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- Date:
- Tuesday , August 14, 2007
- Author:
- Paul Johnson
- Editor:
- Kyle Bennett
- Google +1
Corsair VX450W Power Supply
Corsair has made a name for themselves when it comes to mid-powered computer PSUs, and now they aim to bring that quality to a fully different market and price range. Is their new 450 watt unit able to reach the watermark set by their previous products?
Build Quality
As we already know the Corsair VX450W features a single 120mm fan design like the rest of Corsair's offerings that has come to be the preferred standard for quiet cooling environments, which Seasonic has been the longtime leader in, due to the ability to move a larger volume of air at slower speeds than a smaller diameter fan. While great for quiet computing environments the key criteria in our evaluation is whether or not the cooling solution is sufficient, not necessary it’s sound level or form factor.
External Build Quality
The external finish of the VX450W is identical to the Seasonic S12II-500 save for the Corsair badging on the unit. It features a flat textured black that is resistant to scratching unlike the mirrored finishes found on many units. Like the finish used on Seasonic S12II-500 it is resistant enough that it did not scratch even when I had to use a flathead screw driver to pry the two halves apart to do the internal examination just like was required during the S12II-500 dissection. The back of the unit is bare except for the on/off switch as the unit is full range and has a single overhead 120mm fan which is covered with a wire grill but has not Corsair logo. On the front we see the wiring bundle exit the housing with a wire guard over the same rolled metal section the S12II-500 uses without a wire guard.
Also like the S12II series the VX450W wires are all sheathed for the entire length which is a welcome sight as many companies only sleeve to the first connector leaving the job looking half finished. The wires on this unit however are significantly longer than the S12II as they provide a serviceable length of ~23 inches.
Internal Build Quality
Before anyone asks no I am not recycling images from the recent Seasonic S12II-500 review except for the first labeled comparison shot here. All of these are the images are of the Corsair VX450W. Save for a few slight differences in component selection and rated capacity the units look identical. The difference in rated capacity is not entirely unexpected as the platform used for the S12II-500 is shared by the entire current range of the S12II family.
S12II-500/VX450W
VX450W
Just like with the S12II-500 once the 4 screws securing the fan and upper housing are removed, and liberal amounts of force are exerted with a flat head screw driver, we are left looking at a rather sparse interior. The overall layout is the same as the S12II and is typical of a single 12v transformer power supply though there is almost an inch of extra room in the back of the unit between the PCB and the housing. The two units share the same PCB, the heatsinks in the Corsair VX450W are the same as found in the S12II-500 and both units are mated with a single 120mm overhead fan. The fan charged with cooling this unit is the exact same ADDA fan rated at 0.33A at 12v that was in the S12II-500 and has the same clear plastic piece that is meant to direct air through the unit in a specific manner to aide in cooling the unit.
On the primary side we see a single Hitachi capacitor rated at 330uF 400v and 105c. This is very similar to the S12II-500 which featured a Rubycon primary capacitor rated at 330uF 400v and 85c. Both selections are high quality Japanese capacitors and welcome sights. As on the primary side we also see that the VX450W uses the same transformer as was found in the S12II-500 continuing the similarity in the units.
On the secondary side we see that the unit is populated by Nippon Chemi-con capacitors. The secondary differs slightly from the S12II-500 in that instead of a solid capacitor on the 12v rail we see a traditional electrolytic capacitor. What changes this will have on the output quality of this unit will be determined shortly. Finally on the secondary we see the wiring bundled and exiting the housing where the wire guard is protecting the wiring.
Overall the build quality of the Seasonic built Corsair is top notch. The Corsair VX450W and the Seasonic S12II-500 share the same platform but there are a few differences in the two to be found. The Corsair features a Hitachi primary capacitor rated at 105c versus the Seasonic’s Rubycon rated at 85c, the Corsair has a wire guard, and the Corsair is lacking the solid capacitor on the secondary side. Overall this unit should perform very closely to that of the Seasonic but we will see in our testing if the small differences in the two result in big performance differences.