Cooler Master V850 Gold-V2 White Edition power supply review

We tested the latest product from Cooler Master — V850 Gold-V2 White Edition. This power supply is 80Plus Gold certified, making it an inexpensive yet reliable option. In the V Gold line of the second version, four models with different powers are available: 550, 650, 750 and 850 W. We were dealing with the most powerful model.

At the time of writing the review, the cost of this power supply varied from 13 to 17 thousand rubles.

It is important to note that for information about Cooler Master products, it is recommended to visit their global website, as the Russian version has been abandoned.

The power supply is equipped with a cooling system that operates in two modes: hybrid, when the fan may not rotate under certain conditions, and normal, with a constantly rotating fan. Switching between modes is carried out by a two-position button on the external panel of the power supply unit (the On position corresponds to the hybrid mode).

The length of the power supply housing is about 160 mm, and an additional 15-20 mm is required to connect the wires. Therefore, during installation, an installation dimension of about 180 mm should be taken into account. For power supplies of this power, these dimensions can be considered quite compact.

The packaging of the V850 Gold-V2 White Edition is made of durable cardboard with a matte finish and an illustration of the power supply itself. Black and purple shades dominate, creating a stylish and modern look.

All the necessary parameters are shown in detail on the power supply housing. The power of the +12VDC bus is specified as 849.6 W. This corresponds to approximately 100% of the total power, which is a very impressive figure.

Without exception, all wires are modular, that is, they can be removed, leaving only those that are necessary for a particular system.

1. The main cord to the ATX connector is 65 cm.
2. The cable to the 8 pin SSI processor socket is 65 cm.
3. The first cord to the PCIe 2.0 VGA Power Connector for the video card is 60 cm, the second similar connector is another 12 cm.
4. The first cord to the SATA Power Connector is 50 cm, the second, third and fourth of the same connector are 12 cm each.
5. The cord to the Peripheral Connector (Molex) is 50 cm, the second, third and fourth of the same connector are 12 cm each.

The length of the wires is sufficient for convenient use in full tower and similar cases. Even in cases up to 55 cm high with a bottom-mounted power supply, the wires are quite long: 65 cm to the processor power connectors. Most modern cases should be suitable for use with this power supply.

SATA Power connectors are angled, which can be awkward when connecting devices, especially if they are located at the back of the motherboard base. It would be useful to also include cords with direct power connectors for devices located in areas with limited access. Using ribbon wires is also convenient as they are less susceptible to dust.

The power supply has an active power factor correction and supports a wide input voltage range from 100 to 240 volts. This guarantees stable operation even at reduced voltage in the electrical network, not exceeding standard values.

The design of the power supply meets modern standards, including an active power factor correction and a synchronous rectifier for the +12VDC channel. In addition, there are independent pulsed DC converters for the +3.3VDC and +5VDC lines.

Elements of high-voltage circuits are located on two radiators, including the input rectifier. The synchronous rectifier is located on a vertically mounted daughter printed circuit board, equipped with its own heatsink through a thermal interface.

The daughter printed circuit board contains independent sources of +3.3VDC and +5VDC, which do not have additional heat sinks, which is typical for power supplies with active cooling.

The device uses liquid electrolyte capacitors made in Japan: high-voltage Toshin Kogyo (TK) and low-voltage Rubycon. In addition, there are a significant number of polymer capacitors.

The power supply is equipped with a HA13525H12F-Z fan that operates at 2300 rpm and uses a fluid dynamic bearing for long service life. This fan is manufactured by Dongguan Honghua Electronic Technology. The connection is made via a two-wire connector.

Then we conduct an instrumental study of the electrical characteristics of the power source using a multifunctional stand and other necessary equipment.

Deviations of output voltages from the nominal are color coded as follows:

The first stage of testing is to continuously operate the power supply at maximum power for an extended period of time. This test allows you to verify the reliability and performance of the power supply.

Next, the cross-load characteristic (CLC) is constructed and displayed on a quarter-plane, limited by the maximum power on the bus of 3.3 and 5 V on one side (along the ordinate) and the maximum power on the bus 12 V on the other side (along the abscissa). At each point, the measured voltage value is indicated by a color marker depending on the deviation from the nominal value.

Analysis of the cross-load characteristic (CLC) allows you to determine the permissible load level, especially for the +12VDC channel, in the tested power supply. In this case, voltage deviations from the nominal value on the +12VDC channel do not exceed 3% over the entire power range, which is a very good result. Moreover, this is a deviation towards increasing the parameter at low load, which does not cause concern at high load. Moreover, modern power supplies usually tend to slightly overestimate the voltage along the 12 V line, which is not a random deviation from the norm due to defects or incorrectly calculated parameters.

With a typical power distribution across channels, deviations from the nominal are no more than 1% for the +3.3VDC channel, 3% for the +5VDC channel and also 3% for the +12VDC channel.

Thus, this power supply is suitable for powerful modern systems due to its high load capacity on the +12VDC channel.

The next stage of testing is aimed at determining the maximum power that can be supplied through the corresponding connectors when the voltage value deviates by 3 or 5 percent from the nominal value.

In the case of a video card with a single power connector, the maximum power over the +12VDC channel is at least 150 W with a deviation within 3%.

In the case of a video card with two power connectors when using one power cord, the maximum power over the +12VDC channel is at least 250 W with a deviation within 3%.

When using two power cords for a video card with two power connectors, the maximum power over the +12VDC channel is at least 350 W with a deviation within 3%, which makes it possible to work with very powerful video cards.

When loaded through three PCIe 2.0 connectors, the maximum power over the +12VDC channel is at least 650 W with a deviation within 3%.

When loaded through the processor power connector, the maximum power through the +12VDC channel is at least 250 W with a deviation within 3%. This is quite enough for typical systems, where the motherboard has only one connector for powering the processor.

When loaded through two processor power connectors, the maximum power via the +12VDC channel is at least 500 W with a deviation within 3%.

In the case of a motherboard, the maximum power on the +12VDC channel is at least 150 W with a deviation within 3%. Since the board itself consumes within 10 W on this channel, high power may be required to power expansion cards — for example, for video cards without an additional power connector, which usually have a consumption within 75 W. However, it is unlikely that anyone will use such expansion cards with this power supply.

When assessing the efficiency of a computer power supply, two approaches can be considered. The first approach is based on considering the power supply as an electrical energy converter, where it is important to minimize energy losses during transmission to the load. However, in real-world applications, users often use a limited number of connectors, making this data of little use. Therefore, a more practical approach to assessment is to analyze the actual power loss when converting electrical energy and transmitting it to end consumers.

Efficiency (coefficient of performance) is a traditional indicator of the efficiency of a power supply, but it can be uninformative for the user. However, it has become an important marketing tool, although in itself it does not affect the performance of the system unit. To understand the cost-effectiveness of a power supply, it may be more useful to analyze the power dissipation — the difference between the input and output power of the power supply — and the cost of electricity over a long period of time.

An approach to assessing the efficiency of a power supply allows you to understand the real costs of electricity when using it for a long time. Taking into account the maximum power values and the number of connectors, it is possible to evaluate the economic benefits of using various power supply models. This allows you to make an informed choice when purchasing a power supply and evaluate its effectiveness in real-life conditions of use.

The results obtained look like this:

The efficiency of this model is not extremely high, but very good; it is a quite typical representative of power supplies with the 80Plus Gold certificate level.

And in terms of overall efficiency at low and medium power, this model completely occupies a leading position in our list of power supplies with a capacity of up to a kilowatt at the time of testing.

All main tests were carried out in mode with a constantly rotating fan. The thermal load of capacitors when operating in this mode is at a low level.

We also conducted a study of the operation of the power supply in hybrid cooling mode. As a result of testing, it was found that the fan in the power supply is activated only when the threshold power of 330 W is reached in typical residential conditions. There is probably also a temperature threshold for turning on the fan, but we were unable to reach it. The fan turns off when the output power drops below 330 W.

When working with the fan turned off, the temperature inside the power supply remained at about 70 degrees with a load power of about 350 W. However, it would be desirable if the fan turned on a little earlier in hybrid mode. With a power of less than 330 W, the power supply is capable of operating in fan-off mode for a long time (at least two hours). However, we did not detect a sharp increase in the noise level when the fan started. Please note that when operating with the fan turned off, the temperature of the components inside the power supply is highly dependent on the ambient temperature.

To measure the noise level of power supplies, we used the following method. The power supply was placed on a flat surface with the fan facing up. At a distance of 0.35 meters above it, a measuring microphone of an Octava 110A-Eco sound level meter was installed to measure the noise level. The load on the power supply was carried out using a special stand with a silent operation mode. The power supply was operated at constant power for 20 minutes, after which the noise level was measured.

This method allows you to evaluate the noise level of the power supply in conditions that are closest to a desktop installation of a system unit with a power supply installed. With this distance to the measurement object, the small distance from the noise source to the user is taken into account. As the distance to the noise source increases and additional obstacles with good sound-reflecting ability appear, the noise level at the control point also decreases, which helps improve acoustic comfort in general.

When running with a constantly rotating fan in the power range up to and including 500W, the power supply's noise level is about average for a residential daytime environment, but it's never truly low.

When operating in the power range from 750 to 850 W, the noise level exceeds 40 dBA, which makes it high for a residential area during the daytime.

Thus, in terms of acoustic comfort, this model provides comfort with an output power of up to 500 W.

We also evaluate the noise level of the power supply electronics, as they can be a source of unwanted sounds. To do this, we compare the noise level in our laboratory with the power supply turned on and off. The difference in noise level within 5 dBA means there are no deviations in the acoustic properties of the power supply. With a difference of more than 10 dBA, as a rule, certain defects are detected that can be heard from a distance of less than half a meter. The measurement is carried out in two modes: standby mode (STB, or Standby) and when the power supply is operating under load, but with the fan forcibly stopped.

In standby mode, there is virtually no electronic noise.

There are no special complaints about the noise of the electronics, although it could be lower. You can hear it here directly above the grille at a very short distance. No squeaks or whistles were noticed

The consumer qualities of the Cooler Master V850 Gold-V2 White Edition are rated at a very high level. Its high +12VDC channel load capacity makes it an ideal choice for high-power systems with multiple graphics cards. While acoustic ergonomics may not be the best at high power, the noise remains relatively low at loads up to 500W. 

When using hybrid mode, this power supply is capable of operating with the fan stopped at less than 330W, although this does not significantly reduce noise levels to low levels.

Above 750W the noise becomes noticeable and unpleasant, but this is typical for components with similar power consumption. The power supply wires are of sufficient length for most modern cases, and are also tape-type and completely removable, which makes assembly and operation easy.

Cooler Master V850 Gold-V2 White Edition demonstrates high efficiency thanks to the use of a long-life hydrodynamic bearing fan and Japanese capacitors. Thanks to its hybrid cooling mode, this power supply can operate with the fan stopped at up to 330 W, which helps save energy and reduce noise levels. However, it should be taken into account that during such operation the temperature inside the power supply can reach 70 degrees, which can adversely affect some components, including capacitors. 

Overall, this power supply is great for use in high-power systems, especially in traditional mode with a constantly spinning fan. It is especially convenient for work systems where absolutely silent operation is not critical.