Corsair HX520W Review

Testing (Continued):

Efficiency and Power Factor:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Output & Efficiency at 110VAC
DC Load (W)	AC Load (VA)	AC Load (W)	PF	Efficiency (%)	Pass/Fail
0	8	5	0.70	N/A	N/A
140	169	168	0.99	83	Pass
334	400	397	1.0	84	Pass
506	650	649	1.0	78	Pass

 

Output & Efficiency at 230VAC
DC Load (W)	AC Load (VA)	AC Load (W)	PF	Efficiency (%)	Pass/Fail
0	10	0.2	0.24	N/A	N/A
140	171	166	0.95	84	Pass
334	400	393	0.98	85	Pass
506	643	632	0.98	80	Pass

 

Corsair does not claim any international efficiency standards for the HX520W in the accompanying literature and quite simply states in the features "up to 80% efficiency under wide load range." The Corsair HX520W performed admirably with some excellent results. This power supply easily meets the ATX12V minimum required efficiency and therefore gets an emphatic pass.

Corsair also claims, in the features, "99% active power supply correction" which it failed to meet at 140W DC loading with a 230VAC input. Not such a big deal, but a minor discretion nonetheless.

These are excellent results for efficiency and the PF results are still satisfactory.

 

AC Ripple on DC Outputs:

 

All AC ripple measurements are made at the maximum load, and were found to be virtually identical for 110VAC and 230VAC input. I have therefore included oscilloscope screenshots for 230VAC only.

 

AC Ripple on 3V3 rail.

 

AC Ripple on 5V0 rail.

 

AC Ripple on 12V rail.

 

Corsair HX520W AC Ripple/Noise Measurements
DC Output	+3V3	+5V0	+12V1	+12V2	+12V3	-12V	+5VSB
Ripple (mV p-p)	5	5	28	28	28	30	15
Pass/Fail	Pass	Pass	Pass	Pass	Pass	Pass	Pass

 

AC ripple/noise levels are excellent. The 3V3 and 5V0 rails are very clean with substantially more ripple on the 12V0 rails. This is to be expected and 28mV is still well under the 120mV maximum set by the ATX12V specification.