EVGA SuperNOVA 850 G3 PSU Review

EVGA refreshed its popular G2 PSU family with the G3 one using Super Flower's Leadex II platform. The 850 G3 is the second strongest member in this line-up, offering high performance and a depth of just 15cm.

By Aris Mpitziopoulos
published

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Cross-Load Tests And Infrared Images

Our cross-load tests are described in detail here.

To generate the following charts, we set our loaders to auto mode through our custom-made software before trying more than 25,000 possible load combinations with the +12V, 5V and 3.3V rails. The load regulation deviations in each of the charts below were calculated by taking the nominal values of the rails (12V, 5V and 3.3V) as point zero. The ambient temperature was between at 30°C (86°F) to 32°C (89.6°F).

Load Regulation Charts

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Efficiency Chart

This is a very efficient PSU. As you can see in the chart above, between 150W and 680W load, at +12V, and with the minor rails not hugely stressed, efficiency registers greater than 90%.

Ripple Charts

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Infrared Images

Toward the end of the cross-load tests, we took some photos of the PSU with our modified FLIR E4 camera that delivers 320x240 IR resolution (76,800 pixels).

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According to our FLIR camera, temperatures inside the PSU are very low. This is all but assured by high efficiency and a fast-spinning fan.

Aris Mpitziopoulos
Aris Mpitziopoulos
Contributing Editor

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

16 Comments Comment from the forums
  • envy14tpe
    Made by Super Flower? Love the quality SF produces. Can't wait to buy my new Leadex II.
    Reply
  • dstarr3
    Ahh, SuperFlower. I don't know why people buy anything else.
    Reply
  • powernod
    For those looking for an "80+ Gold efficient PSU", probably they won't have to look elsewhere. LeadexII seems amazing platform!!
    Reply
  • BugariaM
    Based on the information from EVGA site
    Such an aggressive fan curve is only made on 1000W and 850W units of the G3 series
    550W, 650W and 750W - have a much smoother relaxed curve

    I'm curious, what is the fan curve for the 850W unit when the ECO mode is off? It is possible that in this mode it will be much quieter at normal load...
    Reply
  • damric
    That ripple... yum :D
    Reply
  • waylo
    Dangit. Just bought this yesterday, focusing on a quiet PSU, deciding on this over the G2 or P2 version. I know the quality will be there, but disappointed in the noise levels.
    Reply
  • WhyAreYou
    Very nice :O
    Reply
  • laviniuc
    great review!
    Reply
  • Virtual_Singularity
    Excellent, impressively thorough and professional review, as usual. Much appreciated.
    Reply
  • Stone Cold
    19439055 said:
    Ahh, SuperFlower. I don't know why people buy anything else.
    So you are saying this PSU is miles better than the Seasonic prime?!
    Reply