post by Apoptosis »

Corsair CX430M Modular Power Supply Review - What $25 Can Buy

Corsair is today a known manufacturer of performance power supplies and rightfully so, if we can judge from our reviews on their high end products. What of their basic series though? The CX430M hits our testing laboratory today, trying to prove that even sub-$25 products have what it takes to satisfy a demanding user.

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Quality wise, the Corsair CX430M is much better than most people would expect from a power supply which now ships for $24.99 after rebate and a $10 off coupon. We cannot claim that it has been built like a tank; we have certainly seen better but certainly not in a $25 product. Still, Corsair cooperated with a highly respected OEM, CWT, the circuit design is that of a “by the book” APFC unit without the companies cutting corners on filtering and or safety and, finally, the choice of components was excellent for a product of such a class.
Article Title: Corsair CX430M Modular Power Supply Review
Article URL: http://www.legitreviews.com/article/2169/1/
Pricing At Time of Print: $24.99 Shipped After Rebate w/ $10 off code EMCYTZT3255
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Major_A
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Re: Corsair CX430M Modular Power Supply Review

Post by Major_A »

I've picked up 2 CX430 units for friends and family builds. Both times I've been burned in the process. The first unit lasted 3 hours before it crapped out. The second unit had a unruly whine that seemed more like capacitor whine than fan noise. Needless to say if I'm looking for a cheap and reliable unit for a friend or family member the Corsair CX line isn't on my radar.
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Re: Corsair CX430M Modular Power Supply Review

Post by Apoptosis »

Major_A wrote:I've picked up 2 CX430 units for friends and family builds. Both times I've been burned in the process. The first unit lasted 3 hours before it crapped out. The second unit had a unruly whine that seemed more like capacitor whine than fan noise. Needless to say if I'm looking for a cheap and reliable unit for a friend or family member the Corsair CX line isn't on my radar.
Crazy because I used one in my HTPC way back in October 2010 and it's still running solid 2.5 years later.
I also used the CX430 in my budget mini-ITX build guide and it's running great for 5+ months now - http://www.legitreviews.com/article/2096/

It amazes me how different peoples user experiences are. We pounded the new CX430M on our test bench and it survived as you can see.
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Major_A
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Re: Corsair CX430M Modular Power Supply Review

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Luck of the draw and I was unlucky. In fairness the replacement for the one that bit the dust is still up and running 24/7/365 for a long time now.
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Re: Corsair CX430M Modular Power Supply Review

Post by bubba »

Finding luck of the draw on a lot of stuff lately, even from high-end vendors. Anything I order gets hooked up and tested the day I receive it, even if its keyboards/mice for the spare parts rack.

I've been contemplating these for replacement PSU's for low-end office desktops here at work. Have been using Antec Basiq units.
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Re: Corsair CX430M Modular Power Supply Review

Post by gwolfman »

Nice to see you stepping up the game for your PSU reviews with better voltage and ripple measurements.

Can I suggest adding a 110% load measurement to see how the PSU deals with overload situations? Some just die (i.e., shut off) while others will still run without issues.
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Re: Corsair CX430M Modular Power Supply Review

Post by Thunder350 »

Interesting product. I however from past experience learned never to buy certain "budget friendly" components. The two biggest ones being #1 the PSU, and #2 the motherboard. This review (for better or worst) hasn't changed that, and I doubt any review could. "You get what you pay for" is always a golden rule to remember.
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Re: Corsair CX430M Modular Power Supply Review

Post by skier »

Just ordered one for my Home server :)
Dell Optiplex 755 w E8400, 8GB, 2x 2TB Raid 1 with 320GB OS, and once I get the CX430M I'll have my extra USB3 controller in it for backups :D
(The stock Dell PSU only has 4 Sata connectors and 0 molex :( )

I just wish I caught the $25 deal #-o
-Austin
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Screamin' BCLK: Image
775 System (Overclocking Platform): Q8400/Q8300/E8400/E7400/E7500 - GA-EP45-UD3R v1.1 - 4GB (2x2) OCZ Reaper HPC DDR2 1066 CL5 2.1v Corsair TX-750w
Gamer: Asrock Z77 Extreme4, i7 3770K @4.6GHz, ThermalTake Armor A90 modded, 2x4GB GSKILL RipjawsX DDR3 2133 CL9, Corsair HX-750w, MSI GTX660 Twin Frozr
Server2012: Q9300 - 8GB DDR2 - Asus P5QL Pro - Corsair CX430 - Mirrored 2TB Seagate's with 2TB WD cav for fileshare backups, 1TB WD for OS backups
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