SilverStone DA850R Gold up close. 471 watts per liter

Preview, PSUs | | Ľubomír Samák

SilverStone DA850R Gold (850 W)

SilverStone also makes ATX 3.0 PSUs. The DA850R Gold model is, among other things, remarkable for its smaller than usual dimensions. It is only the “basic” 140 mm in length, the same as, for example, the Enermax ERT850EWT (the other tested power supplies are larger), so for owners of cases with worse PSU compatibility, a thematic micro-comparison arises.

Disclaimer: This article does not contain tests, but only a kind of preparation for them. We do not have (and will not have) our own equipment for testing power supplies, but by the end of the year we should be able to get to a specialized laboratory where everything necessary for analyzing the relevant electrical quantities is available. Until then, we will collect a few models (mainly and maybe only with ATX 3.0 standard support), which we will first take pictures of, analyze their design details, make an overview table of parameters, and later we will confront them with each other qualitatively, from the power supply point of view. This will be a matter of unique measurements.

From the outside…

The DA850R Gold represents SilverStone’s mid-range power supply, which is expected to achieve 80 Plus Gold efficiency. The tested model DA850R has the designation SST-AX0850MCGD-B, but then there is the SST-AX0850MCGD-D (also with “DA850R”), which at first glance already has a few design differences. We’ll discuss the differences around the various DA850Rs with SIlverStone further and then present them in the tests.

The grille in front of the fan has fairly large triangle-shaped cutouts, although its perforated area is relatively smaller. This is also related to the use of a smaller, 120-millimeter fan. A larger one will not fit inside due to the dimensions of the power supply.

The SilverStone PSU’s housing is only 140mm long, just like the Enermax ERT850EWT.

The advantage of a smaller body lies in better compatibility with cases, but on the other hand, a larger and possibly more efficient fan must be sacrificed for it. SilverStone lists a parameter for its power supplies called “power density”, which is based on the ratio of continuous power to the dimensions of the power supply housing. For the DA850R Gold it is 471 W. For more powerful power supplies this value is even higher, but within 850 W models, which are the focus of our tests, the power density is lower for most models.

   

The PCIe gen. 5 cable for powering more powerful Nvidia graphics cards is on both sides with the 12VHPWR connectors with 16 AWG (1.31 mm² per wire). This means the standard wire gauge used for this type of cable.

   

In order to ensure the best possible electrical contact (and the lowest possible transient resistance), the hollows inside the connector are also tight. Despite the “450 W” mark printed on the connectors.

However, this does not mean that the cable is capable of lower current loads than the “600-watt” variants. It’s just that SilverStone, like Cooler Master (with the GX III 850), is working with Intel ATX 3.0 recommendations, according to which the power supply manufacturer should encourage a lower load on the 16-pin connector (than 55 A/600 W), taking into account that the 12-volt rail also powers the processor, for which there would be only 250 W left over.

Assuming full connector load, this could lead to system instability with a very powerful processor in a combined load with a power supply with a continuous power of 850 W. On more powerful PSUs, the 12VHPWR connector already has a 600 W “stamp” on it, and the SilverStone design is no different. But these more powerful PSUs have a sufficiently sized 12V rail to handle the extra power draw of both the graphics card and the processor at the same time.

The SilverStone DA850R Gold power supply has completely modular cabling and all cables are flat.

… and from the inside

Instead of its own fan, SilverStone used a Martech DF1202512FDHN. 120 mm format, Fluid Dynamic Bearings (FDB). Cooling is always active (i.e., the fan does not switch off at lower loads), but up to 40 percent load of the power supply, the speed should not exceed 500 rpm. So it’s a similar approach to BeQuiet!, which also avoids semi-passive mode for the sake of maximum durability. At the same time, up to half load, operation should be very quiet.

But the DA850R should not be outright noisy even at higher loads. At 80% the fan should still only have around 1000 rpm, and it only gets to the noisier 1750 rpm at the maximum that is specified for continuous power, i.e. at 850 W.

SilverStone didn’t skimp on capacitors either. There is one large Nippon Chemi-Con KMR at 400 V with a capacity of 680 μF on the primary filtration, and a Nippon Chemi-Con (KZE) at lower capacitances is also in the secondary. All of them are “105-degree” ones, so with the expectation of a longer service life.

   

* The number of PCI Express connectors is given as the sum of native and shared connectors (the second number after the “+” sign). Native connectors are those that are the same on both sides. Shared ones are then connected via different connectors on the power supply side, for example, a single 300-watt 16-pin (12VHPWR) is created by using two 6+2-pin connectors, and vice versa – a 16-pin connector can be used to connect a cable with two 6+2-pin connectors.
Please note: Power supplies are and will continue to be a marginal topic for us, so don’t expect us to go into as much detail about them as we do with other components. The goal, of course, is to be able to choose your favourite based on the basic characteristics. Efficiency at different load levels, the effect of electrical power on voltage drop or its output ripple, we will map it all out. And perhaps, if there is interest, we will also devote space to a frequency analysis of the sound of the coils. But you’ll have to wait a while for the results of any tests.

English translation and edit by Jozef Dudáš


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