Cougar CMX v.3 850W Power Supply Review

Testing results (Efficiency, Noise & Thermal)

For a power supply with an 80Plus Bronze certification, the efficiency of the CMX v.3 850 W power supply is very high. Actually, while it was being fed from a 230 VAC source, the power supply reached efficiency figures which could win it an 80Plus Silver certification with ease. The efficiency however drops by a little more than 1% if the input voltage is reduced down to 110 VAC and the figures drop slightly lower than the 80Plus Silver specification limit.

The operating temperatures of the CMX v.3 are good, consistent with the products efficiency and power output. The difference between the ambient and exhaust air temperature is just 2.4C at minimum load but goes up to 9.7C at maximum load, which are reasonable figures for such a power supply but not by any means special.

Young Lin Techs strong fan is to blame for the mediocre acoustics performance of the CMX v.3 850W power supply. Only at sub-30% capacity the power supply is quiet, when the fan has barely started. After that point, noise levels rise continuously. At 50% load the fan already is clearly audible. If the power supply is heavily loaded, the noise becomes considerable and noticeable even in a loud environment.