Corsair SF450 Platinum SFX PSU Review

1. Introduction2. Packaging, Contents & Exterior3. Teardown & Component Analysis4. Load Regulation, Hold-Up Time & Inrush Current5. Efficiency, Temperature & Noise6. Protection Features & DC Power Sequencing7. Cross-Load Tests & Infrared Images8. Transient Response Tests9. Ripple Measurements10. Performance, Value, Noise & Efficiency11. Final Analysis12. View All Pages

Protection Features

Our protection features evaluation methodology is described in detail here.

Protection Features
OCP	12V: 50.6A (134.93%), 12.039V 5V: 26.1A (130.5%), 5.043V 3.3V: 27.7A (184.67%), 3.343V 5VSB: 3.4A (136%), 4.999V
OPP	622.9W (138.42%)
OTP	✓ (140°C @ Secondary side)
SCP	12V: ✓ 5V: ✓ 3.3V: ✓ 5VSB: ✓ -12V: ✓
PWR_OK	Accurate (but lower than 16ms)
NLO	✓
SIP	Surge: MOV Inrush: NTC Thermistor & Bypass Relay

With the only exception being the 3.3V rail, all the rest of the voltages have ideally configured over current protection triggering points. Moreover, the over temperature protection works well and gets activated once the temperature in the secondary side reaches 140°C.

The over power protection is set a little higher than the ideal 130% setting, however this is a low capacity supply so Corsair probably wanted to avoid any problems with power spikes, which can be generated by high-end GPUs.

There is short circuit protection on all rails and the power ok signal is accurate, but it is lower than 16ms which is the minimum period allowed by the ATX spec.

Finally, there is a Metal Oxide Varistor which protects not only the power supply but the whole system from power surges coming from the mains grid, while a NTC thermistor and bypass relay combo suppress the high inrush currents, during the PSU's start-up phase.

DC Power Sequencing

According to Intel’s most recent Power Supply Design Guide (revision 1.4) the +12V and 5V voltages must be equal or greater than the 3.3V rail’s output at all times, during the power-up and normal operation. For our first measurement, we turn the unit off and switch it back on without any load in any of the rails.

In the second test, we set the PSU to standby mode, dial full load and start it afterwards. In the last test, while the power supply is completely switched off (we cut off the power or switch the supply off through its power switch), we dial full load before restoring power.

The 3.3V rail is always lower than the 5V and 12V rails, so the power supply passes with success the required, by Intel's ATX spec, DC power sequencing tests.

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