Cooler Master iGreen Power 430W Power Supply Review

The install:

     I installed the iGreen Power 430W into my XION Gamer II case.  The build is based on my ASUS A8N-SLI Deluxe motherboard and includes an Athlon 64 3000+, 2x 1gig OCZ Gold Edition XTC DDR, the HDA X-Plosion and a Gigabyte X1800 XL.  The supported drives for this build are two 30 Gig Western Digital drives, a Lite-on DVD Burner, a Seagate SATA 750 GB drive and a Plextor SATA DVD Burner.  The iGreen 430W  also powers three fans and a total of 5 cathode lights and even the drive lines are running EL wire accents.  For a gaming rig, this is one of the more power hungry boxes in the lab.

     First I installed the power supply and ran power to the motherboard.  The ASUS A8N-SLI Deluxe uses the 4 pin power lead and can also use an extra 12 V run for SLI installations.  With the single X1800 card the MB 12 V is not used in this install.

     Next I ran the drive runs and cleaned everything up with a couple of matching cable ties.  The black mesh sleeves make a great contrast against the green of our Club Overclocker themed rig.  I guess I will have to get the rest of those cables cleaned up next..

The Tests:

     To test the iGreen, I first ran the system at idle over night.  Then using the ASUS PC Probe utility I captured these numbers.  With no lights to go by and a sound level far below the rest of the system, its hard to even tell if the iGreen is working.  A quick look at the numbers reveals no surprises here.

     I double checked the idle numbers in the BIOS after a 15 minute run.  There is a slight variance we can expect from running a minimal system but everything looks great.

     To test the draw at load, I ran the system for over 30 minutes using Passmark's Burnin Test 5.1.  This runs the system at peak load to really stress the components.  The above screen shot shows the rails during the last portion of the test.  The only real variance was in the +12V rails and measured in at a very slight +/- .1W, the rest of the readings remained smooth as glass through the testing.  Not too bad for a 430W power supply.  As always, I confirmed the readings were accurate with my trusty voltmeter.  Some small variance is to be expected in any power supply so these readings look excellent.

Conclusion:

     The iGreen Power 430W power supply is really designed to meet a more casual upgrader's needs.  The lack of SLI support and the missing 8 pin power lead will send most power users on to the higher end iGreen 500W and 600W units.  But for those looking for an upgrade or replacement power supply, the iGreen 430W should be more than adequate for most PC needs.  I can't get over how quiet the iGreen 430 is when idling and the 85% efficiency should save you some bucks in the long run.  Saving power and protecting the environment isn't something we usually associate with a performance PC, fortunately Cooler Master has us taken care of.

Club Overclocker Rating
Innovation:	8.5 out of 10
Performance:	9.0 out of 10
Quality:	10 out of 10
Stability:	9.0 out of 10
Overclocking:	N/A
Software/Drivers Pack:	N/A
Value:	9.0 out of 10
Overall Rating 9.0
Skill Level
Project Skill Level (10 being hardest)	4 out of 10