EVGA Supernova 850 G2 Power Supply Review
by E. Fylladitakis on May 30, 2014 6:00 AM EST- Posted in
- Cases/Cooling/PSUs
- PSUs
- EVGA
- Super Flower
Cold Test Results
For the testing of PSUs, we are using high precision electronic loads with a maximum power draw of 2700 Watts, a Rigol DS5042M 40 MHz oscilloscope, an Extech 380803 power analyzer, two high precision UNI-T UT-325 digital thermometers, an Extech HD600 SPL meter, a self-designed hotbox and various other bits and parts. For a thorough explanation of our testing methodology and more details on our equipment, please refer to our How We Test PSUs - 2014 Pipeline post.
The performance of the Supernova 850 G2 at room temperature displays why Superflower's Leadex platform became so popular among enthusiasts. With an average energy conversion efficiency within the nominal load range (20% to 100%) of 91.0% and a maximum efficiency of 93.1%, the EVGA Supernova 850 G2 honors its 80 Plus Gold certification without issues. Loads lower than 170 Watts will make the efficiency of the Supernova 850 G2 plummet, dropping down to 76.9% with a load of 43 Watts, which however is natural for most switching PSUs and does not affect the 80 Plus certification, which takes into account only the 20% to 100% nominal capacity range.
The most surprising outcome of our cold testing is the thermal behavior of the PSU. Instead of hectically working to keep the temperature of the unit low, the fan will only kick in when it is really needed; therefore, with a highly efficient power supply such as this working in room temperature, the fan did not even start until the load was over 550 Watts. This sort of thermal control however allows the PSU to reach higher temperatures than units of similar specifications, with the temperature of the primary and secondary side heatsinks reaching up to 59.7 °C and 61.8 °C respectively.
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piroroadkill - Friday, May 30, 2014 - link
Why are all the diagrams in JPEG format?Runamok81 - Friday, May 30, 2014 - link
Super Flower and Seasonic get into a PSU fight, who wins?jnkweaver - Friday, May 30, 2014 - link
It is about a tie. Superflower and Seasonic are both high quality manufacturers. They don't make or market budget supplies.Antronman - Friday, May 30, 2014 - link
Surprise surprise. A superflower-made PSU is "stellar".Well no shit.
JarredWalton - Friday, May 30, 2014 - link
Actually, it was more a pun on the "Supernova" being "Stellar". Hahaha....Antronman - Friday, May 30, 2014 - link
I get it.But still...
ImSpartacus - Friday, May 30, 2014 - link
The poor kid tries and it just goes right over our heads. :/Samus - Saturday, May 31, 2014 - link
This is the cheapest Leadex 850-Watt PSU on the market. Even cheaper than the SF-branded model. I have a PCP&C Silencer Mk III 850W, which is identical in virtually every way to the EVGA Supernova 850 G2, except PCP&C uses a proprietary circular cable plug.The problem is, the PCP&C cost $200, almost double the EVGA, for the same internals.
doctormonroe - Monday, June 2, 2014 - link
PCP&C Silencer Mk III 850W uses the Super Flower Golden King platform, so they are not the same internals.boberino - Friday, May 30, 2014 - link
"...a weird but welcome addition to the bundle of the power supply (useful for doing things like running a Bitcoin ASIC most likely)."To the author, if you don't understand the primary reason for the existence of a jumper for the atx connector I would advise against speculating. Or perhaps spend a few minutes reading through the results of a google search before posting a review article on a topic. After all since you're writing a review on a notable hardware blog we presume you are an authority, such comments as those listed above make some of us question that presumption.