Corsair CX650M PSU Review
Corsair's CX series consists of both non-modular and semi-modular units. It was recently upgraded with new members and improved versions of older ones. The CX650M is the third strongest member of the line, featuring 650W capacity and a 40°C rating.
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Ripple Measurements
To learn how we measure ripple, please click here.
The following table includes the ripple levels we measured on the CX650M's rails. The limits, according to the ATX specification, are 120mV (+12V) and 50mV (5V, 3.3V and 5VSB).
Test | 12V | 5V | 3.3V | 5VSB | Pass/Fail |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
10% Load | 8.8mV | 8.0mV | 10.9mV | 11.0mV | Pass |
20% Load | 9.8mV | 8.4mV | 12.0mV | 12.0mV | Pass |
30% Load | 11.6mV | 8.7mV | 12.6mV | 13.7mV | Pass |
40% Load | 12.7mV | 9.7mV | 13.3mV | 14.6mV | Pass |
50% Load | 14.4mV | 10.1mV | 15.7mV | 16.3mV | Pass |
60% Load | 21.2mV | 12.0mV | 16.2mV | 17.8mV | Pass |
70% Load | 24.1mV | 12.9mV | 18.8mV | 19.3mV | Pass |
80% Load | 26.3mV | 13.4mV | 18.0mV | 21.2mV | Pass |
90% Load | 27.5mV | 13.5mV | 19.5mV | 22.7mV | Pass |
100% Load | 31.8mV | 16.6mV | 23.4mV | 25.8mV | Pass |
110% Load | 34.8mV | 18.0mV | 24.9mV | 28.0mV | Pass |
Cross-Load 1 | 10.5mV | 10.0mV | 13.1mV | 13.2mV | Pass |
Cross-Load 2 | 32.9mV | 15.9mV | 23.6mV | 25.1mV | Pass |
Ripple suppression is amazing for this price category. The +12V rail exceeds 30 mV only during the full load and overload tests, while the 5V rail stays below 20 mV and the 3.3V rail doesn't exceed 25 mV in any case. The combination of electrolytic and polymer caps does an excellent job.
Ripple Oscilloscope Screenshots
The following oscilloscope screenshots illustrate the AC ripple and noise registered on the main rails (+12V, 5V, 3.3V and 5VSB). The bigger the fluctuations on the screen, the bigger the ripple/noise. We set 0.01 V/Div (each vertical division/box equals 0.01 V) as the standard for all measurements.
Ripple At Full Load
Ripple At 110-Percent Load
Ripple At Cross-Load 1
Ripple At Cross-Load 2
Current page: Ripple Measurements
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Aris Mpitziopoulos is a Contributing Editor at Tom's Hardware US, covering PSUs.
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turkey3_scratch Onus why would Corsair produce me?Reply
Anyway I think the price/performance page shows all. This thing rocks!
Also Jonnyguru claims it is a rifle bearing fan that has the same model # as the sleeve variant. -
benedict78 Does the CX650 perform the same as the CX650M? I'm not interested in modularity anyway.Reply -
Aris_Mp I have several CM and CX-M units, which I plan to fully evaluate. So far I figured that there are differences (something natural of course) in their performance.Reply -
Dark Lord of Tech Could you put the newer CXM 750W OR 850W on deck soon , as they are widely use for DUAL CARD configurations.Reply -
turkey3_scratch The 750W and 850W CXM units are basically unchanged except for a bridge rectifier upgrade. Everything else is the same. Only the CX450-650M got the major revisions.Reply -
Dark Lord of Tech Yeah I know that , but want to see one reviewed , to compare top older generations.Reply