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
Hot Test Results
From the tables below, it can be seen that the output power quality of the EVGA Supernova 850 G2 is well above average. The maximum voltage ripple that our instruments recorded is below 24 mV under maximum load, even with the unit heavily cross-loaded, which is nothing short of exceptional. Voltage regulation is about 2% for all voltage lines, a good figure but not unusual for a high performance power supply.
| Main Output | ||||||||
| 172.78 W | 428.49 W | 638.78 W | 845.38 W | |||||
| 20.33% | 50.41% | 75.15% | 99.46% | |||||
| Line | Amperes | Volts | Amperes | Volts | Amperes | Volts | Amperes | Volts |
| 3.3 V | 3.89 | 3.39 | 9.73 | 3.36 | 14.59 | 3.33 | 19.45 | 3.32 |
| 5 V | 3.89 | 5.12 | 9.73 | 5.10 | 14.59 | 5.04 | 19.45 | 5.02 |
| 12 V | 11.48 | 12.17 | 28.69 | 12.07 | 43.03 | 12.01 | 57.38 | 11.91 |
| Line |
Regulation (20% to 100% load) |
Voltage Ripple (mV) | |||||
| 20% Load | 50% Load | 75% Load | 100% Load | CL1 12V | CL2 3.3 V + 5V | ||
| 3.3 V | 2.1% | 6 | 8 | 14 | 16 | 4 | 18 |
| 5 V | 2.0% | 8 | 8 | 12 | 16 | 8 | 20 |
| 12 V | 2.2% | 8 | 12 | 16 | 20 | 24 | 12 |
The high ambient temperature has a serious impact on the energy conversion efficiency of the EVGA Supernova 850 G2, reducing the average nominal load (20-100%) efficiency down to 89.2 % and the maximum efficiency of the PSU to 91.3%. Higher temperatures are expected to have a negative impact on the performance of any PSU but a drop of nearly 2% across the entire range is more than normal. The performance remains good but it would seem that this unit does not really like very hot environments.
With the Supernova 850 G2 being tested inside our hot box, the fan begins spinning as soon as the load exceeds 200 Watts. The thermal control circuit reacts well under these adverse conditions, ditching acoustic comfort in order to keep the temperatures of the unit within a safe limit. As such, the Supernova 850 G2 becomes notoriously loud while heavily stressed inside our hotbox, but the temperatures of the unit do not reach figures that would make us concerned about its longevity. We should clarify that the Supernova 850 G2 is not a cool-running unit, as the heatsink temperatures are rather high for such a design, but the thermal control circuit makes sure that they will not reach unsafe levels.
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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.