Introduction

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


Solytech is a PSU manufacturer with many years of experience in the field; however, the company is not all that active in the high-end since it mostly participates in the lower-end budget categories. We haven't yet had a chance to review a modern Solytech unit and are curious to see how the new AG line, offered by Apexgaming, fares in comparison to competing offerings. Solytech recently released a new platform, and Apextechusa LLC used it in its Apexgaming brand. The AG line consists of six new PSUs with capacities ranging from 650W to 850W. Three of these are semi-modular, while the rest feature a fully modular cable design. All are 80 PLUS Gold certified, and the flagship of the line, the AG-850M, is also certified by Cybenetics as ETA-A- for its efficiency performance. The same unit, however, didn't receive a noise certification since it doesn't even meet the minimum requirements Cybenetics sets. As you can probably imagine, this is a very noisy PSU.

The Apexgaming AG-850M will be on our test bench today, and since it is the top member of the Apexgaming family, its performance will give us a great deal of insight on what to expect from other members of this family. The ten-year warranty Solytech provides for this platform is a good sign, but the sleeve bearing fan makes us wonder about whether this PSU will survive such a long warranty period without a fan failure since sleeve bearing fans have a shorter lifetime than double ball-bearing and fluid dynamic bearing fans. The lack of a semi-passive mode, which could take some stress off the fan, is another downside.

Specifications

A sleeve bearing fan is not what we expect to see in a PSU that costs $110, and we don't believe that it will outlive this unit's 10-year warranty, especially since it is not supported by a semi-passive operation; to make things worse, the fan profile is very aggressive. The ETA-A- efficiency rating in the Cybenetics scale means that this PSU has an overall efficiency score in the 85%-88% region, which is quite high, but not as high as the >88% scores similarly priced 80 PLUS Gold units with a capacity of 850W achieve. According to Solytech, the PSU's manufacturer, all necessary protection features are present, which we will also verify on our own.


These are unnecessarily strong minor rails since modern PCs don't draw all that much power from 5V and 3.3V, and there is a +12V rail that can deliver the PSU's full power on its own.

Cables and Connectors, Power Distribution

There are six PCIe connectors, but only a single EPS one, which is a shame for a PSU with a capacity of 850W. The cable is sufficiently long, and users should only run into compatibility issues due to length with a few very large cases. The distance among peripheral connectors is too short, however; there should be around 14–15 cm between connectors.


Here are some photos of the AG-850M's cables.

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

Unboxing Video

The following video footage shows the unboxing of the AG-850M.



Here's the packaging.


This is the unit's bundle.


This is the PSU's front.


I have included some more PSU photos and the power specifications label.


This is the modular panel.


The warranty sticker.


Some generic photos of the PSU.

A Look Inside and Component Analysis

Before reading this page, we strongly suggest a look at this article, which will help you understand the internal components of a PSU much better. Our main tool for the disassembly of the PSU is a Thermaltronics TMT-9000S soldering and rework station. It is of extreme quality and equipped with a matching de-soldering gun. For the identification of tiny parts, we use an Andonstar HDMI Digital Microscope.



This platform is by Solytech. The design is clean since the use of power transfer cables was meticulously avoided. On the primary side are two heatsinks with fins that really aren't all that wide, while the boost diode is installed on a much smaller dedicated heatsink. The heatsink used to cool down the +12V FETs on the secondary side is attached to the daughter-board that hosts the +12V regulation circuit. All in all, the design follows the trends of this efficiency category with a half-bridge topology and LLC resonant converter for the primary side and synchronous rectification and DC-DC converters for the secondary side.


A small PCB next to the AC receptacle also hosts the first part of the transient filter, which includes two Y caps and an X cap. The fuse is also installed to this PCB. The transient filter continuous on the main PCB with two CM chokes, an X and two Y caps, and an MOV.


Two GPU1506 bridge rectifiers are installed to a dedicated heatsink. Each of these can handle up to 15 A of current, so they are stronger than required for a 850 W PSU.


The primary heatsink holds three TPA60R150C FETs, which are used by the APFC converter, and two Infineon IPA60R125P6 FETs, which are the primary switchers.


The boost diode is a CREE C3D08060A, and it is installed to a dedicated heatsink. There obviously was no room available on the primary heatsink, or its heat load capacity is already capped out by the five FETs it hosts.


The bulk caps are two Rubycon MXHs with a capacity of 330 uF each, which makes for 660 uF in total. Larger bulk caps are required to achieve the 17 ms hold-up time.


There are two NTC thermistor for protection against large inrush currents. However, there is no bypass relay to allow them to cool down quickly, while also offering a small efficiency boost.


The PFC controller is a Champion CM6502S, while the resonant controller is a Monolithic Power Systems HR1001B IC. Both of these controllers are on the solder side of the main PCB.


The main transformer has a special design since it includes the resonant tank.


A daughter-board holds all FETs—four Toshiba TPHR85 04PLs—that regulate the +12V rail. A heatsink has been attached to this board to help cool down the FETs. The synchronous rectifier is a Monolithic Power Systems MP6923.


Most filtering caps on the secondary side are provided by Su'scon, and we also find five Elite caps. Both Su'scon and Elite are made in China and don't have the best reputation. We expected higher quality caps in a PSU that costs $110.


Six electrolytic caps on the primary side of the modular board make up an extra ripple filtering stage. Several MLCC (Multi Layer Ceramic Capacitors) caps are used on the other side. Those small capacity caps are used to filter high frequency noise.


The DC-DC converters that generate the minor rails use a total of six Ubiq QM3004D FETs. The common PWM controller is an Anpec APW7159C.


The supervisor IC is a Weltrend WT7527V that is supported by a UTC LM358G dual operational amplifier (op-amp).


The 5VSB circuit uses a PFR10L45CT SBR, and the standby PWM controller is an OB5224AP IC.


The overall soldering quality is good. As it seems, Solytech has capable production lines, and their quality control also works as it should.


It is weird to see a plain sleeve bearing fan in a PSU with a ten-year warranty that doesn't feature a semi-passive mode. To make matters worse, the fan profile is too aggressive, and the higher a fan's speed, the more stress is put on its bearing.