Cooler Master Extreme 2 475 W Power Supply Review
Load Tests
Contents
We conducted several tests with this power supply, as described in the article, “Hardware Secrets Power Supply Test Methodology.”
Because we had no clue of the real wattage of this power supply, we tested it differently. Starting from 85 W, we increased the load little by little until we could see the maximum amount of power we could extract from the reviewed unit.
If you add all the powers listed for each test, you may find a different value than what is posted under “Total” below. Since each output can have a slight variation (e.g., the +5 V output working at +5.10 V), the actual total amount of power being delivered is slightly different than the calculated value. In the “Total” row, we are using the real amount of power being delivered, as measured by our load tester.
The +12VA and +12VB inputs listed below are the two +12 V independent inputs from our load tester. During this test, the +12VA input was connected to the power supply +12V1 rail, while the +12VB input was connected to the power supply +12V2 rail.
| Input | Test 1 | Test 2 | Test 3 |
Test 4 |
| +12VA | 3 A (36 W) | 3.5 A (42 W) | 4.25 A (51 W) | 5.5 A (66 W) |
| +12VB | 2.5 A (30 W) | 3.25 A (39 W) | 4.25 A (51 W) | 5.5 A (66 W) |
| +5 V | 1 A (5 W) | 1 A (5 W) | 1.5 A (7.5 W) | 1.5 A (7.5 W) |
| +3.3 V | 1 A (3.3 W) | 1 A (3.3 W) | 1.5 A (4.95 W) | 1.5 A (4.95 W) |
| +5VSB | 1 A (5 W) | 1 A (5 W) | 1 A (5 W) | 1 A (5 W) |
| -12 V | 0.5 A (6 W) | 0.5 A (6 W) | 0.5 A (6 W) | 0.5 A (6 W) |
| Total | 90.3 W | 102.0 W | 126.9 W | 152.8 W |
| % Max Load | 19.0% | 21.5% | 26.7% | 32.2% |
| Room Temp. | 43.8° C | 43.8° C | 43.6° C | 43.4° C |
| PSU Temp. | 49.4° C | 48.8° C | 48.3° C | 48.0° C |
| Voltage Regulation | Pass | Pass | Pass | Pass |
| Ripple and Noise | Pass | Pass | Pass | Pass |
| AC Power | 124.7 W | 138.4 W | 167.7 W | 199.2 W |
| Efficiency | 72.4% | 73.7% | 75.7% | 76.7% |
| AC Voltage | 116.1 V | 116.7 V | 115.7 V | 115.5 V |
| Power Factor | 0.641 | 0.653 | 0.663 | 0.669 |
| Final Result | Pass | Pass | Pass | Pass |
| Input | Test 5 | Test 6 | Test 7 | Test 8 |
| +12VA | 6.25 A (75 W) | 7.25 A (87 W) | 8.25 A (99 W) | 9 A (108 W) |
| +12VB | 6.25 A (75 W) | 7.25 A (87 W) | 8 A (96 W) | 9 A (108 W) |
| +5 V | 2 A (10 W) | 2 A (10 W) | 2.5 A (12.5 W) | 2.5 A (12.5 W) |
| +3.3 V | 2 A (6.6 W) | 2 A (6.6 W) | 2.5 A (8.25 W) | 2.5 A (8.25 W) |
| +5VSB | 1 A (5 W) | 1 A (5 W) | 1.5 A (7.5 W) | 1.5 A (7.5 W) |
| -12 V | 0.5 A (6 W) | 0.5 A (6 W) | 0.5 A (6 W) | 0.5 A (6 W) |
| Total | 174.6 W | 197.8 W | 221.4 W | 244.1 W |
| % Max Load | 36.8% | 41.6% | 46.6% | 51.4% |
| Room Temp. | 43.6° C | 43.8° C | 43.8° C | 44.1° C |
| PSU Temp. | 47.9° C | 48.0° C | 48.4° C | 49.2° C |
| Voltage Regulation | Pass | Pass | Pass | Pass |
| Ripple and Noise | Pass | Pass | Pass | Pass |
| AC Power | 225.0 W | 254.3 W | 285.8 W | 316.0 W |
| Efficiency | 77.6% | 77.8% | 77.5% | 77.2% |
| AC Voltage | 116.1 V | 115.7 V | 114.9 V | 114.5 V |
| Power Factor | 0.673 | 0.676 | 0.675 | 0.676 |
| Final Result | Pass | Pass | Pass | Pass |
| Input | Test 9 | Test 10 | Test 11 | Test 12 |
| +12VA | 10 A (120 W) | 11 A (132 W) | 12 A (144 W) | 13 A (156 W) |
| +12VB | 10 A (120 W) | 11 A (132 W) | 12 A (144 W) | 13 A (156 W) |
| +5 V | 3 A (15 W) | 3 A (15 W) | 3 A (15 W) | 3 A (15 W) |
| +3.3 V | 3 A (9.9 W) | 3 A (9.9 W) | 3 A (9.9 W) | 3 A (9.9 W) |
| +5VSB | 1.5 A (7.5 W) | 1.5 A (7.5 W) | 1.5 A (7.5 W) | 1.5 A (7.5 W) |
| -12 V | 0.5 A (6 W) | 0.5 A (6 W) | 0.5 A (6 W) | 0.5 A (6 W) |
| Total | 270.8 W | 292.4 W | 315.3 W | 337.8 W |
| % Max Load | 57.0% | 61.6% | 66.4% | 71.1% |
| Room Temp. | 45.3° C | 47.2° C | 46.9° C | 48.6° C |
| PSU Temp. | 50.3° C | 52.3° C | 52.6° C | 53.7° C |
| Voltage Regulation | Pass | Pass | Pass | Pass |
| Ripple and Noise | Pass | Pass | Pass | Pass |
| AC Power | 351.2 W | 381.6 W | 413.0 W | 445.0 W |
| Efficiency | 77.1% | 76.6% | 76.3% | 75.9% |
| AC Voltage | 114.1 V | 114.2 V | 114.6 V | 114.5 V |
| Power Factor | 0.676 | 0.677 | 0.68 | 0.681 |
| Final Result | Pass | Pass | Pass | Pass |
| Input | Test 13 | Test 14 | Test 15 | Test 16 |
| +12VA | 14 A (168 W) | 15 A (180 W) | 16 A (192 W) | 17 A (204 W) |
| +12VB | 14 A (168 W) | 15 A (180 W) | 16 A (192 W) | 17 A (204 W) |
| +5 V | 3 A (15 W) | 3.5 A (17.5 W) | 3.5 A (17.5 W) | 3.5 A (17.5 W) |
| +3.3 V | 3 A (9.9 W) | 3.5 A (11.55 W) | 3.5 A (11.55 W) | 3.5 A (11.55 W) |
| +5VSB | 1.5 A (7.5 W) | 1.5 A (7.5 W) | 1.5 A (7.5 W) | 1.5 A (7.5 W) |
| -12 V | 0.5 A (6 W) | 0.5 A (6 W) | 0.5 A (6 W) | 0.5 A (6 W) |
| Total | 358.4 W | 384.8 W | 406.5 W | 428.9 W |
| % Max Load | 75.5% | 81.0% | 85.6% | 90.3% |
| Room Temp. | 49.2° C | 46.6° C | 45.8° C | 45.0° C |
| PSU Temp. | 54.8° C | 55.9° C | 57.3° C | 59.0° C |
| Voltage Regulation | Pass | Fail on +12 V | Fail on +12 V | Fail on +12 V |
| Ripple and Noise | Pass | Pass | Pass | Fail on +5 V and -12 V |
| AC Power | 479.0 W | 521.0 W | 563.0 W | 608.0 W |
| Efficiency | 74.8% | 73.9% | 72.2% | 70.5% |
| AC Voltage | 113.8 V | 113.0 V | 110.9 V | 110.6 V |
| Power Factor | 0.682 | 0.683 | 0.681 | 0.681 |
| Final Result | Pass | Fail | Fail | Fail |
The Cooler Master Extreme 2 475 W can only deliver up to 430 W. When we tried to pull more than that, the power supply burned. (The component that burned was one of the switching transistors.) But, you can only safely pull up to 360 W from it. When pulling above 360 W, the +12 V outputs drop below the minimum allowed.
Efficiency was between 70.5% and 77.8%, clearly indicating that this unit is a low-end product.