Corsair CS650M Power Supply Review

1. Introduction2. Corsair CS650M (Bundle & Cables)3. Corsair CS650M (External)4. Corsair CS650M (Internal)5. Corsair CS650M (Super High Res Gallery)6. Testing Methodology & Results7. Closing Thoughts8. View All Pages

Additional technical assistance: Peter McFarland and Jeremy Price.

Correctly testing power supplies is a complex procedure and KitGuru have configured a test bench which can deliver up to a 2,000 watt DC load. Due to public requests we have changed our temperature settings recently – previously we rated with ambient temperatures at 25C, we have increased ambient temperatures by 10c (to 35c) in our environment to greater reflect warmer internal chassis conditions.

We use combinations of the following hardware:
• SunMoon SM-268
• CSI3710A Programmable DC load (+3.3V and +5V outputs)
• CSI3711A Programmable DC load (+12V1, +12V2, +12V3, and +12V4)
• Extech Power Analyzer
• Extech MultiMaster MM570 digital multimeter
• SkyTronic DSL 2 Digital Sound Level Meter (6-130dBa)
• Digital oscilloscope (20M S/s with 12 Bit ADC)
• Variable Autotransformer, 1.4 KVA

DC Output Load Regulation
Combined DC Load	+3.3V		+5V		+12V		+5VSB		-12V
	A	V	A	V	A	V	A	V	A	V
152W	2.08	3.33	2.04	5.05	10.14	12.12	0.50	5.01	0.20	-12.06
270W	3.05	3.32	3.07	5.04	19.16	12.07	0.50	5.00	0.30	-12.04
400W	4.05	3.30	5.04	5.03	29.19	12.05	1.00	5.00	0.30	-12.05
523W	6.08	3.29	7.06	5.01	38.32	11.99	1.50	5.01	0.30	-12.02
650W	8.00	3.27	9.00	4.96	48.00	11.96	2.50	5.00	0.30	-12.05

Load regulation is reasonably good, although it does fall a little short of the best we have tested in recent months.

Corsair CS650M Power Supply	Maximum Load
	704W

The power supply would shut down at 704W, gracefully. The protection circuitry worked well.

Next we want to try Cross Loading. This basically means loads which are not balanced. If a PC for instance needs 500W on the +12V outputs but something like 30W via the combined 3.3V and +5V outputs then the voltage regulation can fluctuate badly.

Cross Load Testing	+3.3V		+5V		+12V		-12V		+5VSB
	A	V	A	V	A	V	A	V	A	V
590W	1.0	3.32	1.0	5.04	48.0	11.92	0.2	-12.04	0.50	5.01
145W	12.0	3.24	15.0	4.92	2.0	12.11	0.2	-12.05	0.50	5.01

Cross load results are not bad and fall within safe parameters. The +12v rail drops to 11.92 when hit with 48 amps.

We then used an oscilloscope to measure AC ripple and noise present on the DC outputs. We set the oscilloscope time base to check for AC ripple at both high and low ends of the spectrum. ATX12V V2.2 specification for DC output ripple and noise is defined in the ATX 12V power supply design guide.

ATX12V Ver 2.2 Noise/Ripple Tolerance
Output	Ripple (mV p-p)
+3.3V	50
+5V	50
+12V1	120
+12V2	120
-12V	120
+5VSB	50

Obviously when measuring AC noise and ripple on the DC outputs the cleaner (less recorded) means we have a better end result. We measured this AC signal amplitude to see how closely the unit complied with the ATX standard.

AC Ripple (mV p-p)
DC Load	+3.3V	+5V	+12V	5VSB
152W	15	15	15	10
270W	15	15	20	15
400W	15	20	25	20
523W	20	20	30	20
650W	25	25	45	25

Ripple suppression falls within the rated tolerance guidelines. The +3.3V and +5V output peak at 25mV. The +12V output hits 45mV at full load which is well within the rated guidelines.

Efficiency (%)
152W	90.11
270W	92.31
400W	91.77
523W	89.31
650W	89.55

Efficiency is very impressive – peaking around 92 percent at 50 percent load. At full load this drops to around 89.5 percent efficiency.

We take the issue of noise very seriously at KitGuru and this is why we have built a special home brew system as a reference point when we test noise levels of various components. Why do this? Well this means we can eliminate secondary noise pollution in the test room and concentrate on components we are testing. It also brings us slightly closer to industry standards, such as DIN 45635.

Today to test the Power Supply we have taken it into our acoustics room environment and have set our SkyTronic DSL 2 Digital Sound Level Meter (6-130dBa) one meter away from the unit. We have no other fans running so we can effectively measure just the noise from the unit itself.

As this can be a little confusing for people, here are various dBa ratings in with real world situations to help describe the various levels.

KitGuru noise guide
10dBA – Normal Breathing/Rustling Leaves
20-25dBA – Whisper
30dBA – High Quality Computer fan
40dBA – A Bubbling Brook, or a Refridgerator
50dBA – Normal Conversation
60dBA – Laughter
70dBA – Vacuum Cleaner or Hairdryer
80dBA – City Traffic or a Garbage Disposal
90dBA – Motorcycle or Lawnmower
100dBA – MP3 Player at maximum output
110dBA – Orchestra
120dBA – Front row rock concert/Jet Engine
130dBA – Threshold of Pain
140dBA – Military Jet takeoff/Gunshot (close range)
160dBA – Instant Perforation of eardrum

Noise (dBA)
152W	<28.0
270W	<28.0
400W	30.8
523W	33.5
650W	35.1

The power supply is quiet until around 500W load when it spins up to compensate for rising temperatures inside the chassis. At full load, the fan is clearly audible. It wouldn't be that practical to be running this power supply at 600W+ on a regular basis anyway.

Temperature (c)
	Intake	Exhaust
152W	36	40
270W	39	45
400W	42	50
523W	43	53
650W	45	56

The fan spins slowly in the first 50% of load, rising steadily to compensate as load reaches close to 100%.

Maximum load	Efficiency
704W	88.2

Pushing the PSU above its rated limits generates an ultimate efficiency level of around 88.2%. This is not a viable ‘real world’ situation, but it is interesting nonetheless.

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