While Cooler Master has been in the power supply game for a long time at this point, their most recently introduced mode the XG Plus Platinum is their first in-house designed platform. Having outside help for PSU design isn’t anything unusual but I am interested in seeing what Cooler Master is up to now that they have more of a hand in their designs. The XG Plus Platinum line is available in 650-watt, 750-watt, and 850-watt models and we have the 850-watt XG850 Plus Platinum ARGB on hand to check out today.

Product Name: Cooler Master XG850 Plus Platinum ARGB

Preview Sample Provided by: Cooler Master

Written by: Wes Compton

Amazon Affiliate Link: HERE

**Disclaimer**

LanOC Reviews only covers the features of power supplies due to not having the equipment to test them up to our standards. Because of this, you will not see a performance section, a final verdict, or awards. Therefore, we prefer to call this a preview rather than a review. Thank you for understanding; we keep our standard to the absolute highest for you, our reader.

Packaging

For the packaging on the XG850 Plus, Platinum ARGB Cooler Master has stuck with their bright purple theme for the background but they have gone full 80’s with the addition of turquoise and pink as well which they started using last year for their Cooler Master Summer Summit. The colors all go together perfectly and are very eye-catching but even with that the large picture of the power supply in the middle is still easy to spot. They have the XG850 Plus Platinum ARGB fully lit up with its aRGB lighting as well as the wattage display on the side on as well. Beyond that, the front of the box has the model name in the biggest font to the left with the platinum in the name in silver to match that as well. The Cooler Master logo is up in the top left corner and is relatively subtle with their outline logo and the thin black font that is easy to read but isn’t drawing your attention away from the model name. Then down along the bottom, they do give you a few hints about the XG850 Plus Platinum ARGB with the 80 Plus Platinum badge, a badge for the 10-year warranty, one showing it has Japanese capacitors, and the last one for the MasterPlus+ software used to control everything.

The purple background continues around to the side where there is another picture of the XG850 Plus Platinum ARGB along with a specification listing that at least lets you see the wattage breakdown and the power connections supported. I think they could also help by mentioning that this is an ATX power supply there as well and have dimensions, I know that ATX is by far the most used form factor but if I were looking to confirm that the specifications are where I would look. That said the back of the box does have a line drawing with the dimensions so the information can be found and they do mention it being an ATX power supply in the section talking about it being an in-house design. Beyond that the back has efficiency and fan curve graphs to show how those perform, I’m surprised that the fan doesn’t turn off at low wattages. They also have a picture that shows the cable layout and connections on each cable.

When you open the box up, right up on top you have an installation guide paper to help you get the USB connection hooked up and a full user guide that even includes a full pinout of every cable. That part being especially helpful for anyone who may want to make their own cables in the future for the modular design. Below that the PSU itself comes wrapped in a microfiber bag and then sits in between two different foam trays to keep it safe. The cables also have their own bag which is heavier duty and stays closed with Velcro so you will have a way to store your extra cables.

Photos and Features

On the packaging and even in the information that Cooler Master sent over about the XG850 Plus Platinum ARGB one of their biggest focuses is on it being their first in-house design but what also goes unmentioned is that this is also their first PSU with RGB integrated into it. While I could talk a lot about whether RGB is needed at all in a power supply, it is surprising that Cooler Master is only now getting into the game when so many other options have been out there. Cooler Master was quick to get into the RGB market on the peripheral side of things as well as with cases, fans, and AIO coolers. Thankfully though the XG850 Plus Platinum ARGB isn’t just a fan inside with lighting though it does also have that. Cooler Master has integrated the addressable RGB lighting into the side of the PSU which is the one area that I personally think can be helpful and much like Asus with their Thor PSU they have also integrated a display as well.

So the ‘Main’ side of the XG850 Plus Platinum ARGB has a tinted acrylic panel which when not powered up doesn’t show anything. When it is on they have the XG850 model name lit up and next to that the outline logo. I love that they did the model, not just a generic name that would apply to all of the wattages. Then to the right of that, the display also integrates the addressable RGB lighting into the four 7-panel LED panels which can display number readouts. They then on the right of that have three icons to show you what the readout is showing. The display can show your current wattage, fan RPM, and PSU temperature which are all useful and this is a little more than the Thor display shows.

For the opposite side of the XG850 Plus, Platinum ARGB Cooler Master has everything flipped upside down because if this side is showing you most likely have had to flip the fan facing up. Of course, at that point, the fancy lighting and display on the side are hidden so the chances of you doing this are slim. Even so this side the housing has an angled strip shape stamped into it with the XG850 branding and the outlined Cooler Master logo. Here we can also see the finish that they went with on the XG850 Plus Platinum ARGB which is a glossy black finish that still has a texture as well.

The top of the XG850 Plus Platinum ARGB has the same textured finish and here they have a matching textured sticker that has the wattage breakdown for each voltage and that shows that the XG850 uses a single rail. They have the certification logos as well as the 80 Plus Platinum badge along with a small icon that lets you know that this has a 10-year warranty which is a huge warranty, especially given that Cooler Master has proven at this point that they are sticking around and will stand behind that. I should note that the warranty does specifically mention the RGB lighting. The lighting has its own 3-year warranty. This sticker also has the model information up on top and down at the bottom another sticker in white with a barcode and your serial number on it.

On the other side, we have the intake fan which is what keeps the XG850 Plus Platinum ARGB running cool. They packed the largest fan they could fit in the housing with it being a 135mm fan which has a black housing and a clear fan blade that can be lit up by the built-in addressable RGB lighting. It has a fluid dynamic fan bearing and from the looks of it is exclusive to this PSU. Over top of that, the vent is cut out of the stamped steel housing in alternating angled lines with surprisingly little metal between them. Airflow shouldn’t be an issue at all. They also have the Cooler Master logo in the center with the full branding on it.

The outside facing end of the XG850 Plus Platinum ARGB has a similar alternating angled line layout for its ventilation which covers most of the back of the PSU but these vent holes are MUCH smaller and are arranged in a V shape. Beyond the ventilation, for the airflow to blow out the back also has the outline Cooler Master logo, and next to that a power switch and the C15 power plug for the power cable.

On the inside facing end of the XG850 Plus, Platinum ARGB all of the modular cable connections are all in the top 2/3 of the PSU. Each has a label printed to let you know what the plug is for. The 24-pin motherboard cable is split across the top and bottom rows. Beyond that, the top row is all of the 8-pin plugs for the PCIe and CPU power cables and the bottom has the 5-pin plugs for the peripheral or hard drive/SATA power cables. On the left, the USB cable is what you use to hook the XG850 up to control its lighting.

I mentioned it before but the XG850 Plus Platinum ARGB is a standard ATX power supply so its height and width aren’t a surprise at all with it being 86 mm tall and 150mm wide. The one variable with ATX power supplies is the PSU length and the XG850 Plus Platinum ARGB comes in at 160mm which is a little longer than the full square layout that would be on the small end of ATX but at 160mm long the XG850 isn’t far off and won’t have any issues fitting into any ATX compatible case.

As I mentioned in the packaging section, the XG850 Plus Platinum ARGB comes with both the PSU and all of the cables in their own bags. The bag for the cables is the same canvas-like bag that Cooler Master has been using for years now which has their logo on the front and a large flap that velcro’s the bag closed. Inside the cables themselves come in a plastic bag as well with each cable bundled up and twist tied. You also get a bag with six or seven black zip ties and three reusable Velcro straps with the Cooler Master logo on them. You also get the standard NEMA 15 to C13 power cable.

All of the modular cables for the XG850 Plus Platinum ARGB are made of the now standard flat flexible cabling which helps make wire management easier being able to fit in tight spaces and also folds up for tighter bundles of cable when you have too much length. The XG850 Plus Platinum ARGB of course has the standard 24-pin motherboard power cable which is 26 inches in length. The two 4+4 CPU power cables are also the same 26 inches in length as well. For PCIe power, the XG850 Plus Platinum ARGB comes with three cables. All three are daisy chain style with connections at 22 ½ inches and another plug at 27 inches. Both connections on each of the three cables are a 6+2 configuration which will let you plug into 6 or 8-pin GPU connections and with three cables you can run dedicated lines for the three plugs that an overclocked high-end GPU might need. Direct connections have been proven to help better power GPUs so that is preferred over running it daisy chained when possible. Then for peripheral connections, you have four cables. Three of the cables are dedicated to SATA power connection and the last cable is all Molex. I’ve been seeing cables recently that mix things up and have at least one cable with both which wouldn’t be a bad addition here for when you only need one of each. All four of the cables have four plugs each starting at 21 inches then at 25 ½, 30 1/2 , and 35 ½. The Molex cable looks slightly shorter but it is the same length, the wires having to go into the back of the plug rather than SATA power plugs that tap into the line make it look a little shorter in the picture.

The last cable included with the XG850 Plus Platinum ARGB is its USB connection which has a proprietary connection at the PSU and a USB 2.0 plug on the other end. This also has the same flat and flexible cable style as the rest of the cables only at a lower gauge.

Overall

While we are just taking a look at some of the features, not the performance of the Cooler Master XG850 Plus Platinum ARGB. Unlike some other power supplies, the XG850 Plus Platinum does have a lot going on. With this being their first fully in-house power supply Cooler Master loaded the XG850 Plus Platinum up with addressable RGB lighting on the fan and on one side of the power supply along with an LED readout as well. The LED display shows you the PSU temperature, fan speed, and how much wattage you are using. That last feature is the one big feature that sets itself apart from the normal “fluff” of lighting. With power costs going up, I can’t be the only one interested in knowing just how much my system is pulling. Like with the Asus Thor which has a similar display, the XG850 Plus Platinum does have to be installed with the fan facing down for the screen side to be facing the correct direction in most cases and there are a LOT of cases these days that hide the power supply in its own compartment all together so if you want to put this to use you do need to plan around it when picking out your case as well.

Cooler Master has the XG850 Plus Platinum available in 650, 750, and 850 wattage options which cover the “standard” wattages. The XG850 Plus Platinum is also 80 Plus Platinum rated so its efficiency is solid. The standard flat cabling is easy to work with though I wouldn’t mind there being one more peripheral cable that has a mix of Molex and SATA power together for builds that only need one or two of each. You get a storage bag for the cables which is becoming rare these days as well.

As for the aRGB lighting, the lighting does look great and the open design of the fan grill helps you see as much as you can of it. The 135mm fan that is packed in there is also getting great airflow. I’ve mentioned it before, but you can make an argument that an RGB or in this case addressable RGB fan on a power supply isn’t going to be seen and that is true in a lot of cases. The one thing that is can do if you are also using the side display is give your case ‘underglows’. But if lighting on your PSU can complement your build the XG850 Plus Platinum seems to be a great option.

I would still check out performance testing as well but if you have done that the XG850 Plus Platinum is $259 on Amazon. Newegg just has a third-party seller with it marked up well over $300. Similar 850 watt 80 Plus Platinum PSUs range from $150 and up to $300+ for some with RGB lighting. The most direct comparison of course is going to be the Asus Thor which has an OLED display on the side and RGB lighting but no lighting on the fan and that currently sells for $230. With the XG850 Plus Platinum you would be paying a premium for the aRGB fan lighting so make sure that is something you would want. I would love to see a slightly cheaper model from Cooler Master that is similar to the Thor that does still get the display and lighting on the side of the PSU but without the aRGB fan because I do think the display can be valuable if your case supports it.

Live Pricing: HERE

Author Bio

Author: garfi3ldWebsite: http://lanoc.org

Editor-in-chief

You might call him obsessed or just a hardcore geek. Wes's obsession with gaming hardware and gadgets isn't anything new, he could be found taking things apart even as a child. When not poking around in PC's he can be found playing League of Legends, Awesomenauts, or Civilization 5 or watching a wide variety of TV shows and Movies. A car guy at heart, the same things that draw him into tweaking cars apply when building good looking fast computers. If you are interested in writing for Wes here at LanOC you can reach out to him directly using our contact form.