Packaging and bundle

Corsair are renowned for their RAM modules and have also built a strong catalogue of hardware components in other sectors, including power supplies. The HX620W unit is the latest and greatest Corsair unit, a very good enthusiast power supply which has survived for many months without revisions. Today Corsair is taking a different approach with the release of the VX450W and VX550W units, which are designed with optimal value in mind, not extreme performance. The big question, "So is it any good?" will be answered today.

The Corsair VX450W unit is supplied in a simple cardboard box, Everything is well packed but there is no excessive means of protection; the unit is only wrapped in a bubble bag, so it is up to the thick walls of the box to protect the unit during transportation. Inside the package you will find a well written manual, a few black screws and many cable ties.

The unit

The VX450W is a simple matte black, non reflective unit. A 120mm fan at the bottom uses air from the case interior to cool the unit which then escapes from the perforated rear of the unit to the exterior of the case. Only a small on/off rocker switch can be found at the rear of the unit.

The sticker with the unit’s specifications is present at the top of the unit, a rather unusual place. A green sticker with the Corsair logo and the unit’s model dominates both of the sides of the unit. The VX450W unit is not modular and so a bunch of cables is pre-attached at the front of the unit. These cables offer six Molex 4-pin connectors, two floppy 4-pin connectors, four SATA connectors, a single 6-pin PCIe 12V connector, an ATX 20/24 pin connector, and finally a four pin and an eight pin 12V CPU connector. Certainly not a unit suitable for Crossfire or SLI setups, but it ought to get the job done in a typical system.

The interior of the VX450W is well laid out, there are no huge heatsinks instead relying on its high efficiency and the quality Adda fan to remain cool. There is a single 12V line, which is a good thing for a low power PSU since multiple weak lines would make it easy to trigger the overload protection of the unit. A single, strong 12V line is clearly a good choice from Corsair and because of the lack of many components and large heatsinks, the VX450W is considerably lightweight. This means that Corsair also has to fight the urban legend among enthusiasts that a heavier PSU is a better PSU as well.