Coolmax CXI 400W PSU

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by Rob Williams on September 14, 2005 in Cases & PSUs

Coolmax have been around for awhile, but have recently become more popular in the PSU market. Not too long ago, they released their CXI line of power supplies, which follow the new ATX 2.0 standard. Their higher models are even built for SLi use, in 500 and 600 wattages. Today, we are taking a look at their 400W version, so let’s see just how good it is!

Page 3 – Stress Testing


To test the PSU, I used a collection of programs to help achieve the ultimate load on the unit. After a fresh bootup, I loaded Motherboard Monitor which we are using to capture the Rail highs and lows readouts.

Here is the system that the PSU is being tested in:

Processor
AMD 64 3200+ S939 Venice @ 2.70GHz
Motherboard
Power Supply
Coolmax CXI 400W
Memory
2GB (1*2) OCZ Gold GX PC4000
3-4-4-8 @ 3.0v
Hard Disks
160GB Western Digital 8MB Cache
Sound Card
Video Card
eVGA 7800GT PCI-E 256MB
Using BETA 78.03 drivers.
Etcetera
Windows XP Professional with SP2

I first started off with PC Mark 2005 Professional Edition. Running the full suite, it tests all of the system components, and gives us a good start to testing. Once that was finished, I loaded up Half-Life 2 and loaded a few maps, including Canals. I played the game for around 30 minutes. During work on a review, I usually find any excuse to stop and game ;)

After finishing the gaming, I then started a 32 Million test in Super Pi. With that running, I then opened Prime95, and started the Blend mode. Then, I loaded up HD Tune and let it do a full scan of the primary HDD. With all three of these programs running, I started up Aquamark and had it running on a loop. Before you ask, Yes, Aquamark loaded really really slow :)

All four tests were continuously run for an hour. This could be considered a bit much, but it should push the Rails to their limits.

Conclusion

I’m really impressed with this power supply. 400w proved ample power for the tested system easily. The largest fluctuation we had, was on the +12v Rail, which still performed extremely well. Overall, the results from stress testing are fantastic.

We have a winner here! I’m glad I had the opportunity to review this PSU, because now I can add another trusted company to the list. The PSU comes with more than enough connectors, looks good, and is quiet. The included 120mm fan does a great job of cooling and is extremely quiet at the same time, so we win both ways here. The last kicker is the awesome price.

If you are looking for a new PSU to feed your system, you can add this one to your list of ones to consider. We have been lucky with the products we’ve reviewed here at Techgage lately, because once again we are awarding another product a well deserved 9/10 and an Editors Choice award. Thanks to Coolmax for providing us the sample for review!

If you have anything you’d like to say about the review, comments and questions are welcomed in our RELATED THREAD. Registration is not necessary, but we welcome you to if you wish to stick around!



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Rob Williams

Rob founded Techgage in 2005 to be an 'Advocate of the consumer', focusing on fair reviews and keeping people apprised of news in the tech world. Catering to both enthusiasts and businesses alike; from desktop gaming to professional workstations, and all the supporting software.

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