CoolMax CU 400 Power Supply Review

Unit Dimension (mm):		140x150x85 mm
Retail Box (mm):		215x235x100 mm
Master Box (mm):		250x310x470 mm
Unit Weight (kg):		2.5 kg
Gross Weight (kg):		15.2 kg
Pcs/ Ctn:		6 pcs/ctn

     The 120mm fan is not colored or lit up with lights.  For those perks you will have to look elsewhere.  It is, however both quiet and efficient.  The PS gives you the option of running the fan in automatic, full or low modes.  For this review I left the fan in automatic.

     The inside of the CU-400T is dominated by the two heat sinks.  Notice both are extended above the components to increase the surface area by nearly an inch each.  This is a great way to increase the efficiency of that 120mm and reduce the noise. 

     As with all glossy metal surfaces, the CU-400T is difficult to photograph.  Pictures don't do this unit justice.  Its a shame every surface is covered with stickers.

     CoolMax has printed the features and plug labels directly on the side of the unit. I have enhanced the color quite a bit on this picture to show the text and plugs clearly.  Our review unit has plugs mounted a bit off, this did not affect the install at all.

     Here you can see the rear venting and the fan switch.  Not surprisingly, the rear venting allows a lot of airflow without the need for a 80mm fan.

The install:

     I installed the CoolMax CU-400T into a  XION II PC Gamers Case.  The install included: AMD Athlon 3000+, BFG 6600 GT OC, 2x 512 Crucial PC 400 RAM, Maxtor 80G, and a HP48x Burner all mounted on a Soltek SL-K890 Pro motherboard.

     The finish on the CU-400T once again defies my poor Sony Digital Camera.  The blue reflection is from my monitor, shiny is good!

     After brightening this picture up a bit, you can see the cables are wrapped in a black looming.  CoolMax calls this removable cable system EZ Wire.  With only the cable you need installed, your cable management is a breeze.  The CU-400T comes with: 1x Power Cable, 3x Molex Cables, 1x 24(20) Pin ATX Cable, 1x SATA Power Cable, 1x 4 Pin Power Cable and 1x) 8 Pin Cable.  The power Cable features a breakaway allowing the cable to be run in your 20 pin setups and a voltage monitor to reduce load drops.

Testing:

For testing I used the Soltek onboard monitor.  The settings were confirmed in the BIOS; shown here at idle.

Here we see the power under a normal load.

     This picture shows the power supply under a full load created by Passmark's BurnIn Test running at 100% across the board.  The stability in the 12V and 5V rails is impressive.  Only the 3.3 and the 12V moved enough to notice with 3.448 to 3.456 and 12.506 to 12.442 respectively.   With the fan on automatic, the fan never increased noticeably in volume.

Conclusion:

     With such solid scores under the burn in test, the CU-400T is begging to power your high end PC builds.  I was also impressed with the quiet performance of the 120mm fan for cooling, not surprising given CoolMax's pedigree.  While the offset of the plus gave me pause, the install was quick and easy due to the EZ Wire system.  The lack of a PCI-Express cable and second rail might take enthusiasts elsewhere but, for users stepping up to a full featured 400W power supply or just reaching for a cable free solution, the CU-400T delivers.