Question What do you think of the Corsair VS450?

[NightHawkRMX]

I have always thought of the VS line as very low end and not very trustworthy for a gaming pc with a GPU powerfull enough to need 6 or 8 pin power connectors.
I have also heard the inside components are prone to failure.
However i read this article by toms hardware that somewhat contradicted my thoughts:
https://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/corsair-vs450-power-supply,6076.html
Is the VS450 a trustworthy psu for an entry level gaming pc?

 

[PC Tailor]

For it's price range, it's a good PSU - the problem is that most PSUs at that price range still lack in safety.

I think they cover the review well, but cover some main concerns here:

The over power protection is set too high, allowing the 12V rail to drop as low as 11.16V. We had to abort this test else the PSU would break. Usually the first sign before an imminent failure are the bottom low voltages. Finally, the power ok signal is lower than 16ms but it is accurate, which is what matters the most.

Given its budget orientation, the Corsair VS450 is a decent product. Personally I wouldn't buy such a low efficiency power supply, but there are still users out there that don't want to invest more, so there is a large market for low-efficiency PSUs. If you want something more efficient, costing only a few bucks/pounds more, you should take a look at the Corsair CX450 or the CX450M which comes with modular cables.

OCP and OPP are not properly set

If you don't have increased demands from your power supply and want to spend the least amount possible, the Corsair VS450 deserves a consideration.

And I think the last one covers it largely - yes fine for a budget, but for anything serious, you should always put the money where it is needed.

 

[ElectrO_90]

We all can't afford the best, or we would all be driving Bentley's and such. Also we don't want to be spending a lot of money on a PSU that looks good and performs bad.
For it's price, it is made by a decent company (well badged as one) and suits the budget.

This is where confusion from Reviews come in. Do you compare a cheap PSU to an expensive one and then give it 3/5 or is that 3/5 compared to other cheap PSU's out there? If so, which PSU for that price is 5/5?

 

[jankerson]

I have always thought of the VS line as very low end and not very trustworthy for a gaming pc with a GPU powerfull enough to need 6 or 8 pin power connectors.
I have also heard the inside components are prone to failure.
However i read this article by toms hardware that somewhat contradicted my thoughts:
https://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/corsair-vs450-power-supply,6076.html
Is the VS450 a trustworthy psu for an entry level gaming pc?

For any gaming PC look for a better unit than that.

The ripple is horrendous and they didn't do certain tests to keep the PSU from breaking.

 

[geofelt]

I have always liked the Corsair products.
Yes, it seems that their budget power supplies are more prone to failure.
But they are not dangerous to other components.
The Corsair RMA process is relatively painless.
I have had two CX430 units replaced under warranty.
For a budget build and a budget price, I think the VS450 is ok.

But... I like a entry level budget build to be prepared for future upgrades.
If that is a possibility, I would go stronger and buy Seasonic focus 550w.

 

[jankerson]

I have always liked the Corsair products.
Yes, it seems that their budget power supplies are more prone to failure.
But they are not dangerous to other components.
The Corsair RMA process is relatively painless.
I have had two CX430 units replaced under warranty.
For a budget build and a budget price, I think the VS450 is ok.

But... I like a entry level budget build to be prepared for future upgrades.
If that is a possibility, I would go stronger and buy Seasonic focus 550w.

Did you read that review, that thing is terriable? LOL

Politics going on there, any other PSU that was as bad as that one would get a fail / do not buy.

That's why people need to actually read the reviews, they didn't hide the problems.

 

[PC Tailor]

The Corsair RMA process is relatively painless.

This I can absolutely stand by, which is why if I ever do have to recommend budget, it would sooner be something like a Corsair.
Had issues with a couple of Corsairs and I had them replaced in less than a week both times.

 

[geofelt]

Did you read that review, that thing is terriable? LOL

Politics going on there, any other PSU that was as bad as that one would get a fail / do not buy.

That's why people need to actually read the reviews, they didn't hide the problems.

Pursuant to your comment, I did read the review.
The conclusion as I read it was that the VS450 is a decent budget product.

My comments were based on personal experience of a population of perhaps 6 CX430 units.

 

[jankerson]

Pursuant to your comment, I did read the review.
The conclusion as I read it was that the VS450 is a decent budget product.

My comments were based on personal experience of a population of perhaps 6 CX430 units.

With enough ripple to slowly bake and kill the PC parts.

It's horrendous.

The 5V rail cannot deliver its nominal power since the OCP is set at 16A, while theoretically, at least, this rail can deliver up to 20A.


The over power protection is set too high, allowing the 12V rail to drop as low as 11.16V. We had to abort this test else the PSU would break.

It's a time bomb waiting to happen.

 

[InvalidError]

We all can't afford the best, or we would all be driving Bentley's and such.

Depends on what you consider 'best'... if 'best' is in terms of reliability, then Toyota makes many of the most reliable cars on the planet while prestige names tend to be high maintenance with absurdly expensive repairs. From a practical standpoint, I'd rather have a cheap yet reliable car than a fancy one that costs a fortune in maintenance.

The Seasonic S12-II may lack the bells and whistles of modern prestige PSUs but it is just as much if not more reliable than most of them for a fraction of the price. Corsair VS on the other hand is on par with the crappy old CX unless VS got a CX-style refresh too.

 

[jankerson]

Depends on what you consider 'best'... if 'best' is in terms of reliability, then Toyota makes many of the most reliable cars on the planet while prestige names tend to be high maintenance with absurdly expensive repairs. From a practical standpoint, I'd rather have a cheap yet reliable car than a fancy one that costs a fortune in maintenance.

The Seasonic S12-II may lack the bells and whistles of modern prestige PSUs but it is just as much if not more reliable than most of them for a fraction of the price. Corsair VS on the other hand is on par with the crappy old CX unless VS got a CX-style refresh too.

Yeah reliable units don't really cost much more than the garage ones do.

Maybe $10 to $15 more.

 

[NightHawkRMX]

I think its worth it to at least get a newer CX450. They arent much more expensive, have black wires, bronze efficiency, and generally are going to fail less.

My CX550m has been working fine for me. I dealt with Corsair rma and they seemed pretty easy. I ended up not going through with the rma since I found my no boot situation was caused by a molex to fan splitter that came with my s340. Unplugging the spilitter made my system work.

I would assume the CX was tripping a safety due to the faulty splitter. With a crap psu, something bad could have happened.

 

[TJ Hooker]

With enough ripple to slowly bake and kill the PC parts.

It's horrendous.

The over power protection is set too high, allowing the 12V rail to drop as low as 11.16V. We had to abort this test else the PSU would break.

It's a time bomb waiting to happen.

Ripple isn't too much worse than a CX450, which is generally considered a decent budget option. Keep in mind the ATX spec allows 120 mV ripple, more than double what the VS450 has.

Regarding the OPP, as long as you don't try to run it near or over max rated capacity and you should be fine.

For an APU build or something a graphics card like a 1060 or less I'd say it's OK if you're on a tight budget and there aren't any other better options for a similar price. I'd just make sure to point out that it has a relatively short warranty and that one shouldn't assume it'll necessarily last much longer than 3 years.

 

[TJ Hooker]

I have also heard the inside components are prone to failure.
However i read this article by toms hardware that somewhat contradicted my thoughts:
https://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/corsair-vs450-power-supply,6076.html
Is the VS450 a trustworthy psu for an entry level gaming pc?

Some examples of components that will likely have shorter lifespans compared to a better PSU are the primary side capacitors which are rated for 85C (compared to higher quality ones that are rated for 105C) and the sleeve bearing fan (compared to fluid dynamic fans commonly used in better PSUs).