The Corsair SF450 and SF600 are power supplies designed for specific small form factor, space restricted environments and we have no hestitation in giving them both a very high recommendation.
Cosmetically, we love the understated design and paintwork, including the pure modular implementation which will prove popular with the enthusiast audience. The modular cables are high grade, flat ribbon style, suited to the audience who want to achieve the best looking build with good air flow around hot running components.
Many small SFX power supplies are hampered with sub 80mm fans spinning at extreme speeds however Corsair's adoption of a larger 92mm fan in both units has proven very practical indeed.
Noise levels are low for a power supply of this diminuitive stature as the large blades are able to shift a lot of air to guarantee stable operation. The fan only has to work hard when the larger 600 watt unit is close to the limit, so most times noise levels will be very low.
Technically the design is solid. Load regulation from both supplies is stellar, and ripple suppression rates very highly indeed peaking at 15mV via both +3.3V and +5V rails. The +12V rails both peak at 30mV at full load, which is well within industry rated tolerance safety levels. Both units hit very high levels of efficiency, peaking at just over 92% around 50% load.
Unlike some of their competitors, Corsair have incorporated 105c Japanese Capacitors throughout these SF supplies, which earns them bonus points. It is always reassuring to find a company spending a little extra on Nippon Chemi Con or Rubycon capacitors – long term it makes sense.
The Corsair SF400 and SF600 will be available this week online for £64.99 and £94.99 inc vat respectively. Due to their niche nature SFX power supplies are expensive but we are confident that these Corsair models are some of the best on the market. We powered a liquid cooled overclocked Core 6700k system with Titan X graphics card, 32GB of memory, and multiple hard drives from the SF600 and it was completely stable over the course of a weeks intensive stress testing.
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Pros:
- lovely understated appearance.
- 105C Japanese capacitors.
- 92mm low noise fans.
- can deliver over their rated power before shut off.
- ripple suppression.
- load regulation.
- High levels of efficiency.
- 5 year warranty
Cons:
- SFX power supplies are expensive.
Kitguru says: Both Corsair SF450 and SF600 power supplies are technically solid designs and will be ideal for many small form factor system builds. The adoption of an effective, large 92mm fan and 105c Japanese capacitors ensure they will deliver quality power for a long time.