Final Words & Conclusion

Final Words & Conclusion

The Lian Li SP850 is an excellent addition to the SP series. After a promising debut with the 750 Watt version (which earned the “Approved” award on our website), now it’s an evolution in a good direction. The most significant changes are the adjusted start/stop limit to 60 Degree Celcius (it was 45 Degree Celcius in the SP750) and the addition of the 12-pin PCIe 5.0 cable. Thanks to that, you can power up a system with the upcoming GPU generations. Again you receive the brushed aluminium housing and sleeved module cables, which make the exterior look lovely. The internals looks more than decent. The unit comes with a 5-year warranty. It’s an 80 Plus Gold certified PSU, and that’s a typical choice for, let’s say, mid-tier systems (maybe a bit more) from the consumer’s point of view (in terms of efficiency/price of the unit). The 850 W variant should be enough for most users with a single graphics card in their system. A setup like the one used in this test (i9 12900K + Geforce RTX 3080) rarely exceeds 500-550 W power draw.
On the quality side, all is nice, and the stability tests also went well. Load regulation is good, and there was no noticeable droop on the +5V and +12V rails. Ripple suppression is within tolerance. The 92 mm fan does its job better than last time (and it's really working in a semi-passive mode this time). It becomes audible close to 80% load (not 50-60% like previously), so there’s not too much to complain about. You get a fair set of accessories in the package, including mounting screws, a power cord, and a manual (a rather typical set).

A word about efficiency

Like with any other power supply, 50% of the maximum load is where the device is most efficient. The sweet spot of the Lian Li SP850 is a bit over 92.5% (at 230 Volts). In the case of this particular unit, half of the maximum wattage is 425 W. The average gaming PC with a single graphics card (at least those usually spotted in Steam hardware polls) won’t exceed this value under normal conditions. Don’t overestimate the savings (on your electricity bill) that you can make by going from 80 Plus Bronze to even Titanium. You can assume that the build quality of more expensive PSUs will be higher, but the differences in efficiency are not that significant. So, summing it up, an 80 Plus Gold PSU like the Lian Li SP850 reviewed here is a good enough solution. The price is about 149.99 USD for the 850 W variant, which is reasonable for the SFX PSU.

Stability

There isn’t much to say about stability. The voltages hold, and this doesn’t change under higher loads. The 850 W version should be enough for dual-GPU setups with cards like an Nvidia Geforce GTX/RTX 1080/2080 or a single GPU like an RTX 3080/3090.

Aesthetics

This Lian Li PSU looks nice with its all-black cabling. The SP850’s approach with modular cables lets you plug in only the leads you need, which will undoubtedly improve your build’s looks. Additionally, this makes the installation process relatively simple.

Final words

The SP850 retails at 149.99 USD, a competitive price for an SFX power supply with 850 Watts output. The unit is all black, but you can also get a white version. It will probably be hidden inside the chassis shroud anyway, so this is not an essential factor. The SP850 offers improved acoustics compared to the SP750 (relatively poor in that department). The noise is tolerable up to 75% (where earlier it was 50%). The SP850 quality is a good one. You get a 12-pin PCIe 5.0 compatibility; it's the first SFX PSU with this kind of cable for providing up to 350-400W to the GPU According to the standards, the efficiency is like it should be for the 80 Plus Gold award. You also get a 5-year warranty, which is good in this price segment (but, for example – Seasonic Focus SGX has ten years). What could we suggest this time? Maybe an even better fan curve or a longer warranty period? (but that’s nitpicking, as the unit has a good noise level, and five years is still an extended period). Overall, we think that this PSU deserves the “Recommended” award. You pay 149.99 USD for an excellent all-around package (with a 12-pin PCIe 5.0 cable, not a standard for the SFX PSUs) that leaves nothing to be desired. The overall package is good, and that’s it. This product ticks all the essential boxes, period.

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