Page 2 - Physical Look - Outside
SilverStone's power supplies are typically conservative and understated in appearance, and the DA850R Gold 850W is no exception. Our particular unit is white, but you can buy one in black as well. From our view above, SilverStone's logo is located dead center on the integrated fan grille, which has a unique pattern itself like the HELA 1300R Platinum 1300W, and is placed in the middle of the enclosure. The sticker with the same design is implemented on both the left and right side, where you can spot SilverStone's logo, the DA850R Gold branding, and an 80 Plus Gold badge prominently placed. Like the front of the box, the sticker has the same wildly inconsistent and interesting font selection. To make sure you will see the text right side up at all times, the orientation of it is different on both sides, so whatever side facing the user after installation will always be correct. The SilverStone DA850R Gold 850W uses standard SECC construction.
The latest 850W model in the DA-series lineup has a depth of only 14.0cm. This is about as short as an ATX PSU of any wattage will go, with the only exception being the FSP Hydro PTM X Pro 1000W at 13cm. With a power density of 471W per liter, this is good for a fully modular Gold-grade PSU. Most modular power supplies are longer than non-modular units by a centimeter or two, as the extra length is needed to accommodate its connector board at the back. We will take a look inside the PSU on the next page. For most ATX or eATX chassis, this length should not be too much of a problem. However, if you have a mATX or mITX case that takes standard power supplies, the shorter length will definitely serve as an advantage, especially considering the fact the DA850R Gold is fully modular.
Its metal construction comes with a fixed grille guarding the primary and only cooling fan installed. The 120mm fan generates airflow by drawing air from the bottom of the power supply over its internal components to keep the temperatures in check. Exhaust heat is allowed to leave at the back of the power supply through the large secondary honeycomb mesh opening. Meanwhile, four screws secure the power supply case together. One screw has a seal over it that says, "electrocution risk if opened". It technically does not say opening it will void the SilverStone DA850R Gold 850W's 3-year warranty, but if you try this at home, do not come after me if your warranty claim gets denied, haha.
Starting from the back part of the power supply, we have the same familiar honeycomb mesh design as most PSUs with a bottom mounted fan. What you will find here is a vertically aligned male connector for power input on the western edge along with an on/off switch and another rocker switch to toggle semi-fanless mode next to it. I find having the semi-fanless toggle switch here to be convenient, since some older power supplies have it on the inside rather than the outside. However, I do not see a reason why you will disable semi-fanless operation. Semi-fanless mode keeps the fan off until it exceeds about 40% of the load threshold, or 340W. Disabling semi-fanless mode ensures the fan stays on at all times, but the SilverStone DA850R Gold 850W is intelligently designed to keep it from overheating regardless of what the active setting is.
The low resistance honeycomb mesh design is implemented to maximize airflow and minimize air resistance. This is done as heat needs to leave the power supply as easily and efficiently as possible, because the DA850R Gold 850W incorporates only one 120mm fan at the bottom. It is implemented in a reasonably efficient manner, as the power input block takes up only a bit more than the necessary amount of room physically required. As with all active PFC power supplies, the SilverStone DA850R Gold 850W has an automatic full range 100V to 240V AC line voltage selection, so the user does not have to worry about manually selecting input voltage.
Like many power supplies we cover here at APH Networks, the DA850R Gold 850W is a fully modular power supply. This means all cables are completely detachable from the main unit. While it is somewhat questionable with regards to why this is necessary for other manufacturers, since cables such as the ATX 24-pin and ATX 4-pin/EPS 8-pin have practically an 100% chance of being connected at all times, it may prove to be beneficial to an extent when building your computer initially. It is important to note the DA850R Gold is incompatible with SilverStone's optional PP05-E short cable kit and PP06 series cables.
The rear cable connection panel is done nicely. SilverStone has made the labels correct side up in standard orientation. Similar connectors are grouped together and are laid out in a very logical manner. To ensure you know what is going on, they are all grouped and clearly labeled for minimal ambiguity. Starting from the left, we have the Motherboard section that supports an ATX 24-pin connector by two separate blocks next to each other. Next, there are two 8-pin connectors for EPS cables. In the SATA/Peripherals section, there are three outputs. This is followed by a 16-pin 450W 12V-2x6 PCIe 5.0 header. Lastly, there is a pair of PCIe headers. Incompatible outputs will not physically fit into each other, so SilverStone has done a great job in this regard. This is a reasonable array of outputs in correspondence number of connectors on each modular cable, which should be sufficient for casual users and power enthusiasts alike.
The external build quality of SilverStone's DA850R Gold 850W power supply is excellent as always; a good indication the company is serious about the product they are selling. We will take it apart in just a moment. Fit is done well with minimal panel gaps and all edges are nicely finished off. The level of refinement with regards to the external build quality is right up there with all the other high-quality PSUs I have used in the past. As aforementioned, we will crack open the power supply to see what components are inside in the following section.
The voltage specification label is located on the top panel of the DA850R Gold 850W. There are two main virtual rails. Up to 20A can be delivered via the +3.3V rail for a total of 66W, while the 20A on the +5V rail brings the output to 100W in this area. The total combined output for the +3.3V and +5V rail is 100W. In other words, your power allocation combination must fall within the limits of the listed specifications. Meanwhile, a single powerful +12V rail delivers up to 70.8A -- 849.6W -- to maximize power delivery flexibility compared to multiple rails. Overall, the combined power output for the whole SilverStone DA850R Gold 850W is 850W, as its name suggests. It does sound a bit confusing to understand how this works at first, but generally speaking, this configuration allows sufficiently flexible power demands and should be sufficient to accommodate most users. The power outputs in the +3.3V and 5V rails are within the norm, as most PSUs in this wattage range released in the last few years usually have them between 20A and 22A. This is because modern systems do not have a lot of need in this area.
The SilverStone DA850R Gold 850W is 80 Plus Gold certified, which means that it is certified to be at least 87%, 90%, 87% efficient at 20%, 50%, and 100% load, respectively. Higher certifications available for power supplies of this type include 80 Plus Platinum and 80 Plus Titanium at press time. The DA850R Gold has no Cybenetics certification.
A total of nine modular cables are included out of the box. All modular cables are flat and easy to bend, making them extremely easy to work with. 16 AWG wires are found on the 12V-2x6 cable. Everything else is 18 AWG, which is common and expected with modern power supply units.
The following modular cables are included out of the box:
- 1x ATX 20+4 pin, 60.0cm
- 2x ATX/EPS 4+4 pin, 70.0cm
- 1x 12V-2x6 PCIe 12+4 pin, 60.0cm
- 2x PCIe 6+2 pin, 2 connectors each, 50.0cm to first connector, 15.0cm spacing thereafter
- 2x SATA, 4 connectors each, 50.0cm to first connector, 15.0cm spacing thereafter
- 1x Molex, 4 connectors, 50.0cm to first connector, 15.0cm spacing thereafter
These figures are provided by the manufacturer. Most users should have no problems with SilverStone's DA850R Gold 850W in modern cases. 50cm is the general standard, and the included cables met or exceeded this recommendation on all measurements. However, peripheral cables with a shorter length to the first connector may be advantageous for cable routing and management.
Page Index
1. Introduction, Packaging, Specifications
2. Physical Look - Outside
3. Physical Look - Inside
4. Minor Tests and Conclusion
