Antec High Current Gamer Extreme X850 Power Supply Review

Efficiency, PFC and Voltage Regulation

Voltage Regulation

Firstly looking at the voltage regulation, the Antec X850 gets off to an exceptionally strong start. While the results do show a little variance to the ‘ideal’ voltage output, the results are consistent and certainly within a more than comfortable range. A particular highlight is the 3.3v rail which is entirely consistent regardless of the amount of power output.

This clearly shows that regardless of how much you ask of this power supply, it is capable of providing strong and consistent levels of power.

Power Efficiency

For those of you unfamiliar with power efficiency ratings, 80-plus Gold is a solid performance target. This is, pretty much, the ideal level for people who want a strong power supply but perhaps don’t have the budget to push into the Titanium and Platinum ranges. Do not, however, be fooled into thinking that Gold rating is ‘normal’. It requires a consistently strong level of power output across the entire range.

As you can see in the results, while the initial rating is skirting close to the minimum 88% efficiency required, beyond that it has no problems at all. In truth, the initial 20% testing did give an 87.1% scoring which is lower than it should be. We do, however, allow for a small window of allowance and consider this ‘close-enough’ to get a pass. It does, however, get much better from there. The power supply briefly touches on 95% which is Platinum rating territory. The efficiency rating test, therefore, shows a strong performance. One that certainly meets the 80-plus Gold requirements.

Power Factor Correction

While the PFC rating is a little low at 20% load, this isn’t usual. It also may explain why the initial efficiency rating was a little lower than we anticipated. Despite that, however, there is (again) no cause for concern here. Everything looks good and gets better the harder you ask the Antec X850 to work.