Lian Li is synonymous for its take on high-end premium chassis, coolers, and innovative snap-on case fans, though the company is also known to dabble in the PSU category and its new iteration of power supplies aims squarely at compact builds. Introducing the SP850 SFX.
Although tempered glass windows lead many to believe that fancy new graphics cards, processors, accompanying flashy coolers and RGB memory take precedent, and in all fairness, they do, the lowly power supply has never gotten its time in the spotlight thanks to the design of most chassis relegating the part to its cable-ridden basement.
You may find yourself in an awkward position if you choose to skimp out on a good quality power supply, that could lead to system instability often leading to a component’s untimely death or even worse, fire.
But I digress, the SP850 looks to be a solid addition to any new or existing PC Build and comes just in time for the next generation of high-end CPUs and GPUs from the likes of Intel, AMD and Nvidia.
Featuring a fully modular design and 80 Plus Gold certification, the new 850W PSUs are future proof with a PCIe 5.0 12-pin power connector (12VHPWR) that Lian Li says is capable of delivering up to 400W of clean power over a single cable, one 24-pin motherboard connector, four 8-pin PCIe 6+2 connectors, one 8-pin 4+4 CPU connector and three SATA connections for storage and peripherals.
Lian Li claims the SP850 delivers 91.55 per cent power efficiency at 50 per cent load, which actually exceeds the 80 Plus Gold standard of 90 per cent efficiency at the same load. Additional noteworthy features include a 92mm hydraulic bearing fan that stays at zero RPM until the unit reaches 40 per cent load or 60 degrees Celsius, whichever comes first, and the company claims the fan has a maximum noise level of 40.6 dBA at 2,800RPM.
Another nice addition is that Lian Li adds high-quality braided cables right in the box, so there is no need to go out and purchase cable extensions off a suspicious Amazon seller. Not bad at all, and it’s all packed in a tiny 100mm x 63.5mm x 125mm aluminium housing. Petite.
Available in white or black, the SP850 is now available at local listings such as Amazon for approximately $160 in the Americas and available for pre-order in the UK at £120. The full tech spec sheet is available down below for your viewing pleasure.
