XFX 850W Black Edition Review

[MrWicked1968]

if XFX has a reply, it'll be interesting to read.

[Oklahoma Wolf]

That's assuming the unit didn't have some other issue that caused this.

[Stefan Payne]

Because it failt due to misconfigured protections.
And I agree with the bad score on overclocked3D...

The protection should be configured to protect the PSU under all circumstances.
In that case it was set too high wich caused the PSU to fail.

[Ravenheart]

Originally Posted by jonnyGURU

http://www.overclock3d.net/reviews.php?/power_supply/xfx_black_edition_850w_atx_psu/4

182.6 on the +3.3V and +5V combined, which exceeds the combined max rating of 150W, but neither DC to DC was overloaded individually.

914.6W was the total load on the +12V (since the DC to DC is taking it's power from the +12V) so the +12V was definitely overloaded. Wonder if that's what blew. But is there no OCP? Wonder why it blew up instead of just shutting down.

First of all, HI ,

I'm new to this forum and the forum on overclock3d.net because I've been stupid! Or I think I have?

Now I bought a Corsair TX850 which had to be rma'd due to a fault with it (less than 2 weeks after I bought it) anyway to cut a long story short after reading the review for the Corsair TX850 on the Jonnyguru website (and finding out about the loose screw heatsink issue) I decided against getting a replacement and went for the XFX 850w Black Edition and after reading the review on the Jonnyguru website I then found and read the review on overclock3d.net and thought OH SH*T what have I done!!, as I originally paid £109.98 for the Corsair TX850 from ebuyer and they are processing a full refund for that (the reason they are refunding it is because they said they can't just exchange it for another psu and charge me the difference) and so I'm not without a psu for my PC hence why I ordered the XFX 850 Black Edition from ebuyer, this time spending £145 Inc next day delivery, the psu will be here today Saturday the 7th of November.

Now I'm very concerned about this because as said I had to recently RMA a Corsair TX 850 watt psu despite it getting good reviews, because there was a fault with it so I decided to go for the XFX 850 watt psu after reading some good reviews on it (including the Jonnyguru review on this very site) so thought it would be a fantastic psu, now i'm worrying that it won't be as fantastic as I thought due to the protection that's supposed to stop damage not working correctly (unless this really was a one off! well two off) because OC3D had 2 out of 2 of them die!

Originally Posted by Oklahoma Wolf

Looks like he was intentionally running it just below the OCP trip point.

What is an OCP trip point? And why is the XFX 850w the only psu OC3D had fail on them in such remarkable fashion, they claim they've had every other psu they've tested upto crazy figures and the ocp has always worked on those and shut them off every time.

Originally Posted by MrWicked1968

if XFX has a reply, it'll be interesting to read.

I can't find any evidence of a reply anywhere online? Did they even give one?

Originally Posted by Stefan Payne

The protection should be configured to protect the PSU under all circumstances.
In that case it was set too high wich caused the psu to fail.

Completely agree with this because I've paid a massive amount for this psu (well massive for me) it cost me £145 inc delivery and I won't be happy if it's second rate goods and the OCP doesn't work as it should, say when it's lightning outside and there might be a surge , I do have my PC connected to a surge protector but that's not the point, for such an expensive psu I would expect it to run flawlessly for the most part, and the most important protection features to actually work, so what should I do/what would you recommend I do now, leave it boxed up and send it straight back OR keep it and hope for the best? As I'm really sick of all the hassle of having to rma computer components/parts that don't work as they should lol.

I look forward to a response at some point

Thank you

P.S) I'm also stupid because I was going to go for the Corsair TX950 (after reading the review on here saying the loose heatsink screw issue was no more, lol) but I said to my other half that I'd narrowed it down to 2 psu's and for her to just say a name off the top of her head (because I thought it wouldn't matter what she picked and they'd both be fantastic whichever one she chose!) and she said the green one (aka the XFX) so I ordered it, I really wish I'd ordered the Corsair one now as it would have been £20 cheaper including delivery and I haven't read anywhere online that psu has any faults with it's OCP or protection/security features in case of overload

[Oklahoma Wolf]

Originally Posted by Ravenheart

Now I'm very concerned

Why? Are you planning on running it 150W out of spec continuously? That's what you'd have to do to get one of these to blow, assuming the problem isn't relegated to only a few units. Hardware Secrets' sample didn't blow doing some of the same tests.

What is an OCP trip point? And why is the XFX 850w the only psu OC3D had fail on them in such remarkable fashion, they claim they've had every other psu they've tested upto crazy figures and the ocp has always worked on those and shut them off every time.

Their samples likely had the overpower shutdown point set high enough for 115V operation and not 230V where the primary side components were too stressed and gave out first.

say when it's lightning outside and there might be a surge

Irrelevant. External power surges have nothing to do with overdrawing the power supply. Those get taken care of by the MOV in the AC transient filter of the unit, even before they can get to the parts that matter.

what should I do/what would you recommend I do now, leave it boxed up and send it straight back OR keep it and hope for the best?

If your machine needs an 850W or less unit, keep it. If it needs more than 850W, upgrade to something bigger.

the loose heatsink screw issue was no more

It's always been a minor issue. All my review samples have worked out of the box despite the screws being loose, and CWT doesn't seem to see the need to address it.

[Ravenheart]

Originally Posted by Oklahoma Wolf

Why? Are you planning on running it 150W out of spec continuously? That's what you'd have to do to get one of these to blow, assuming the problem isn't relegated to only a few units. Hardware Secrets' sample didn't blow doing some of the same tests.

If your machine needs an 850W or less unit, keep it. If it needs more than 850W, upgrade to something bigger.

Well no I'm not going to run it 150w out of spec continuously with the spec below am I,

Case = Antec 300
Case fans = 2 120mm fans at the front of my case
Memory = Corsair 4gb XMS3 DDR3 1333 mhz ram
Motherboard = Gigabyte P55-UD3
CPU = Intel Core i7 860 @ 2.80 ghz
Graphics Card = NVIDIA gtx 275 896mb ram
Hard Disks = 120gb Seagata SATA/320gb Hitachi SATA II/1tb Hitachi SATA II
Optical Drives = Samsung DVD-Rom Drive and a Pioneer DVD-RW Drive both SATA

The issue I have for a PSU that costs £135 if I wanted the option to upgrade in the future to say sli or even tri-sli then I'd be a bit dubious that this power supply couldn't hack it and I'd have to fork out for one that's as stable as it should be, when I shouldn't have to worry about it at all.

What does my machine need wattage wise now then because at xtreme.outervision.com I apparently would only use 334 watts for my system which I very much doubt!

Should I just rma (again!) and get a Corsair TX950?

P.S) No one knows if the problem experienced by OC3D in their review is relative to only a few units because xfx so far haven't even said or done any testing about what happened have they? or am I missing something here and they've looked into it AND fixed the problem?

[MrWicked1968]

two GTX 275s in SLI aren't going to bother that XFX 850.

tri-sli is overrated and a waste of time and money.

[burebista]

i7 920 @4GHz + GTX 275 needs ~340W AC in 3DMark06. Multiply with 80% (your PSU efficiency) and you need only 290W DC from your PSU.
Or here same i7 920 and a GTX 260 (~40W less than a GTX 275) needs 370W DC if you "play" Furmark and prime95 or 265W if you "play" 3DMark06.
Bottom line in games your rig at stock frequencies barely needs 300W from your PSU.