Corsair CS850M PSU review - Introduction

Corsair Professional Series CS - Simply good and affordable

We review the Corsair CS850M 850 Watt 80-plus GOLD certified power supply. This is a silent and more affordable mainstream 850 Watt power supply that is 80-plus certified, that means it's 90% efficient at 50% load. Efficiency matters. The PSU itself is partly modular, for most of you with a side panel window in their chassis a must really as you'll want modular cables. The new PSU also improved on the silence factor. Have a peek at the article.

The CS850M series is a modest and silent model series, all about being efficient for a reasonable price. As such you'll notice that the PSU as tested today carries a Gold certification. Bronze, Silver but really Gold or Platinum is what you want, the upper stack in hardware is expensive though. Gold certified, that means it's 90% efficient at 50% load. Efficiency matters; years ago PSUs were as low as 70% efficient, meaning that 30% of the used power simply vanishes, whilst you are paying for it on that electricity bill. If your components eat away 500W then with that 70% efficient product you'd actually use 650W. The PSU itself is let's say 90% modular with cabling as well, for most of you with a side panel window in their chassis a must really as you'll want modular cables.

All in all we have plenty to show you and test. Mind you that being the mainstream range you'll get an added benefit as well, Corsair Professional Series PSUs are backed by an excellent 3-year warranty. Thus PSU is ideal for basic desktop systems where low energy use, low noise, and simple installation are important. Hey, that's gold all by itself, but have a quick peek and then let's head on-wards into the review.