Ripple Measurements

To learn how we measure ripple, please click here.

The following table includes the ripple levels we measured on the CX450’s rails. The limits, according to the ATX specification, are 120mV (+12V) and 50mV (5V, 3.3V and 5VSB).

Corsair CX450 - CWT

Test	12V	5V	3.3V	5VSB	Pass/Fail
10% Load	15.3mV	8.3mV	9.2mV	6.2mV	Pass
20% Load	20.0mV	8.2mV	9.9mV	7.0mV	Pass
30% Load	19.2mV	8.2mV	10.0mV	7.3mV	Pass
40% Load	19.6mV	9.2mV	10.5mV	7.8mV	Pass
50% Load	32.5mV	9.1mV	11.4mV	8.2mV	Pass
60% Load	32.3mV	8.5mV	12.0mV	8.5mV	Pass
70% Load	33.9mV	10.4mV	17.6mV	8.7mV	Pass
80% Load	28.3mV	11.3mV	15.6mV	11.5mV	Pass
90% Load	29.0mV	12.3mV	16.1mV	12.1mV	Pass
100% Load	30.6mV	12.6mV	17.0mV	14.1mV	Pass
110% Load	32.1mV	13.5mV	17.7mV	16.3mV	Pass
Cros-Load 1	26.1mV	7.3mV	11.0mV	8.7mV	Pass
Cross-Load 2	33.8mV	13.7mV	16.1mV	12.2mV	Pass

Corsair CX450 - Great Wall

Test	12V	5V	3.3V	5VSB	Pass/Fail
10% Load	22.8mV	7.4mV	7.1mV	6.5mV	Pass
20% Load	35.3mV	8.8mV	8.3mV	7.0mV	Pass
30% Load	54.7mV	10.0mV	9.2mV	7.6mV	Pass
40% Load	41.7mV	10.6mV	10.5mV	8.1mV	Pass
50% Load	37.1mV	12.1mV	11.5mV	9.0mV	Pass
60% Load	35.7mV	14.4mV	12.3mV	9.8mV	Pass
70% Load	35.3mV	14.8mV	14.0mV	11.1mV	Pass
80% Load	36.6mV	14.7mV	14.9mV	12.8mV	Pass
90% Load	39.0mV	15.6mV	16.7mV	14.6mV	Pass
100% Load	44.2mV	17.9mV	18.1mV	14.9mV	Pass
110% Load	48.1mV	20.0mV	18.6mV	20.1mV	Pass
Cross-Load 1	54.1mV	13.9mV	15.5mV	10.7mV	Pass
Cross-Load 2	45.2mV	14.8mV	13.7mV	15.7mV	Pass

Comparison Graphs

The Great Wall-based unit's minor rails performed well. But ripple at +12V was higher than what we measured from CWT's model. That latter design served up excellent ripple suppression on all of its rails. To be sure, you don't often see 31 millivolt (mV) of ripple under full load at 47°C from a budget-oriented PSU.

Ripple Oscilloscope Screenshots - Great Wall

The following oscilloscope screenshots illustrate the AC (alternating current) 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 0.01V) 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

MORE: Best Power Supplies

MORE: How We Test Power Supplies

MORE: All Power Supply Content

Page 1:Features & Specifications

Page 2:Unboxing Video

Page 3:Teardown & Component Analysis

Page 4:Load Regulation, Hold-Up Time & Inrush Current

Page 5:Efficiency, Temperature & Noise

Page 6:Protection Features & DC Power Sequencing

Page 7:Cross-Load Tests & Infrared Images

Page 8:Transient Response Tests

Page 9:Ripple Measurements

Page 10:EMI Pre-Compliance Testing

Page 11:Performance, Value, Noise & Efficiency

Page 12:Final Analysis