EVGA SuperNOVA 850 T2 Power Supply Review

Reviews
By Aris Mpitziopoulos
published

EVGA's T2 series consists of Titanium-rated PSUs with capacities ranging from 750 to 1600W. Today, we're looking at the 850W model, which tries to prove it is worth a premium compared to the company's Platinum-rated 850W offering.

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Performance, Performance Per Dollar, Noise And Efficiency Ratings

Performance Rating

The following graph shows the total performance rating of the SuperNOVA 850 T2 compared to other units we've reviewed. To be more specific, the tested unit is shown as 100 percent and every other PSU's performance is shown relative to it.

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Given exemplary benchmark results across the board, it comes as no surprise that the 850 T2 easily finishes in first place. No other PSU in this wattage category is able to match its performance, even its high-end Platinum-rated sibling, which recently earned an award from us.

Performance Per Dollar

The following chart may be the most interesting to many of you because it depicts the unit's performance per dollar score. We looked up the current price of each PSU on popular online shops and used those figures and all relative performance numbers to calculate the index. If the specific model wasn't available in the United States, we searched for it in popular European Union shops, converting the listed price to USD (without VAT). Note that all of the numbers in the following graph are normalized by the rated power of each PSU.

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Despite great performance, a high price knocks the SuperNOVA 850 T2 to the bottom of this chart. If you want the best bang for your buck, then the 850 G2 is much more attractive in this category.

Noise Rating

The graph below depicts the cooling fan's average noise over the PSU's entire operating range, with an ambient temperature between 28 °C and 30 °C (82 °F to 86 °F).

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EVGA's lead over the second-place finisher (Dark Power P11-850) in this graph is huge. Currently, the 850 T2 is the quietest PSU we've ever tested with a fan inside. It'd take a truly passive unit to fare better.

Efficiency Rating

The following graph shows the average efficiency of the PSU throughout its entire operating range, with an ambient temperature between 28 °C and 30 °C.

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The efficiency difference between the Platinum- and Gold-rated units we used for comparison is huge. If high efficiency is your primary concern, then nothing comes close to the 850 T2's performance in this wattage category.

Aris Mpitziopoulos
Contributing Editor

Aris Mpitziopoulos is a Contributing Editor at Tom's Hardware US, covering PSUs.

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19 Comments Comment from the forums
  • turkey3_scratch
    Very great unit, as expected. I would have liked to see the threshold for when OTP really kicks in, if it even does. Perhaps duct taping the exhaust grill will do the trick. It's nice to see Superflower use a MOV for a change. I just wish that 3.3V rail would not get so near 3.14V during the transient response tests, but realistically I don't expect the 3.3V rail to get that sudden load these days.

    Also @Aris, are you sure there's only 4 y caps? I thought those blue sleeves store multiple y caps? Or do they not?
    Reply
  • damric
    That's some yummy low ripple for overclocking.
    Reply
  • Aris_Mp
    if you mean the blue components before/after the bridge rectifier, they are X caps and I didn't count them in the EMI filter on purpose.
    Reply
  • ZeusGamer
    I've had the G2 model of this power supply and it's still working great after two years. I'm really impressed by EVGA with these G2 and T2 models.
    Reply
  • JackNaylorPE
    Efficiency is nice... I guess .... but with that 3.3 and 5V performance, I'm not impressed.
    Reply
  • Dark Lord of Tech
    3.3 rail can vary per unit doesn't worry me a bit.
    Reply
  • Dark Lord of Tech
    3.3 rail can vary per unit , doesn't worry me a bit. Every test model for a review can produce different results.
    Reply
  • JackNaylorPE
    To each his own I guess... but for the ridiculous price of $240, I'd want better. The Corsair 860 and coolermaster V850 PSUs finish 1 and 2 and are much cheaper.

    The unit would fail to meet the ATX spec at 5%, and this comes in at a rather dismal 4.5 %... yes, this does vary from unit to unit (and this is a bad thing) If the unit that winds up in the hands of a review site gets two outta 3 rails at 4.5%, I shudder to think what we might get ordering off newegg. In the review graphs, it's the bottom of the chart against all the other PSUs with which its compared.

    The focus on efficiency in the ranking of PSUs in an enthusiast box is a criteria which escapes me ... I never walked into a Porsche dealership where the salesman's first pitch was "this model is great, it has the best gas mileage in our entire line'.
    Reply
  • yyk71200
    Differences in effissiency between gold, platinum, and titanium psus are rather small and do not justify price differences. Quality of output is more important criteria in choosing a psu than small differences in wattage consumed.
    Reply
  • JackNaylorPE
    ^^ ^^
    Reply