The XPG Core Reactor II VE 850W PSU Review: Our First ATX 3.1 Power Supply
by E. Fylladitakis on May 2, 2024 10:00 AM EST- Posted in
- Cases/Cooling/PSUs
- PSUs
- 80Plus Gold
- XPG
- ATX v3.1
Cold Test Results (~25°C Ambient Temperature)
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 XPG Core Reactor II VE 850W PSU surpasses the requirements set by the 80Plus Gold certification with impressive margins. When operating with a 115 VAC input, this PSU demonstrates an average nominal load efficiency of 90.9% across a range from 20% to 100% of its capacity, which further increases to 91.7% with a 230 VAC input. The efficiency peaks at a load slightly less than half its maximum capacity. Low load efficiency is excellent, notably superior to that of many other units with a similar power output.
The XPG Core Reactor II VE 850W PSU does not have a "hybrid" fan mode - its fan is operational at all times. Even in ambient room temperature, the fan operates continuously but at very low speeds while the load is low, gradually increasing its speed as the load escalates beyond 500 Watts. This simplistic approach reduces the complexity of the design a little and the PSU virtually remains inaudible while the load is very low.
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meacupla - Friday, May 3, 2024 - link
Fire extinguisher for $40~50 is going to be like 1/100th the cost of a 5090, so it's a good investment. ReplyPeachNCream - Friday, May 3, 2024 - link
Funny, I don't recall my phone or laptop needing a power connector dedicated to the graphics capability. They both still seem perfectly capable of running Candy Crush, oddly enough. Replycharlesg - Friday, May 3, 2024 - link
Based on your prior comments, it appears you are quite computer literate. Or know how to use ChatGPT well.Therefore I'm surprised you don't know we're talking about a PSU that is used on "above average" capability computers, and not a phone or laptop?
And not necessarily even computers that are used to play Candy Crush! Reply
GeoffreyA - Saturday, May 4, 2024 - link
I think he makes a good point: isn't it rather ridiculous that high-end GPUs use so much power that they need a connector of their own? The phone, in contrast, can do a fair bit of graphics with merely a battery.It's the idea that budget hardware can, at a fraction of the power or cost, do 60, 70, 80% of what expensive, high-end hardware can. It's not too far from thinking in a Core-Zen fashion instead of Netburst. Reply
TheinsanegamerN - Monday, May 6, 2024 - link
No? Nothing is stopping you from gaming on a GT 1030. Why should GPUs stop scaling at an arbitrary point?you know what's ridiculous? Comparing a multi teraflop processing unit to a cell phone then pontificating about power use. Reply
GeoffreyA - Monday, May 6, 2024 - link
Fair enough. Let GPUs use the power needed to achieve their performance levels. It's better we have these than not. On the other side, many people will go on playing quite happily on phones and portable devices. I know a 'teen who games all the time on the Switch, running it on the TV too like a console. Sure, the framerates and graphics weren't the best, but not that bad either.A somewhat unrelated question: how much has graphics in games improved, despite the advances in hardware? Reply
GeoffreyA - Monday, May 6, 2024 - link
I admit my phrasing the other day wasn't the best, and thank you for pointing it out. I still stand by the notion that hardware outside the high end can do much. ReplyThreska - Monday, May 6, 2024 - link
Tune into the gamedev channels on YT and you'll see it has improved quite a bit. Lots of math and that's what GPUs do best. ReplyGeoffreyA - Tuesday, May 7, 2024 - link
Thanks. It just seems to my eyes that the gains haven't been commensurate with the hardware. Crysis 3 had a big part of today's graphics a decade ago. ReplyTheinsanegamerN - Monday, May 6, 2024 - link
Cool. Run Helldivers 2 on your phone and let me know how it goes. Reply