Sparkle Computer Gold Class 850W Power Supply Review

Installation
Test Rig:
Intel Core i7 870 LGA 1156 90 Watt processor
ASRock P55 Deluxe Intel P55 Motherboard
G.Skill PIS Series DDR3-2400 9-11-9 Intel Core i7 860/870 4GB Dual Channel Memory Kit
Sapphire Radeon HD 5850 video card
Sapphire Radeon HD 4870 Toxic 512MB video card
Cooler Master Hyper 212 Plus CPU cooler
Vista Ultimate 64-bit

Of course, installation of a power supply is simple, and with the PSU being modular you get to pick and choose what cables you want to use. I used all four PCI-E cables, a 4-pin Molex cable and a SATA power cable.

The cables are plenty long for some cable management in a mid tower, and long enough for a full tower but not the extra length cables found in some power supplies meant for full towers.

Sparkle Computer Gold Class 850 Watt Power Supply

Testing
First, I broke out my ol’ trusty multimeter and checked out the voltages on the +12v and +5v rails, which were 11.96 and 5.01 respectively, which were the same as found in the hardware monitor in the BIOS.

Next I tested the power supply by running OCCT. OCCT is a system stress test which is invaluable because it charts system measurements during the stressing, including the +12v. Unfortunately, it has never cared for 64-bit Vista, and reads the voltages wrong, but I can still use the charts by watching the multimeter during testing and note the actual voltages. The chart shows the voltage flutter.

While the OCCT was stressing the CPU, I ran 3DMark Vantage, to run both video cards in CrossfireX. I launched 3DMark Vantage 1 minute into the test and again 25 minutes in.

The Gold Series 850 did experience some flutter, but the maximum was only .1v.

Sparkle Computer Gold Class 850 Watt Power Supply Sparkle Computer Gold Class 850 Watt Power Supply