Introduction

While power supplies do not advance at the pace of CPUs and GPUs, looking back a decade ago, a decent tier power supply was typically rated for 600-700 watts, with an 80 Plus Bronze rating. Today we have this place taken by 800+ watt 80 Plus Gold rated supplies. And this is exactly where the sweet spot of mid-to-upper-mid-range gamers will look at when choosing a supply for a new build. With its recently released ATMOS series, featuring 750 and 850 W units, Chieftec is aiming at this exact segment.

Today we're looking at the more powerful of the two, the 850 W ATMOS (model number CPX-850FC), an 80 Plus Gold rated ATX 3.0 compliant power supply. We are not quite in the 4 digit wattage territory yet with its power rating, but 850 W is exactly the minimum recommended point for AMD's and NVIDIA's most demanding GPUs. And the native 12VHPWR connector support is another checkbox for that.

Specifications

Packaging and accessories

Both Atmos 750 W and 850 W units are shipped in the same box that includes all the desired specs for both units. On the side of the box, however, there's a very distinct red dot, indicating which unit is packaged inside.


Opening the box reveals a packaged-in power supply, the modular cable pouch and the user's manual. Besides those we get a standard AC power cord as well as the mounting screws.


The included pouch reveals a set of sleeved cables. The sleeving has quite underwhelming aesthetics with some heatshrink at both ends. The main cables delivering power from the +12 V rail are predominantly AWG 18. AWG 16 cables would be highly preferred.