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Kingwin Power Force 850-Watt 80 PLUS Bronze Power Supply Review

Kingwin proves with its new Power Force 850W PSU they've got you covered even if you're on a tight budget.

Published
Updated
Manufacturer: Kingwin
6 minutes read time

Introduction, Specifications, Availability and Pricing

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It has been nearly a year since we've had a look at anything from Kingwin so we figured it was time to take a look at something new from them. Up to this point, everything that we have looked at concerning their power supply offerings has been leading edge. Whether it is efficiency, silence, quality of power, or a mix of any of these, we've looked at what they have had to offer. What we haven't taken a peek at is any of their entry-level offerings.

That is where today's review comes in. On the bench right now is the Power Force 850W power supply. It is very much an "entry-level" power supply aimed towards those with higher quantity of power needs. Don't let this fool you, though. While it may not be the most efficient or have the greatest voltage regulation on the planet, it is more than capable of powering a dual GPU gaming rig with ease.

Specifications, Availability and Pricing

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A single 12V rail provides 100% of the power for the Kingwin Power Force 850W power supply via a 70.83A rail. Both the 3.3V and the 5V rails are rated at 25A each with a combined maximum output of 150W. The 5VSB rail is rated for 3A or 15W. Maximum combined output of the Power Force 850W power supply is 850W.

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One of the first things to go when you start talking about a lower end unit is features. That is something that you just won't find happening here with the Power Force 850W from Kingwin. They keep almost all of the features you'd expect to see from a top-tier power supply, even providing more than what we saw from the recently reviewed PC Power & Cooling Silencer Mk III 850W. All cables, both native and modular are fully sleeved. The power supply is rated for 80 PLUS Bronze efficiency, but not for 100% continuous output at 50C.

Kingwin has an MSRP of $109.99. That's quite cheap for an 850W modular unit and the best we could find the unit for online at the time of writing was $110.15 with free shipping at aaawave.com. Kingwin backs the Power Force 850W with a five year warranty.

Packaging

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The front gives us quite a bit of information about the PF-850. From here we have a picture of the unit and can tell that it is modular. Also present on the front is warranty and 80 PLUS information.

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The left half of the back presents us with a list of specifications.

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The other half covers a few of the features of the unit such as easy swap connectors and cable sleeving.

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Both top and bottom are the same and feature no additional information.

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One side mimics the top and bottom of the package, but the last side provides us with a rather extensive list of features.

Inside the Box

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This is just how the unit arrived in the package. It almost feels as though the top half of the foam protecting the power supply was left out. Nevertheless, our unit arrived without damage.

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Nothing is present on the top which means they must have went old school and placed the I/O specification label on the side.

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One side is blank with the exception of a few QA stickers.

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The other side finally presents us with the I/O specification label and serial number for the unit.

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Moving to the back, we find the standard honeycomb mesh grill with AC input and heavy duty on/off rocker switch.

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Taking a look at the front, we find the modular connections. It is nice to see the pin out for each connector listed here.

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Cooling is provided via the 140mm fan with wire mesh grill.

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Modular cables for the PF-850 are all fully sleeved.

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Also included with the power supply are mounting screws, AC input cord and user manual.

Cabling Arrangement and A Look Inside

Cabling Arrangement

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Cables and connectors provided are sufficient for the most part. The PF-850 features an EPS12V and an ATX 4+4 connector in case they are needed. Video cards are powered by four PCI-E 6+2 connectors over four modular cables. Peripherals are handled by two SATA and two Molex cables that provide eight SATA connectors, six Molex connectors and two FDD connectors.

This is a bit of a dated connector arrangement and it would've been nice to see one of the Molex cables swapped for an additional SATA cable. Also take note that many of the cables are a bit short and it might be quite difficult for you to do some routing in the case if you are trying to hide your wires.

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Rail distribution is as simple as it gets with a single 12V rail. There is no need to worry about load balancing here.

A Look Inside

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Clutter is kept to a minimum and a pair of heat sinks runs the length of the power supply. Coupled with the 140mm fan for airflow, this is more than enough cooling for the PF-850.

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A single Panasonic capacitor sits on the primary side of the Kingwin Power Force 850W power supply.

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Nippon Chemi-Con capacitors are present on the secondary side of the PF-850.

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Active cooling for the Power Force 850W is provided by the Glob Fan RL4Z S1352512HH 140mm fan. Wait, what? Well now that can't be right. Nope. This particular Power Force 850W power supply is actively cooled by a 135mm fan, not a 140mm.

Test Results and Final Thoughts

Test Results

Our load tests utilize a couple of FAST ATE active load testers and a variety of other equipment such as an oscilloscope, power conditioner, temperature probe and a power consumption meter. You can read more about our standard testing approach here.

The tests performed are based around six conceivable setups that are out there and progressively load down the PSU up to the power supply's limits or 1000W, whichever comes first. Since our test equipment's limits are higher than that of the Kingwin Power Force 850W power supply, we can test it to the maximum.

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The above tests represent typical loads that we have measured from various systems and are meant to give a rough idea of where your computer might fall in line with our tests. Please keep in mind that each system is different and actual loads can vary greatly even with similar hardware.

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Let's start by taking a look at the voltages to see how well this unit did during testing. Starting with the 12V rail, we see 3% regulation from start to finish with a total drop of .25V. The 5V rail managed to stay within 2% of specification with a total drop of .14V from start to finish. Moving towards the 3.3V rail, we see that regulation was within 4% of specification with a total voltage drop of .15V.

DC Output quality for the Power Force 850W was excellent and well within specification. During Test 1, we saw 18mV of noise on our scope. When we increased the loads in Test 3, the ripple climbed to 26mV at a little over half load. During Test 5 under a load of 850W, the oscilloscope showed a maximum of 35mv on noise on the 12Vrail.

The Kingwin Power Force 850W is rated for 80 PLUS Bronze efficiency. This means that the power supply must perform at 82%/85%/82% efficiency at 20%/50%/100% loads respectively. As you can see, the Power Force 850W passed on our bench, and wasn't close to failing at any point and was almost on par with an 80 PLUS Silver rating.

Final Thoughts

It is always refreshing to take a look at a product that isn't on the bleeding or leading edge from time to time. Being surrounded by top tier hardware constantly makes it very easy to lose sight on a large majority of users that don't require and / or can't afford the absolute best. Even better, it takes us back to when we were in the same situation...trying to squeeze the most out of what we had and what we could afford. The Kingwin Power Force 850W is one of these products and proof that Kingwin can offer something to the masses other than top end power supplies.

No, the performance of the Power Force 850W power supply isn't the best that we have ever seen. What it does give us though is a solid performance all the way around while staying well within specifications from start to finish. Sometimes that is what matters most, especially when looking at a lower end product. The PF-850 isn't the cheapest 850W power supply you can get your hands on either, but it isn't too far from it. This gives the Power Force 850W one hell of a value when you stop to think about it, especially considering the features that most cut out of such a unit.

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Zac provides professional IT support by day, but plays the role of enthusiast by night. He's been building high-end custom computer for the nearly fifteen years and writing PC hardware reviews for the better part of a decade. Aside from computers, he also dabbles in quite a bit of home A/V equipment. Throughout the years, Zac has picked up an extensive knowledge of power circuitry and leverages this to provide the PSU reviews. When not found testing or writing, you can often find him speeding through the winding countryside on his motorcycle.

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