Performance, Value, Noise & Efficiency
Performance Rating
The following graph shows the 450 B3's total performance rating, comparing it to other units we have tested. To be more specific, the tested unit is shown as 100 percent, and every other unit's performance is shown relative to it.
The 450 B3 achieves a high overall performance score, leaving Corsair's CX450M in the dust. Then again, the CX450M didn't blow up during our review, neither is it a potential fire hazard.
Performance Per Dollar
The following chart may be the most interesting to many of you because it depicts the 450 B3's performance-per-dollar score. We looked up the current price of each PSU on popular online shops and used those prices and all relative performance numbers to calculate the index. If the specific unit wasn't available in the United States, we searched for it in popular European Union shops, converting the listed price to USD (without VAT). Note that all of the numbers in the following graph are normalized by the rated power of each PSU.
Priced at $50, EVGA's 450 B3 achieves a very high score in this metric.
Noise Rating
The graph below depicts the cooling fan's average noise over the PSU's operating range, with an ambient temperature between 30°C and 32°C (86°F to 89.6°F).
Corsair's CX450M gets its revenge with ~3 dB(A) less overall noise output.
Efficiency Rating
The following graph shows the average efficiency of the PSU throughout its operating range, with an ambient temperature close to 30°C.
The efficiency difference between EVGA's 450 B3 and Corair's CX450M is small, though they both land at the bottom of this chart.
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