Cooler Master iGreen Power 430W Power Supply Review

     Today we are looking at the latest 430 Watt power supply from Cooler Master, the iGreen Power 430 Watt.  With the iGreen series of power supplies Cooler Master is looking at more than peak power, they are looking at power, efficiency and total cost of ownership.  How will this new outlook effect your buying decision?  Read more about it here at the Club.

     The iGreen Power 430 Watt power supply is one of three different models offered and is the spiritual little brother to both 500 Watt and 600 Watt versions.  Each comes in the same colorful packaging and showcases the emphasis on power, noise level and efficiency.  The iGreen Power name refers to the emphasis on environmentally friendly products.  The iGreen 430W is designed to meet both the Energy Star and the more challenging Blue Angel requirements.  It is also RoHS compliant.

     The rest of the packaging does a nice job of showcasing the features and specifications without getting overly busy.  Cooler Master wins high marks for providing the rails right on the box.  The packaging even survived some of the more eager Club OC staffers attempts to speed up the process!

     Inside the box, our iGreen Power 430W is snugly packaged for safe travel.  The inclusion of a complete wrap around protection is always appreciated.

     Once out of the box we get our first look at the power supply as a whole.  As with many top power supplies the iGreen's finish is a polished nickel plate.  The bottom surface is dominated by the dual ball bearing 120 mm fan.  By using an internal automatic fan speed control sound levels can be reduced to an extraordinary 17 dBS level.

     Rather than place a second fan on the back surface, Cooler Master has gone with a high efficiency mesh.  This surface helps keep air flow levels high with out increasing the noise levels or the power draw that come with an added fan.  Notice the red light just below the switch.  This light performs as trouble shooting tool.  The LED will light when the system detects a power supply failure.  Often the power supply is one of the last things you would test in the event of a failure due to the amount of work it takes to swap one out and the lack of a handy tester, this makes it easy to see common failures at a glance.

     On the side we get a closer look at the rails.  Cooler Master proudly advertises the high 324 Watts dedicated to the two +12 V rails, and with good reason.  These rails are where most of the power draw occurs in the common system.  Many power supplies sporting much larger Wattage levels place the extra current where you rarely need it.  The iGreen Power 430W is fully ATX V2.2 compatible and features an active PFC.

     Lets take a closer look at the cables.  The iGreen supports a 20/24 pin power lead, 4 SATA connectors, 5 12 V Molex connectors with quick release,  one floppy connector, a 4 pin power lead and one 6 pin PCI-E lead.  That's right just one PCI-E lead.  To get SLI support or an 8 pin power lead you must move up to the larger 500W or 600W iGreen models.

Specifications:

     iGreen Power is the world first power supply which achieves 85% efficiency through Double Forward Switching Circuit Technology. This intelligent circuit configuration stabilizes your running system without costing you a fortune.