Photos and Features
So if you haven’t seen an SFX form factor power supply before, in a lot of pictures without any scale they look just like an ATX power supply. Especially the longer SFX-L models. It is only when you see them next to an ATX or when you see the dimensions can you tell how small they are. So a normal ATX power supply will be 150mm wide, 160/170mm deep, and 86mm tall. SFX shrinks that down to 125mm wide, 110mm deep, and 63.5mm tall. The larger SFX-L models will normally match depth to the width making them 125x125mm, but as you can see this is shorter and is supported by more SFX case options. SFX, because of its size is also limited in wattages as well as efficiencies. The original modular SFX power supplies maxed out at 450 watts and over the years finally moved up into the 500 and 650-watt range. SFX-L helped bring in larger wattages as well including an 800 watt from Silverstone. But up until now, the largest true SFX sized power supplies have been the 700 watt from Silverstone and the Corsair SF750 750 watt model. So Cooler Masters's introduction into SFX was not only important because they weren’t in the market, but some people may not even realize it has also pushed the SFX limits once again with the highest wattage available. With Intel and AMD pushing the wattage higher and higher with their CPUs and Nvidia and AMD doing the same on their highest-end GPUs, the increase is helpful for those highest of end, overclocked SFF builds.
So the entire V850 SFX Gold has a textured black powder coating finish. On one side Cooler Master has left it completely blank but then on the other side, they went all out. I’m surprised they didn’t give the same treatment to both sides. But the ornamental side has a C shaped debossed with the Cooler Master logo and the model number and then a few lines at the corner. This is the same design that the full ATX V series power supplies have now as of the new V2 models.
On the inside facing end, we have all of the modular cable connections and get can already get an idea of what all the V850 SFX Gold comes with. You have two plugs for the 24-pin cable, one is a 10-pin and the other is an 18-pin, this is a standard configuration now that the 14-pins use signal cables. Then on the right half, there are four 8-pin plugs which are labeled for PCIe or CPU and below that three 5-pin accessory plugs which are labeled HDD/SATA.
On the outside of the V850 SFX Gold, a majority of the space is filled with ventilation for airflow from the included fan to vent out. But on the right, you still have a standard power plug. The power switch has shrunk but is still there as well. Then of course Cooler Master filled up the rest of the space with their logo.
As for the top and bottom, this depends on which way you have the PSU orientated. But on the non-fan side, they have a large sticker that covers the entire panel. This includes all of the required certification logos as well as logos for things like recycling. Everything has the same off white color with the exception of the bright white sticker for your serial number and barcode as well as the bright gold logo for the 80 Plus Gold rating logo. Beyond that, the wattage is prominent in the top corner as well as a power breakdown that shows the amperage for each voltage rail and how they reach the 850-watt rating. This includes 120 watts on the +5v and +3.3v rails which are tied together and 849.6 watts for the +12v which handles the power supply power along with other things.
On the flip side, this is the cooling fan intake, and because this is a normal SFX, not an SFX-L Cooler Master had to go with a smaller fan, not one that covers the full width. It seems to be a 92mm fan and Cooler Master has used a fluid dynamic bearing inside with an expected like of 60,000. They are also using a “15% fanless” design which means that the fan doesn’t run at low loads. It turns on over 15% of the rated output which means it won’t turn on until after 127.5 watts. That isn’t extremely high, but it is enough room where it shouldn’t turn on when your PC is idling or under basic use. This will keep things quieter and it also extends the life of the fan. When it comes on, according to the graph on the back of the box the fan will run a little over 1000 RPM and ramp up to about 2200 RPM once you reach full load.
I mentioned it before, but here is the reclosable bag that all of the cables come in. I’m glad you get a bag at all, but I do miss the nice fabric bags that some power supplies still come with.
The power cord is also included in the modular cable bag as well.
So here is the breakdown of the cords that you get. All of the cables, including the 24-pin, have the flat and flexible cable design and are all black. I’m happy that they didn’t just do this for some of the cables, a lot of power supplies have been going with a sleeved 24-pin when I personally think these blacked-out cables look better and are easier to hide. Of course, individually sleeved would still be better. In a rare move for an SFX power supply, you do get two EPS or CPU power cables and both have split 4+4 plugs for any boards that have an 8 and a 4 or even just a 4. They came in just over 19 inches long, which you need these to be longer to reach up to the top edge where the plug normally is. The 24-pin cord is shorter at around 13 inches in length and that is spot on for what you will need in an SFF case. You don’t want extra cord because in an SFF build there isn’t room to hide it.
Next up we have the accessory cables. You get three which matches the three plugs on the V850 SFX Gold. One is a Molex cable and the other two are SATA power. These are all around 19 inches when stretched out and all three have four plugs each. The SATA cables have passthrough plugs which is why they lay flat. Then the Molex cable has two cables running into each plug, one from the previous plug and the cable going to the next one.
The last two cables are both PCI Express cables. These come in close to 23 inches when stretched out but they are 17inches to the first connection. Both cables have dual plugs and each plug is a 6+2 design which allows for support of all of your normal PCIe power configurations like 6, 8, 8+6, and 8+8. Cooler Master also increased the wire gauge for these as well. Where the rest of the cables are 18 gauge wires, the PCIe cables are both 16 gauge. You can see it in the comparison picture down at the bottom where I have them next to one of the other cables. They are thicker because these will carry the majority of the power. The thicker cables help keep the cable temperatures down and keep efficiency up.
