Cooler Master V Series 850 W Review 5

Cooler Master V Series 850 W Review

Efficiency, Temperatures & Noise »

Test Setup

All measurements were performed using two Chroma 6314A mainframes equipped with the following electronic loads: six 63123A [350 W each], one 63102A [100 W x2], and one 63101A [200 W]. The aforementioned equipment is able to deliver 2500 W of load, and all loads are controlled by a custom-made software. We also used a Picoscope 3424 oscilloscope, a Picotech TC-08 thermocouple data logger, a Fluke 175 multimeter, and a Yokogawa WT210 power meter. We also included a wooden box, which, along with some heating elements, was used as a hot box. Finally, we had at our disposal four more oscilloscopes (Rigol 1052E and VS5042, Stingray DS1M12, and a second Picoscope 3424), and a CEM DT-8852 sound level meter. You will find more details about our equipment and the review methodology we follow in this article. Finally, we conduct all of our tests at 40°C-45°C ambient in order to simulate with higher accuracy the environment seen inside a typical system, with 40°C-45°C being derived from a standard ambient assumption of 23°C and 17°C-22°C being added for the typical temperature rise within a system.

Primary Rails Voltage Regulation

The following charts show the voltage values of the main rails, recorded over a range from 60 W to the maximum specified load, and the deviation (in percent) for the same load range.







5VSB Regulation

The following chart shows how the 5VSB rail deals with the load we throw at it.


Hold-up Time

The hold-up time of a PSU is a very important representing the amount of time, usually measured in milliseconds, a PSU can maintain output regulations as defined by the ATX spec without input power. In other words, it is the amount of time the system can continue to run without shutting down or rebooting during a power interruption. The ATX spec sets the minimum hold-up time to 16 ms with the maximum continuous output load. In the following screenshot, the blue line is the mains signal and the yellow line is the "Power Good" signal. The latter is de-asserted to a low state when any of the +12V, 5V, or 3.3V output voltages fall below the undervoltage threshold, or after the mains power has been removed for a sufficiently long time to guarantee that the PSU cannot operate anymore.



The registered hold-up time easily exceeds 16 ms, so the PSU will manage to handle short power interruptions, and a connected UPS (Uninteruptible Power Supply) will then have the required time to engage its battery.

Inrush Current

Inrush current or switch-on surge refers to the maximum, instantaneous input-current drawn by an electrical device when first turned on. Because of the charging current of the APFC capacitor(s), PSUs produce large inrush-current right as they are turned on. Large inrush current can cause the tripping of circuit breakers and fuses and may also damage switches, relays, and bridge rectifiers; as a result, the lower the inrush current of a PSU right as it is turned on, the better.



The registered inrush current was low, irregardless of the high combined capacity of its bulk caps. This means that an effective design was used.

Voltage Regulation and Efficiency Measurements

The first set of tests revealed the stability of the voltage rails and the efficiency of the V850. The applied load was equal to (approximately) 20%, 40%, 50%, 60%, 80%, 100%, and 110% of the maximum load the PSU can handle. We conducted two additional tests. In the first test, we stressed the two minor rails (5V and 3.3V) with a high load while the load at +12V was only 0.10 A. This test reveals whether the PSU is Haswell ready or not. In the second test, we dialed the maximum load the +12V rail could handle while the load on the minor rails was minimal.

Voltage Regulation & Efficiency Testing Data
Cooler Master V850
Test12 V5 V3.3 V5VSBPower
(DC/AC)
EfficiencyFan SpeedFan NoiseTemp
(In/Out)
PF/AC
Volts
20% Load12.241A1.982A1.968A0.981A169.74W91.77%750 RPM33.8 dBA 37.32°C0.928
12.105V5.042V3.350V5.076V184.97W 40.16°C230.2V
40% Load24.883A3.970A3.939A1.185A339.68W93.00%750 RPM33.8 dBA 38.14°C0.970
12.077V5.035V3.349V5.055V365.23W 41.37°C230.1V
50% Load31.092A4.964A4.925A1.585A424.56W92.94%750 RPM33.8 dBA 39.47°C0.978
12.064V5.033V3.349V5.038V456.80W 43.02°C230.1V
60% Load37.319A5.959A5.911A1.990A509.52W92.69%800 RPM34.2 dBA 40.81°C0.981
12.052V5.030V3.348V5.020V549.68W 45.08°C230.1V
80% Load49.990A7.956A7.885A2.400A679.33W91.90%1540 RPM42.1 dBA 42.16°C0.986
12.022V5.025V3.347V4.993V739.20W 46.81°C230.0V
100% Load63.332A8.962A8.878A3.020A849.22W91.00%2020 RPM48.4 dBA 43.73°C0.987
11.993V5.020V3.345V4.964V933.20W 48.67°C229.9V
110% Load70.484A8.965A8.882A3.025A934.00W90.49%2125 RPM49.6 dBA 44.87°C0.987
11.979V5.018V3.343V4.956V1032.15W 50.15°C229.9V
Crossload 10.098A15.008A15.004A0.004A127.25W85.49%750 RPM33.8 dBA 42.21°C0.905
12.110V5.033V3.366V5.087V148.84W 46.54°C230.3V
Crossload 269.949A1.000A1.003A1.002A852.45W91.36%2100 RPM49.3 dBA 43.91°C0.987
11.995V5.025V3.339V5.023V933.10W 48.93°C230.0V

Voltage regulation is incredibly tight, especially on the minor rails where the V850 took the top spot in the corresponding graphs. We also measured very high efficiency closer to Platinum than Gold throughout the entire load range. Its high efficiency restricts heat dissipation nicely, which only had the fan significantly increase its speed during the 80% load test and beyond. CM kept a very relaxed fan profile regardless of the fact that they lowered the maximum operating temperature to 40°C, resulting in low overall noise—only with 80% load and above did the V850's fan make its presence well-known.

The V850 performed amazingly well in the above tests, and, to speak frank, we didn't expect anything less since we were already aware of the potential inside Seasonic's KM3 plaform.
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Dec 23rd, 2024 09:59 EST change timezone

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