Cooler Master V850 Gold SFX ATX 3.0 80 PLUS Gold PSU Review

TweakTown's Rating: 94%

The Bottom Line

Cooler Master has done something right with the V850 SFX Gold ATX 3.0 PSU. Its aim for the sweet spot for mITX systems makes it a win in our book.

Pros

• + Among the lowest-priced SFX ATX 3.0 PSU in its wattage class
• + Performed at nearly 80 PLUS Platinum levels
• + 90-degree 12VHPWR connector

Cons

• - 92mm fan very audible at load

Should you buy it?

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Buy at Amazon

Buy at Newegg

Introduction

Cooler Master has been pumping out many new products lately, specifically in the case and PSU departments. Today, we have an SFX PSU in Cooler Master's NCORE 100 MAX, but in a more retail fashion. Today, we will look at the V850 SFX GOLD ATX 3.0 PSU, the golden sweet spot for wattage we are all searching for.

Why don't we look at what this little PSU has to offer?

Cooler Master V850 Gold SFX ATX 3.0 80 PLUS Gold PSU

	Today	Yesterday	7 days ago	30 days ago
	$128.99	$128.99	$145.99	$130.99	Buy
	$128.99	$128.99	$145.99	$130.99	Buy
* Prices last scanned on 4/28/2024 at 1:21 am CDT - prices may not be accurate, click links above for the latest price. We may earn an affiliate commission.

Packaging

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Kicking things off in typical Cooler Master fashion, the iconic purple packaging that Cooler Master uses, along with the product image and name, is on the front for all to see.

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Cooler Master wants to highlight the main features of the V850 SFX Gold ATX 3.0 PSU: a 450w 12VHPWR power connection for NVIDIA RTX GPUs, built-in smart thermal control, compact design, built construction, an included SFX to ATX plate adapter, and the use of 100% Japanese capacitors.

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Opening the packaging shows the manual/instructions laid on top, with all the contents neatly arranged. I love how Cooler Master shows all the ways to install the 6+2Pin PCIe cable to a GPU, which discourages using a single cable with pigtails for a GPU but has included two 6+2 Pin pigtail connectors. I found this part quite amusing. The other side of that sheet is the 12VHPWR installation instructions, which now covers not bending at angles and how a bend should be attempted to fully seat the connector. Gee, why is that?

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All the cables come in a plastic bag. It would have been nice to see a vinyl bag to dress up the presentation, but once the PSU and cables are out, the rest go back in the box and into storage, never to be seen again.

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Here are all the cables laid out: a 450w 12VHPWR cable, two PCIe 6+2 pin cables, two SATA cables, a peripheral cable, an EPS CPU cable, the 24-pin motherboard cable, and finally, the power input cable. Notice that the only cable with sleeving is the 12VHPWR cable.

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Also bundled with the V850 SFX Gold is a SFX to ATX plate adapter, mounting screws, zip ties, and two velcro straps.

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The V850 SFX Gold comes in a soft black foam and plastic bag encasement that protects it during transit.

Outside the Cooler Master V850 Gold SFX ATX 3.0 PSU

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Cooler Master wants to let you know that the fan will not spin until a specific core temperature is reached, so don't be alarmed. :D

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The side of the V850 SFX Gold has a Cooler Master logo and model name, along with some embossment accents. It is simple yet straight to the point.

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The V850 SFX Gold is a single 12V rail design with 70.8A.

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The cable I/O section of the V850 SFX Gold has a 24-pin motherboard connection broken out into two connections, the first being a 10-pin and the second an 18-pin. To the right are 4 8-pin PCIe or CPU inputs. The center has a 450w 12VHPWR connection. Lastly, there are 3 6-pin HDD or SATA inputs.

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The rear of the V850 SFX Gold is pretty standard with honeycomb ventilation, a power rocker, power input, and a Cooler Master logo. The SFX standard is secured via 6 screws. However, it includes an SFX to ATX plate adapter for an ATX system.

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The 92mm FDB fan has a very slim profile, but it gets quite loud when the V850 SFX Gold is under load.

Inside the Cooler Master V850 Gold SFX ATX 3.0 PSU

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Cracking the seal of the V850 SFX Gold is pretty easily done via unscrewing four screws, albeit breaking through the warranty sticker, which we have better access to the fan as well as the main system board.

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Taking a closer look at the 9-bladed 92-mm fan, which is made by Hong Hua, it is 92 mm in size, in a slim fan format, with the model number HA9215VH12FD-F00, running on 12V with .36a of power. It really would have been nice to see an actual Cooler Master fan here, but unfortunately, Cooler Master does not manufacture a 92-mm slim fan.

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The single large capacitor, which RubyCon makes, is rated at 420v with 730?F. RubyCon, based in Japan, is highly regarded as one of the best capacitor manufacturers in the world. Two heatsinks flanking the large capacitor are also visible. How much can fit into such a small space still amazes me.

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Pictured here is the VRM stage of the V850 SFX Gold ATX 3.0 PSU. The VRM stage is responsible for controlling and lowering the voltage sent to these components to avoid exceeding their maximum voltage capabilities.

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The main transformer, nestled right next to the VRM stage, handles the main function of amplifying or switching electrical signals and power; hence, it transforms.

Test System, Installation, and Finished Product

• Motherboard: B650I AORUS Ultra(AMD B650) - Buy from Amazon
• CPU: AMD Ryzen 9 7900 - Buy from Amazon
• Cooler: Cooler Master 120mm Master Liquid Custom 38mm Thick AIO
• Thermal Interface Material: Thermal Hero NEO 2g - Buy from Amazon
• Memory: Patriot Viper Venom RGB DDR5-5600 32GB - Buy from Amazon
• Storage: Kingston Fury Renegade 1TB Gen4 PCIe x4 NVMe M.2 SSD - Buy from Amazon
• Case: Cooler Master NCORE 100 MAX mITX case - Buy from Amazon
• Power Supply: Cooler Master V850 Gold SFX ATX 3.0 PSU - Buy from Amazon
• OS: Microsoft Windows 11 Pro 64-bit Build 22621 - Buy from Amazon
• Software: AIDA64 Engineer 6.8.6300, HWiNFO64 v7.00.6700, TechPowerUp GPU-Z v2.57.0,and CPU-Z 2.09.0.x64

Final Thoughts

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Moving over to the PSU testing, the V850 SFX Gold ATX 3.0 PSU in testing did very well in the efficiency department. Running the typical system load at 50% of 850 watts is 425. Power limiting the Zotac RTX 3090 to 75% resulted in a 260-watt power draw. The AMD Ryzen 9 7900 CPU drew the same wattage as it did in the previous test, around 90 watts. Adding in about 45 watts for the rest of the system makes for a total of 395 watts. Calculating the V850 SFX's Gold efficiency nets a 92.9% rating within the 80 Plus standards, cementing its 80 Plus Gold rating despite it being able to perform at 80 Plus Platinum levels. (Taken from the Cooler Master NCORE 100 MAX review)

All testing was completed using Aida64 Engineer's System Stability Test version v7.00.6700 for over 1 hour; the ambient room temperature was 19C. Other monitoring software used was HWiNFO64 v7.68-5300, TechPowerUp GPU-Z v2.57.0, and CPU-Z 2.09.0.x64.

In closing, the V850 SFX Gold ATX 3.0 PSU from Cooler Master hits many key features that SFF enthusiasts would want. Priced currently around $150, the V850 SFX Gold is also in a great spot for value hunters. In a mITX system, most users do not have a need or use for an SFX PSU over 850 watts, making for the sweet spot for system wattage. So unless you are looking for one of Cooler Master's MAX series of cases that include an AIO and a PSU, the V850 SFX Gold ATX 3.0 PSU from Cooler Master should be on your shortlist if you need a system power-up in your SFF build.