EVGA BQ Series 850W PSU Review

Why you can trust Tom's Hardware Our expert reviewers spend hours testing and comparing products and services so you can choose the best for you. Find out more about how we test.

Load Regulation, Hold-Up Time, And Inrush Current

To learn more about our PSU tests and methodology, please check out How We Test Power Supply Units. 

Primary Rails And 5VSB Load Regulation

Load Regulation testing is detailed here.

Hold-Up Time

Our hold-up time tests are described in detail here.

Though the measured hold-up time exceeds 17ms, the power-good hold-up time is lower than 16ms. By tuning this delay, the power-good signal could be made to exceed 16ms. At least this signal is accurate, since it drops before the rails go out of spec.

Inrush Current

For details on our inrush current testing, please click here.

Inrush current is high with both voltage inputs. HEC should take a closer look at this.

Load Regulation And Efficiency Measurements

The first set of tests reveals the stability of the voltage rails and the EVGA 850 BQ's efficiency. The applied load equals (approximately) 10 to 110 percent of the PSU's maximum load in increments of 10 percentage points.

We conducted two additional tests. During the first, we stressed the two minor rails (5V and 3.3V) with a high load, while the load at +12V was only 0.1A. This test reveals whether a PSU is Haswell-ready or not. In the second test, we determined the maximum load the +12V rail could handle with minimal load on the minor rails.

Swipe to scroll horizontally
Test #12V5V3.3V5VSBDC/AC (Watts)EfficiencyFan SpeedFan NoiseTemps (In/Out)PF/AC Volts
15.165A1.964A1.936A0.995A84.7980.93%1120 RPM38.8 dB(A)37.00°C0.987
12.235V5.093V3.405V5.023V104.7740.40°C115.2V
211.365A2.948A2.919A1.196A169.6085.22%1120 RPM38.8 dB(A)38.47°C0.983
12.210V5.074V3.388V5.003V199.0142.94°C115.1V
317.964A3.458A3.434A1.400A254.8586.60%1135 RPM39.0 dB(A)40.11°C0.990
12.179V5.059V3.375V4.985V294.2846.06°C115.1V
424.564A3.963A3.924A1.609A339.7386.80%1150 RPM39.2 dB(A)41.98°C0.993
12.154V5.045V3.362V4.968V391.3848.83°C115.1V
530.866A4.972A4.930A1.816A424.6886.43%1395 RPM43.0 dB(A)43.48°C0.995
12.124V5.025V3.345V4.949V491.3850.53°C115.1V
637.190A5.994A5.945A2.025A509.6785.74%1550 RPM46.1 dB(A)43.64°C0.996
12.097V5.005V3.330V4.932V594.4751.50°C115.1V
743.542A7.019A6.973A2.239A594.6285.00%1665 RPM48.3 dB(A)43.84°C0.997
12.070V4.984V3.312V4.910V699.5952.16°C115.1V
849.917A8.061A8.013A2.451A679.4984.12%1780 RPM49.0 dB(A)44.48°C0.998
12.042V4.963V3.294V4.890V807.7653.13°C115.1V
956.777A8.594A8.566A2.459A764.4983.14%1830 RPM49.7 dB(A)45.29°C0.998
12.010V4.946V3.280V4.877V919.4954.20°C115.1V
1063.378A9.127A9.090A3.091A849.3382.22%1840 RPM50.0 dB(A)45.46°C0.998
11.986V4.930V3.267V4.849V1033.0055.15°C115.2V
1170.652A9.152A9.126A3.099A934.2681.08%1925 RPM51.2 dB(A)46.32°C0.998
11.954V4.918V3.253V4.837V1152.2356.17°C115.1V
CL10.101A19.021A19.001A0.003A156.9677.77%1330 RPM42.2 dB(A)44.07°C0.984
12.184V4.931V3.259V4.976V201.8353.34°C115.1V
CL269.958A1.002A1.003A1.002A851.5182.77%1885 RPM50.9 dB(A)46.58°C0.998
11.982V5.003V3.317V4.922V1028.8056.43°C115.1V

Load regulation is bad, especially on the minor rails (including 5VSB). At least our efficiency measurements do satisfy the 80 PLUS Bronze requirements. Also, the PSU doesn't have a problem delivering its full power under a very high ambient temperature, which actually exceeds EVGA's official maximum rating (40°C). The fan is super noisy though, and even under lighter loads it spins fast. Obviously HEC wants to cool the secondary side's Teapo SC capacitors as effectively as possible, so it tuned the fan's minimum speed to 1120 RPM.

Aris Mpitziopoulos
Contributing Editor

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