I have reviewed many SeaSonic power supplies over the years, from a Super Silencer 400 to the most recent being a S12 600 Watt.

I was looking forward to the 850 watt unit as I am going to run 2 of the new ATI Direct X 11 cards that will be released in the fall – with Windows 7 (October 22^nd). This is along with two 1 Terabyte Western Digital Black Caviar drives, a LG BD burner and 2 Plextor DVD readers and writers. The CPU is a Quad core Extreme which is over clocked. The video card is an ATI 3780 for now. It requires a 6 pin connector and the new cards will probably require 8 pin connectors – included in the box.

My Asus MB required an 8 pin CPU auxiliary connector – attached to the power supply. There was even a floppy connector attached to a Molex connector – needed for memory card readers or even floppy discs.

The first thing I noticed when I received it was the weight. I thought I was going to throw out my back when I picked it up. I weighed an OEM power supply ($29.00 CAN) and it weighed in at 2.5 lbs with all the wires attached. The Sea Sonic weighed in at over 7 Lbs with only the attached wires (default set). There was a nifty cloth bag with additional wire sets inside. If you need more than those that are attached to the power supply, you can plug them into outlets that are on the front of the power supply but you won't be burdened with where to cram the extra wires into your case that you don't need.  They would also limit much needed airflow.

It even came with a limited manual and a package of screws to install it with, although it was straight foreword.

I ran Far Cry 2, Crysis and Crysis Warhead without any problems. I used a power meter – from SeaSonic – called a Power Angel. I was interested in the idling power requirements and found that there was only a 3-5 watt increase when I switched from the 600 to the 850 power supply. So one doesn't have to be worried about an increase in power consumption just because one upgrades their power supply.

I saw 350 – 400 watts consumption when playing Far Cry 2 but noticed less freezing and being kicked out to the windows desktop. I think it was a power – cooling problem with the video card.

I even felt the exhaust air and found after "working" the unit its exhaust air was cooler than the 600 unit under the same load.

I liked the usage of Japanese capacitors, since that is the usual failure of the cheaper Chinese units.

Look at the left capacitor and you will see a slight bulging and leakage of the chemicals inside.  Three of the capacitors in this cheap power supply were failing. This caused the computer to attempt to startup and reboot.

I checked the voltages using Asu's Probe utility. They were all within .01 of specs – even under load.

If you want an extremely detailed review of Seasonic's 750 watt power supply (a similar unit) – including dissection – look at: http://www.hardwaresecrets.com/article/740/1

Here are some of the special features as listed by the manufacturer:

Special Features

Super High Efficiency [up to 90%]
Green solution for lowering energy consumption, noise & heat.
DC to DC Converter Design
Superior dynamic response & greater system stability.

Practical Dual +12V Rails
Ample 12v output with OCP for extreme utilization.

Tight Voltage Regulation
Improved load regulation to reduce voltage variations.
High Reliable 105°C Japanese Capacitors
Exceptionally reliable components extend product life.

Solid Caps on 12Vs for Extreme Stress Operation Conditions
Great stability at higher operating temperatures, frequencies and currents.

Active Power Factor Correction [99%PF]
Reduces line loss & power distortion.
Dual Sided PCB Layout
Better utilization of PCB space to enhance quality and performance.

Detachable Modular Cable
Flexible cable solution to reduce clutter.