Specifications

Efficiency is still Gold because the components for Platinum efficiency would have significantly increased production cost and, thus, the price. The DPS-850 also features a fully modular cabling design and is Haswell ready, like all units exploiting DC-DC converters for the generation of the minor rails.

Its protection features don't include OCP (Over Current Protection), which is of no use in this case because of the single +12V rail, and OTP (Over Temperature Protection), which, in our opinion, is among the most valuable protections for a PSU. Thermaltake chose not to include a semi-passive operation since the fan profile can be controlled through the provided software and the fan is really silent at low loads, so we think they did right. We are not a huge fan of the semi-passive feature when it comes to PSUs and prefer low fan speed at low loads to instead produce next to no noise while taking stress off sensitive components, like electrolytic capacitors that would suffer significantly more during a purely passive session. Thermaltake strangely enough states this unit's maximum operating temperature to only be 40°C on the product's official page while the manual mentions 50°C. We would prefer using the lower specification, but will test the PSU at 45°C.

The DPS-850's cooling fan features double ball bearings, so it will last for quite a long time. However, we would like to see FDB (Fluid Dynamic Bearing) fans in such an expensive PSU since FDB fans produce less noise and last even longer than double ball-bearing fans. This unit's footprint is normal given its capacity; however, the competition managed to squeeze 850 W of power into even smaller cases. That said, two centimeters won't make it incompatible with contemporary cases. We left the warranty, which is pretty long at seven years, for last. It even matches Corsair's warranty period for their digital PSU offerings, but EVGA raised the bar even higher by providing a ten year warranty with their high-end PSUs. It is then nigh on time for the rest to follow suit.


The single +12V rail is strong with 70 A max current output, while the minor rails have enough power to feed any modern system out there. Also, the 5VSB rail has slightly more wattage than those we usual come across in contemporary PSUs.

Cables & Connectors, Power Distribution

With six PCIe cables, the DPS-850 can provide enough juice for up to three high-end VGAs, though Thermaltake strangely enough opts not to provide the option for a second EPS connector. You will then have to use an adapter if your motherboard requires two of these. This is a major flow for a PSU of this category and price range, and Thermaltake should fix this issue as soon as possible if they want to satisfy enthusiast users for whom this product was initially designed.

Regarding cable length, we don't have any complaints; however, an even longer EPS cable could come in handy with very large cases. The distance between all connectors is adequate, and the PCIe and EPS cables use thicker 16AWG gauges while all the other connectors use according to the ATX spec standard 18AWG wires.

Since this PSU features a single +12V rail, we do not have anything to comment on about its power distribution.