– Asus ROG and Gigabyte Aorus now also have power supplies. The quality standards of the brands are high, but the look also plays a major role here. The established Corsair brand, on the other hand, appears sober and focuses purely on technical aspects. In the test, this is rewarded with the best measurements.
Newcomers vs. established brand
For the first time, the manufacturers Asus and Gigabyte, which are primarily known for their mainboards and graphics cards, mix with the ROG Thor 850P and the Aorus P850W in the power supply upper class. The gaming brands ROG and more recently Aorus are seen as a recipe for success in establishing products from peripherals to storage and cooling on the market. Because the development of a power supply unit requires a lot of expertise, but the margins are comparatively small, the step into the power supply market was made late. Without an in-house development department, the experience of the contract manufacturer must be trusted so that fundamental problems can be avoided and adjustment requests can be implemented in reality.
The AX850 wants the crown back
Here, Corsair’s specialization in the power supply market proves to be an advantage because design decisions can be made independently. Thanks to a collaboration with various contract manufacturers, the American manufacturer was able to take a leading position on the world market. While Asus and Gigabyte have the branding bonus, Corsair has to convince with the new flagship AX850 about the classic features of a power supply. Whether the best values in terms of efficiency, volume and electrical performance can actually be achieved must be examined on the test bench.
The luxury class is only economical with a lot of performance
High component costs, which cannot be scaled down with the output power of the power supply, prevent economical placement of upper-class power supplies with less than 850 W. The new AX series and the ROG-Thor power supplies are therefore only available with output powers from 850 W – the Gigabyte Aorus is still available with the P750W as a 750 W version. However, a current high-end gaming PC does not need that much power.
The details of the test methodology, the test station used, the electrical measurements and the sound pressure level measurements can also be read separately in this case in the article “How BitcoinMinersHashrate tests power supplies”. The power supply ranking list with the best list offers a constantly updated overview of recommended models.
Technical key data in comparison
With certifications according to 80Plus Gold to Titanium, the power supplies can be divided into three different efficiency classifications. How efficient the individual models really are and how large the distances are can only be assessed with specific measurement results. The housings of the ROG Thor 850P and the Aorus P850W are only 160 mm deep. At 170 mm, the AX850 demands 10 mm more.
At first glance, the subjects did not differ in terms of cooling. All three power supplies use a semi-passive fan control and a 135 mm fan. However, only the ROG Thor 850P and the AX850 can be switched to permanently active ventilation.
The protective circuits are documented as complete for all three test samples. Their function can also be demonstrated in the measurements. The single-rail fuse of the 12-volt rail cannot offer absolute security due to its design with a tripping current of over 70 A.
Guarantee in comparison
The fact that Asus and Gigabyte already have a large market presence in other product areas means that their support networks are well developed. However, defective goods are usually exchanged via the dealer, as Gigabyte writes on the website about the guarantee. Contact to the manufacturer can also be established via the manufacturer’s website, which could speed up the otherwise rather slow exchange via the dealer. Here the support from Corsair has an advantage, which in any case allows an exchange to take place via a separate collection point in Germany.
With ten years there is a very generous guarantee period with all three manufacturers. Asus excludes the OLED display and RGB lighting, for which only a three-year guarantee is granted.
Scope of delivery and exterior
The accessories for the power supply consist of the mandatory manual, a power cord and screws. Asus also provides cable ties in plastic and Velcro versions and cable combs for the cable harnesses with a single sleeve. Corsair does not use the Velcro cable ties, but does include magnetic stickers in various colors, which can be used to cover the sticker with the product data.
The case from Asus is the most unusual, with an aluminum grille on the top, the ventilation holes of which are milled out. Corsair and Gigabyte can only counteract this with the fan grille punched out of the housing. Of these two variants, the AX850 has a higher quality, because an additional bend of the grille gives stability and the paintwork is of higher quality.
Power consumption display more than just a gimmick
Additional optical highlights of the ROG Thor 850W include the flattened corner and a side panel, both of which have addressable RGB lighting using Asus Aura Sync. Regardless of this, the OLED display shows the current power consumption of the power supply. The measurement of the input power is even surprisingly accurate. The deviations are greatest at zero and light loads because the small currents and the poor power factor require precise measurement technology.
cable Features
There are serious differences in the provision of PCIe connections. The ROG Thor 850P lags behind the AX850 and the Aorus P850W with four pieces, which offer more with eight and six plugs, respectively. The four connections of the ROG Thor 850P were also divided into just three cables because one is a so-called Y cable. As far as the SATA connectors are concerned, the AX850 is most generously equipped with 16 ex works. In addition, the AX850 cable harnesses can be used completely, because the ROG Thor 850P does not have enough connection sockets for the peripheral cables and the Aorus P850W for the EPS or PCIe cables, which is why one of the cable harnesses has to be omitted.
The AX850 is also superior when it comes to the wire cross-section because it provides 16 AWG for the ATX, EPS and PCIe lines for higher efficiency and a lower voltage drop. In the Aorus P850W, only the ATX cable harness is made of 16 AWG wires, the ROG Thor 850P relies entirely on 18 AWG. It is not understandable that the Aorus P850W has a floppy adapter in addition to the floppy adapter in a peripheral cable harness. In any case, a complete waiver of this type of connector, as with the AX850, is appropriate today.
The cable lengths of all three power supplies are comparable and have been adapted to the requirements of current PC cases in ATX format. Asus uses a combination of single-sleeve, bundled-sleeve and ribbon cables for the cable sheathing. Corsair equips peripheral strands with ribbon cables and relies on sleeved cable strands for the rest, because capacitors can be hidden under the sleeve in the cable ends, which further reduce the ripple. Gigabyte also installs capacitors in the cable ends, but relies entirely on ribbon cables, which is why the capacitors do not protrude very elegantly from the connectors.
On the next page: Technology analyzed in detail
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