Overall
Being a budget power supply you expect to find places where the corners were cut to lower the final price. With the i500 I was pleasantly surprised to see the usual places were not the ones Cooler Master chose. The unit bears all the necessary protections to ensure your system is safe, and while, yes, the 80 PLUS Bronze rating the power supply carries isn’t in the top tier of premium it still isn’t terrible. The i500 is a budget level power supply with the ability to capably power most entry to mid-range systems and still leave a bit of headroom for the odd HDD or VGA expansion down the road.
The power cords are, of course, the biggest issue and I would advise against using the unit in anything other than a mid tower. Some of the accessory cords and likely the CPU power cord may run into issue reaching when installed in a full tower case build.
Overall I will have to say the i500 stands up admirably for a budget level PSU. Without the necessary tools for testing I cannot say for sure if it delivers on its efficiency standard and power rating but its list of features are certainly ones not usually seen at its price range. If I was on a budget and looking for a power supply for my next build, I’d certainly keep the i500 from Cooler Master in mind.
