Specifications

Efficiency is Bronze and the unit is Haswell ready because it features DC-DC converters in its secondary side. These allow it to handle situations with nearly no load at +12V and a full load on the minor rails (by the way, this Intel test for Haswell compatibility is crazy, and on what premise they came up with the test remains a mystery). There is no word on the operating temperature range from Antec, but we are pretty sure that the unit can deliver its full power continuously at up to 50°C given we tested this specific Seasonic platform numerous times in the past and found it to easily deliver its full power at incredibly high ambient temperatures.

The LED fan is equipped with ball-bearings, making it of a higher quality. Its relatively low efficiency rating doesn't allow for a passive operation, partial or otherwise, meaning that the fan is constantly engaged. Finally, the length of the unit is 17 cm, a little longer than the standard of 16 cm (according to the ATX spec, the standard is 140 mm, but very few PSUs follow that directive).

Its warranty period is quite long at five years to show that this line competes in the higher category. Unfortunately, the latter is also one reason for the stiff price of $150, a crazy amount for a mere Bronze unit.



The two +12V rails are pretty strong as they can deliver the unit's full power alone. Also, the minor rails are too very strong with 150 W maximum combined output. Finally, at 3 A, the 5VSB rail has sufficient current output.

Cables & Connectors, Power Distribution

The number of connectors is good, but we think this unit could support two additional PCIe connectors for a total of six. However, people with three dual-PCIe VGAs would most likely prefer a higher capacity PSU with better efficiency. The HCG-850M is equipped with the same cables/connectors as its little brother, the HCG-750M. The only exception is its additional EPS connector, the lack of which we criticized in the 750 W model review.

The ATX cable is a little short for our taste and should reach at least 55 cm to avoid problems with larger cases. The other cables are sufficiently long and the distance amongst all connectors is good. Finally, all gauges are of 18AWG size--the recommended ATX size for most PSUs (some sense wires have a recommended size of 22AWG).


The power distribution is written on the modular panel.


Like with the HCG-750M, you better connect both PCIe cables to the left 16-pin socket because the 12V2 rail feeds the native EPS connector. You should, to make it easy to follow, connect the modular EPS cable to the right 16-pin socket and the PCIe cables to the left socket. Taking into consideration the only two +12V rails, we think that power distribution is good, but users should follow the aforementioned advice to avoid any problems.