ASRock Steel Legend SL-850G PSU Review

1. Introduction2. Bundle & Cabling3. External4. Internal5. Testing Methodology and Results6. Closing Thoughts7. View All Pages

The new ASRock Steel Legend SL-850G has proven to be a very capable power supply in our testing over the last week. The partnership with HEC seems to have worked well for the company, and while we have not had the opportunity to test any other power supplies in their latest Phantom Gaming or Taichi ranges, this Steel Legend unit shows promise that the others will perform well. We can generally tell when a company is cutting corners and ASRock are thankfully not doing this with the SL-850G.

Technically, the SL-850G is a really solid power supply. Load regulation is very good and it passed the strenuous cross load test without any issues. Ripple suppression falls well within industry rated parameters, although it falls short of the best power supplies we have tested this year in that regard. When I say that, I don't mean there are any concerns, just that we have seen better.

This HEC design exhibited no real weaknesses in our testing and it held up well throughout our analysis. Efficiency is very good – hitting over 93% eff. around 45% load. ASRock have an array of heatsinks inside the unit to help cool the components and the running temperatures are good. The high grade fluid dynamic bearing fan remains off until higher loads are demanded and it is never intrusive, even when tasked to around 700 Watts.

Internally, the design incorporates quality 105C rated Japanese branded capacitors. On the primary stage, a Nippon Chemi Con capacitor takes centre stage, rated 400v 560uF from their KMR series. ASRock seem confident that this unit will last a long time as they are backing it up with a 10 year warranty. While this falls a little short of the 12+ year warranties on some other units, it is still reassuring.

While I have no faith in the traditional 80 Plus Ratings, the excellent Cybenetics labs rated this unit as Platinum efficiency and an A+ rating on 230V which is a great series of results.

While availability seems sparse right now, ASRock told me that this unit will be selling for £128.98 in the UK in the coming weeks.

Pros:

• Quiet under load.
• 105C Japanese capacitors used.
• 10 year warranty.
• Fully modular.
• Good quality cables.
• Well finished.

Cons:

• Availability seems an issue right now.

KitGuru says: The ASRock Steel Legend SL-850G delivers solid all round power with very high levels of efficiency. Technically it is a very capable unit and it is also priced very competitively at around £130. It wins our Worth Buying award.

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