Introduction

We would like to thank Akasa for supplying the review sample.

So far, Akasa's Venom Power series only included two models with 750 W and 550 W capacity. In the past, we reviewed the smaller of the above, and we can't say that we were left satisfied by its performance and its features, although it came with a fair price. Recently, two new Venom PSUs with 850W and 1000W capacity were released to address higher-end systems and the enthusiast user. Contrary to the older Venom PSUs, which weren't certified by the 80 Plus organization, the new ones carry the 80 Plus Gold badge, meaning that they are based on a much more advanced platform.

The new Venom Power 850 W will be the test subject of this review. Let's take a quick look at its characteristics before we put it on the load tester. For starters, many users out there will be very happy with the fact that this PSU only has three native cables: every other cable is modular. Surely, they could all be modular, but that would influence its total cost, and Akasa took the middle road, which is fine with us. This unit has a single and powerful +12V rail that can deliver up to 70 A of current, so it will easily power a high-end system. The only downside here is that Akasa chose to equip it with only four PCIe connectors instead of six, which limits you to two graphics cards with dual PCIe sockets each. Of course, you could use some molex adaptors to gain a couple extra PCIe connectors, but we don't recommend the usage of such tricks when it comes to graphics cards since the 4 pin molex adaptors only use a single +12V wire, while the PCIe ones have three. Finally, a sleeved-bearing fan, painted yellow, handles the unit's cooling, and its color matches that of the dark casing pretty well.

Specifications

Efficiency is Gold, something that will satisfy most users out there. Unfortunately, there is no information about its operating temperature range. We can easily assume that the max operating temperature is much lower than the 50°C that ATX recommends, or Akasa would mention it. Nevertheless, we will follow our typical testing procedure by cranking the heat inside the hot box up to 45 °C.

The PSU's protection features only include the basic ones, and Akasa, strangely enough, states that OCP is utilized, although it is meaningless in a single +12V rail PSU of such high capacity. Moving on to the unit's cooling fan, we find a medium speed, sleeved-bearing fan that will easily cope with the task since Gold efficiency leads to decreased energy dissipation.

The unit's footprint matches the standard ATX one, so there won't be any compatibility problems with a normal chassis, and the warranty is short at only two years, while the price is considered high, at least for the states, which means that the PSU will meet some serious competition. Nevertheless, that is the MSRP and the final retail price will, once the PSU hits the stores, most likely be significantly lower.


The PSU features a, according to Akasa, single +12V rail (There are, in fact, four +12V rails with a 40 A OCP trigger point) that can output almost the unit's full capacity: a clear indication that DC-DC converters are utilized for the generation of the minor rails, which are, incidentally, quite strong as well. Finally, the 5VSB rail has 3 A max current output and is, as such, a little stronger than the average.

Cables & Connectors, Power Distribution

The native cables are few and could be fewer if Akasa attached the second EPS connector, which will not be utilized by most users, to a modular cable. There are, unfortunately, only four PCIe connectors, although the unit's capacity could easily support two more for a total of six. Strangely enough, the 4 pin connectors are many for today's standards, and we would definitely prefer some more SATA connectors instead, but eight of the latter will be enough for most systems.

All cables are long enough, and buyers won't have any problems on their behalf, even in full tower cases. The distance amongst connectors is adequate. Finally, all connectors adhere to the ATX spec and use 18AWG gauges.

The distribution of the +12V rails follows.


Power distribution is not optimal since the 8 pin EPS connector shares the same rail with a PCIe socket of the modular panel. This means that an EPS connector and two PCIe connectors are mixed up. Thankfully, the OCP trigger point is set quite high (40 A), which means that there should not be any problems unless, of course, you are powering a highly overclocked graphics card set-up.

Packaging

The PSU comes in a small, sturdy package. On the front, we find a list of the PSU's most interesting features, a capacity and series description, and the 80 Plus Gold badge.


On the sides is a multilingual features description along with a list describing the contents of the box. We find four badges, with the most interesting one referring to the 135 mm fan, on top.


The rear side does, as usual, hold lots of information about the product. In this case, we find three tables illustrating the unit's specifications, the output capabilities of its rails, and its available connectors. There are also two schemes with the first describing the available native and modular cables and the second showing the fan frame-design, which, according to Akasa, enhances airflow.