Cooler Master V850 Gold V2 Power Supply Review

A highly efficient power supply from Cooler Master.

Cooler Master V850 Gold V2
(Image: © Tom's Hardware)

Tom's Hardware Verdict

The Cooler Master V850 Gold V2 is a high performance and efficient power supply, with a silent operation.

Pros

  • +

    Full power at 47 degrees Celsius

  • +

    Complete and properly set protection features set

  • +

    High overall performance

  • +

    Efficient

  • +

    Silent

  • +

    Efficient 5VSB rail

  • +

    Long hold-up time

  • +

    Low inrush and leakage current

  • +

    Fully compatible with the newest ATX spec

  • +

    Fully modular

Cons

  • -

    Not so tight load regulation

  • -

    Power Factor readings could be higher

  • -

    Small distance between the peripheral connectors

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The Cooler Master V850 V2 Gold can support a power-hungry RTX 3090 if you can find and afford one. It achieves high overall performance, and its platform is efficient enough to save you money on electricity bills. With a bit higher performance, it could be included in our best PSUs article

However, overall, it is a good product worthy of your attention. Its major competitors are the Seasonic Focus Plus Gold 850, Corsair RM850x and RM850, XPG Core Reactor 850, and the Super Flower Leadex III and V models with similar capacity.

The 850W category is of high interest lately since the new high-end graphics cards, including some of the best graphics cards, from Nvidia and AMD demand strong power supplies. If you don't want to pay the RTX 3080/3090 graphics cards' premium prices, you can settle down with a lower capacity unit of the Gold V2 line, which ranges from 550W to 850W. There are also white edition Gold V2 models available if you have a white chassis. 

Cooler Master teamed with Gospower for the V2 Gold line, an OEM that no other major brand uses so far. It seems that CM has an exclusive agreement with this OEM, using its designs in several of its products, including its powerful SFX units. The V850 V2 achieves Gold in the 80 PLUS scale, while in Cybenetics, it gets a Platinum rating. It also features silent operation, with lower than 30 dBA overall noise output at normal operating conditions (Cybenetics A-).  

Specifications

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Manufacturer (OEM)

Gospower

Max. DC Output

850W

Efficiency

80 PLUS Gold, Cybenetics Platinum (89-91%)

Noise

Cybenetics A- (25-30 dB[A])

Modular

✓ (Fully)

Intel C6/C7 Power State Support

Operating Temperature (Continuous Full Load)

0 - 50°C

Over Voltage Protection

Under Voltage Protection

Over Power Protection

Over Current (+12V) Protection

Over Temperature Protection

Short Circuit Protection

Surge Protection

Inrush Current Protection

Fan Failure Protection

No Load Operation

Cooling

135mm Fluid Dynamic Bearing Fan (HA13525M12F-Z)

Semi-Passive Operation

✓ (selectable)

Dimensions (W x H x D)

150 x 85 x 160mm

Weight

1.67 kg (3.68 lb)

Form Factor

ATX12V v2.52, EPS 2.92

Warranty

10 Years

Power Specifications

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Rail3.3V5V12V5VSB-12V
Max. PowerAmps202070.830.3
Watts120849.6153.6
Total Max. Power (W)850

Cables & Connectors

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DescriptionCable CountConnector Count (Total)GaugeIn Cable Capacitors
ATX connector 20+4 pin (650mm)1118-22AWGNo
8 pin EPS12V (650mm)1118AWGNo
4+4 pin EPS12V (650mm)1118AWGNo
6+2 pin PCIe (600mm+120mm) 3616-18AWGNo
SATA (500mm+120mm+120mm+120mm)31218AWGNo
4-pin Molex (500mm+120mm+120mm+120mm)1418AWGNo
AC Power Cord (1380mm) - C13 coupler1117AWG-

There are two EPS and six PCIe connectors. It is nice that this PSU has three PCIe cables, which you can use in super high-end VGAs with three PCIe sockets. Please note that it is best to avoid using both PCIe connectors of the same cable in high-wattage graphics cards like the Nvidia RTX 3080 and RTX 3090. 

The number of peripheral connectors is more than enough, but it is a shame to see such a small distance between them. Lastly, there are no in-cable caps, which is a major asset. 

Component Analysis

We strongly encourage you to have a look at our PSUs 101 article, which provides valuable information about PSUs and their operation, allowing you to better understand the components we're about to discuss.

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General Information-
Manufacturer (OEM)Gospower
PCB TypeDouble-Sided
Primary Side-
Transient Filter4x Y caps, 2x X caps, 2x CM chokes, 1x MOV, 1x MPS HF81 (Discharge IC)
Inrush ProtectionNTC Thermistor 16D-20 (16 Ohm) & Relay
Bridge Rectifier(s)2x Yangzhou Yangjie Electronics GBU3008 (800V, 30A @ 90°C)
APFC MOSFETs2x Sanrise Tech SRC60R140BTFE (630V, 11.2A @ 125°C, Rds(on): 0.14Ohm)
APFC Boost Diode1x CREE C3D16065 (650V, 16A @ 142°C)
Bulk Cap(s)1x TK (450V, 680uF, 2,000h @ 105°C, LGW)
Main Switchers2x Sanrise Tech SRC60R140BTFE (630V, 11.2A @ 125°C, Rds(on): 0.14Ohm)
APFC ControllerChampion CM6500UNX & CM03AX
Resonant ControllerChampion CU6901V
TopologyPrimary side: APFC, Half-Bridge & LLC converter Secondary side: Synchronous Rectification & DC-DC converters
Secondary Side-
+12V MOSFETs6x NCE Power NCEP40T15GU (40V, 106A @ 100°C, Rds(on): 1.35mOhm)
5V & 3.3VDC-DC Converters: 6x IPS FTD05N03NA (30V, 75A @ 100°C, Rds(on): 6mOhm) PWM Controllers: ANPEC APW7159C
Filtering CapacitorsElectrolytic: 2x Nippon Chemi-Con (5-6,000h @ 105°C, KZH), 1x Rubycon (6-10,000h @ 105°C, ZLH), 3x Rubycon (4-10,000h @ 105°C, YXJ), 2x Rubycon (4-10,000h @ 105°C, YXF) Polymer: 42x FPCAP, 5x United Chemi-con
Supervisor ICIN1S313I-SAG
Fan ModelHong Hua HA13525M12F-Z (135mm, 12V, 0.36A, Fluid Dynamic Bearing Fan)
5VSB Circuit-
Rectifier1x 45R15S
Standby PWM ControllerOn-Bright OB2365SP

Gospower provides this platform, and the design is modern. What caught my eye is the insane amount of glue used in the transient filter to keep coil whine in control. It looks like they really wanted to suppress coil whine, so they didn't go cheap on the glue! 

Gospower used an unknown manufacturer for the FETs on the primary side instead of the usual and expensive ones, but it has faith in them given the long warranty. The parts on the secondary side are of high quality, and an impressively high amount of polymer caps is used. 

The transient filter includes all necessary parts, and on top of that, it has a discharge IC to save energy on the bleeding resistors of the X caps. 

There is an MOV to deal with voltage surges and an NTC thermistor and relay combo, suppress inrush currents. Thanks to the high resistance of the aforementioned thermistor, inrush currents are bottom low. 

The bridge rectifiers are powerful but are provided by an unknown, to us at least, manufacturer. It would be nice to use a dedicated heat sink instead of sharing the same with the main FETs. 

The APFC converter uses two Sanrise Tech SRC60R140BTFE FETs and a single CREE boost diode, which is powerful! The controller is a Champion CM6500, which is supported by a CM03AX IC. Lastly, the bulk cap is by Toshin Kogyo, and its specs look good. 

A pair of Sanrise Tech FETs are used as primary switchers. They are installed in a half-bridge topology, and an LLC resonant converter is also used to boost efficiency. The resonant controller is a Champion CM6901 IC. 

Six NCE Power FETs handle the 12V rail, while the minor rails are generated through a pair of DC-DC converters. 

There aren't many electrolytic caps, but the ones that Gospower used are of high quality. Most ripple filtering is done through polymer caps, which are of high quality as well. 

There are lots of polymer caps at the face of the modular board. 

Cooler Master V850 Gold V2

(Image credit: Tom's Hardware)

Not much to see on this side. Soldering quality is decent except for some parts where they had to enhance the PCB traces. 

The cooling fan is of good quality since it uses a fluid dynamic bearing and a good manufacturer, Hong Hua, provides it. 

MORE: Best Power Supplies

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Aris Mpitziopoulos
Contributing Editor

Aris Mpitziopoulos is a contributing editor at Tom's Hardware, covering PSUs.

  • refillable
    Nice @Aris_Mp! I have a question though. Are the 550 W, 650 W, and the 750 W the same platform as this or are they different?
    Reply
  • Aris_Mp
    Thanks! The V750 uses the same platform. Have to check for the other two.
    Reply
  • refillable
    Aris_Mp said:
    Thanks! The V750 uses the same platform. Have to check for the other two.
    Oh, great then! Please do check because the lower wattages are already sold here in my country.
    Reply
  • PaulBags
    The fan noise is actually rattling and annoying.
    Reply