MSI MAG A850GL 80 Plus Gold Power Supply Review

A Closer Look – Interior

The interior of the PSU features a 120mm Martec DF1202512FDHN 12v fan, it’s a good quality fan too, and you’ll find it in many popular units from MSI, XPG, and Silverstone.

The interior of the PSU is quite busy, but that’s hardly surprising given that it promises big power in such a compact size. There’s a transformer located right in the middle, where it’s right under the fan for direct cooling.

There’s only a single large capacitor in here, and it’s a CapXon rated at 560 uF, 520v at up to 150c, and while it’s not the most premium of capacitors, at least it’s got good specifications.

There are quite a lot of secondary capacitors though, with a range of brown ones that look like Nippon Japanese capacitors but they’re branded Elite, and likely part of the CapXon range. The black ones are CapXon for sure, much like the bulk capacitor. Tucked between them are a few small heatsinks that cool the PCB and smaller silver capacitors on the PCB.

The AC line in looks good, with some additional line filtering and a durable-looking earthing cable.

There are two solid plates for the main transistor. It’s not a big deal, but the compound used to ensure their contact is a bit messy.

It’s just sort of smeared everywhere between the solid contacts, not an issue, but perhaps giving it a wipe down in the factory would have been nice.

There are some 3.3v and 5v coils tucked into the back on a small daughter board, which certainly helps keep the form factor nice and tight.