Corsair SF450 Platinum SFX PSU Review: Best of the Best

Transient Response Tests

Advanced Transient Response Tests

For details on our transient response testing, please click here.

Ιn these tests, we monitor the PSU's response in several scenarios. First, a transient load (10A at +12V, 5A at 5V, 5A at 3.3V, and 0.5A at 5VSB) is applied for 200ms as the PSU works at 20 percent load. In the second scenario, it's hit by the same transient load while operating at 50 percent load.

In the next sets of tests, we increase the transient load on the major rails with a new configuration: 15A at +12V, 6A at 5V, 6A at 3.3V, and 0.5A at 5VSB. We also increase the load-changing repetition rate from 5 Hz (200ms) to 50 Hz (20ms). Again, this runs with the PSU operating at 20 and 50 percent load.

The last tests are even tougher. Although we keep the same loads, the load-changing repetition rate rises to 1 kHz (1ms).

In all of the tests, we use an oscilloscope to measure the voltage drops caused by the transient load. The voltages should remain within the ATX specification's regulation limits.

These tests are crucial because they simulate the transient loads a PSU is likely to handle (such as booting a RAID array or an instant 100 percent load of CPU/GPUs). We call these "Advanced Transient Response Tests," and they are designed to be very tough to master, especially for a PSU with a capacity of less than 500W.  

We should note that the ATX spec requires for capacitive loading during the transient rests, but in our methodology we chose to apply the worst case scenario with no extra capacitance on the rails. 

Advanced Transient Response at 20 Percent – 200ms

Advanced Transient Response at 20 Percent – 20ms

Advanced Transient Response at 20 Percent – 1ms

Advanced Transient Response at 50 Percent – 200ms

Advanced Transient Response at 50 Percent – 20ms

Advanced Transient Response at 50 Percent – 1ms

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Transient response on the +12V rail doesn't look good. Because this is a low-capacity PSU, it takes quite a hit from the loads that we apply. Performance is much better on the minor rails (especially 3.3V). But the 80 PLUS Gold-rated SF450 posts better benchmark results overall.

Here are the oscilloscope screenshots we took during Advanced Transient Response Testing:

Transient Response At 20 Percent Load – 200ms

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Transient Response At 20 Percent Load – 20ms

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Transient Response At 20 Percent Load – 1ms

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Transient Response At 50 Percent Load – 200ms

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Transient Response At 50 Percent Load – 20ms

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Transient Response At 50 Percent Load – 1ms

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Turn-On Transient Tests

In the next set of tests, we measure the SF450’s response in simpler transient load scenarios—during its power-on phase.

For our first measurement, we turn the power supply off, dial in the maximum current the 5VSB rail can handle, and switch the PSU back on. In the second test, we set the +12V rail's maximum load and start the PSU while it is in standby mode. In the last test, with the PSU switched completely off, we dial in the +12V rail's maximum load before restoring power. The ATX specification states that recorded spikes on all rails should not exceed 10 percent of their nominal values (+10 percent for 12V is 13.2V, and 5.5V for 5V).

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All three tests look almost performance; we don't spot any notable voltage overshoots or spikes.

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