Modern, functional, versatile and productive power supply for gaming PC and more. Meet ASUS AP-850G. The novelty, which has just entered the market, is now available for us. Today I’ll tell you about all the advantages of the PSU, show it from all sides and, of course, conduct some tests.
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It’s nice that ASUS AP-850G costs only $140. Despite the fact that it is a novelty, the PSU has occupied the middle price niche among its peers. And this is only if we consider 850W models with 80 PLUS Gold certification. If we compare power supplies from well-known manufacturers from $130 to $150, the AP-850G stands out in an even more positive light.
The AP-850G has many uses. It is perfect for a modern gaming build with a top-of-the-line graphics card, or for a designer’s or programmer’s high-performance PC. Almost anything is possible with this new PSU. Just don’t forget that the total power of all computer components should not exceed 600W. Still, for the long life of any PSU it is necessary to leave a 40% power reserve.
Is the design of the power supply even worth discussing? In most cases it is located in a separate compartment of the case and is not visible to the user. But there are also open cases, transparent, glass, designer cases…. For such assemblies the appearance of any component plays a role. And ASUS AP-850G won’t let you down in such cases. It has a nice black and white design and will fit perfectly into a gaming system with similar colors.
I personally really liked the unusual grille of the cooling system, and in general the power supply has a nice look.
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The power supply is the most underrated component of a computer. As a rule, it is chosen on the leftover principle – as a surrender after purchasing everything else. And this is fundamentally wrong. From the power supply depends not only on the power that it distributes to the processor and video card, but much, much more. A low-quality power supply can even provoke a fire, and that’s no joke. Small diameter wires can melt quite well, and connectors can spark. And it’s just a matter of a few seconds. The lack of necessary protections in cheap models creates interference in the power grid, which affects the operation of all other electronics in your home. Ripples and voltage sags significantly reduce the life of all computer components.
Therefore, it is extremely important to pay great attention to the choice of the power supply unit. The necessary protections against short circuits, overload, overheating and voltage fluctuations are the basis for a quality power supply. Good models have much more protection. Reliable electronic components, good wires and connectors are also an attribute of an excellent PSU. Even the quality of soldering has an important role. ASUS AP-850G has all these advantages (and even more). And 80 PLUS Gold certificate confirms and guarantees high quality and stability of the power supply.
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Now let me tell you about all the proprietary technologies used in ASUS AP-850G. Let me start with the protection levels, the importance of which I mentioned a while ago.
This is an extremely important function that allows you to turn off the PSU if the power of the PC components starts to exceed its capacity for any reason. For example, the video card has failed and its current consumption has increased many times over. In this case, the AP-850G will go into protection, preventing the video adapter from catching fire. The OPP can also protect the power supply itself by preventing it from operating beyond its load limits.
OVP protection in the power supply will prevent the computer components from failing due to voltage increase. This can happen in case of a partial power supply failure, when the motherboard receives 16V or more instead of, for example, 12V. The AP-850G will prevent this from happening and keep your components safe during a failure.
This protection function is very similar to OVP, but instead of over-voltage protection, it protects components from undervoltage. And yes, the situation when instead of 12 V the video card receives, for example, 8 V, may well be fatal. Of course, the card won’t burn down, but its power supply system will easily fail. However, with ASUS AP-850G you will never face such a situation.
SCP is a much-needed technology that provides short-circuit protection for every PC component as well as the power supply itself. It’s not to be underestimated, as it’s the very thing that minimizes the chance of components catching fire. The AP-850G has this protection, of course, and how could it not?
OCP implements amperage protection for computer components. Remember the circuit breakers in your home distribution panel? They are a prime example of such protection. As soon as any consumer, whether it’s a vacuum cleaner or a washing machine, starts to draw excessive power, the wiring in your home starts to heat up, which can even lead to a fire. The circuit breaker notices the overload and disconnects the faulty line. Same with ASUS AP-850G – OCP protects wires and connectors from melting by disconnecting the lines going to the damaged components.
OTP is a protection against overheating of critical power supply components. Extremely useful but, unfortunately, rarely used protection technology. It’s cool that ASUS AP-850G has it. With OTP, the power supply will last much longer than competitors without this feature – for many, many years.
PFC is a technology found only in quality power supplies such as the AP-850G. In fact, it is not necessary for protection, but only for comfort. Let me explain – any PSU creates floods in the electrical grid. If they’re large, your devices, such as a TV or even an LED bulb, can run erratically. PFC removes the parasitic flooding from the PSU, allowing other appliances to operate in comfort.
That’s the end of the protection technology. As you can see ASUS has taken care of both the safety of your PC components and the performance of the power supply itself. As far as I’m concerned, ASUS AP-850G has all the necessary protection features that will keep you and your computer safe from any emergency situation. However, I would like to tell you about other technologies as well. Perhaps, not so critical, but very pleasant.
ASUS AP-850G uses an unusual cooling fan. It is noteworthy because it uses real bearings in its design. And not just any rolling bearings, but adult ball bearings. Moreover, there are two of them! What does that give you? Quietness, durability, performance. You won’t have to worry about the fan unbalancing and humming. However, if you forget about the maintenance of the cooler for many years, it will be very difficult to find a replacement. All because of its non-standard size – 135 mm.
I’ve already mentioned that the power supply meets a solid 80 PLUS Gold certification. But ASUS went a step further by ensuring the AP-850G’s performance even beyond this standard. By an average of 2-4%, but still.
ATX 3.0 mode support is a hallmark of only the most modern PSUs, and ASUS AP-850G is no exception. It is needed to connect top video cards on the PCI-Express 5.0 bus, which are powered through a special cable. Even the most voracious video adapter will get its portion of power from the power supply thanks to ATX 3.0 support.
So, ASUS AP-850G is a modular power supply, which is great. It means that instead of a bundle of wires, half of which you will never use, the PSU panel has elegantly arranged ports for connecting only necessary cables. One powers the processor, one powers the graphics card, and one powers the hard drives, for example. Don’t use additional devices in your system? Just unplug the cables you don’t need. And the case will be more aesthetically pleasing, and there will be more space for cooling. And you won’t have to worry too much about cable management.
The AP-850G comes with 9 different wires for connecting all kinds of equipment. The wires, by the way, are cool and nicely insulated. Besides, they are quite long – 650 mm on average. The length reserve will allow you to arrange the cables neatly inside the case, and the case can be used in any size.
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I’ll move from theory to practice – I’ll test ASUS AP-850G in practice. Of course, I don’t plan to recreate any emergency situations, I’m sorry for my components. But it’s easy to load the PSU to the full and see how stable the voltages are. For the test I built a PC from the most voracious components I could find.
I’ll add the drives and all sorts of backlighting for about 50 watts. It turns out to be 630W, which is the limit for AP-850G considering the 40% power reserve.
Well, I’m going to start the stress test for absolutely all parameters and wait 30 minutes for the PSU to heat up enough. After that it remains only to take readings of the main voltages and analyze them.
The result obtained is unrivaled. The power supply unit stably held the maximum load and did not allow voltage spikes. In addition, here is a table with the test results, where the minimum, maximum and average values of voltages are shown.
Well, we have a power supply with absolutely no flaws. ASUS has made a great product at a balanced and justified price without skimping on quality, design and functionality. Versatile, modular, and ultimately beautiful, the AP-850G is sure to please. The power supply will fit into any PC, from an office machine to a serious gaming station. I have nothing more to add, it’s a 10 out of 10, bravo!
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