Introduction

We would like to thank Corsair for supplying the review sample.

Even though high-end enthusiast products add prestige to manufacturers, the middle and low end ones are of more interest to a greater portion of users and at the end of the day most profit comes from these models, since they are more affordable and sell in larger volume. So it’s natural that all manufacturers strive to have a decent low-middle end PSU category, to satisfy the needs of the average user who does not want to spend a small fortune, yet still wants a reliable power supply.

Corsair’s low end PSU series is called "Builder", with capacities ranging from 400W to 600W. According to Corsair the models of this series deliver worry-free compatibility to a home system and include features normally reserved only to premium and more expensive PSUs. In general they offer great value and their quiet operation along with fair efficiency makes them ideal for low/medium specification home or office PCs. Recently Corsair added three new PSUs to this line, the CX430 V2, CX500 V2 and CX600 V2. In this review we will rigorously test the smallest of the above and find out if it fulfills Corsair’s promises.

Specifications

The PSU does not feature overcurrent protection so, taking also into account that there is only one +12V rail, overpower protection will handle the job if anything goes wrong. Finally, the warranty is satisfactory for a product of this category and price range.


Corsair states 430W maximum power at only 30°C. This is a very low ambient even for a case with good airflow. In our tests we will raise the ambient beyond 40°C and see how the PSU handles the heat. Let's remind you here that the ATX specification recommends that a PSU should be able to deliver full power even at 50°C ambient.

Cables & Connectors, Power Distribution

The number of connectors in general is very restricted, something partially justified by the small capacity of the PSU. Regarding the peripheral connectors we would like to see two additional ones, since three are very few. Also to our surprise the PSU is equipped with a single 6+2 pin PCIe connector. To the best of our knowledge there isn't any VGA card that uses a single 8-pin power connector, instead all midrange cards are powered by one or two 6 pin connectors. High-end cards come with 6+8 pin or 2x 8-pin - but never a single 8-pin alone. It would have made much more sense if Corsair had put two 6-pin connectors on the cable, which have a maximum power draw of 150 W, just like a single 6+2 connector. This would dramatically improve the versatility of the power supply. Very weird choice indeed. Finally, all cables use 18 AWG wires, the ATX recommended wire size.

Since this PSU features a single +12V rail we do not have anything to comment about its power distribution.