SilverStone DA850 Gold
SilverStoneTek is a company best known for its high-quality cases but their product lines extend into other components such as cooling, power supplies (of various model lines that range from 300W to 1650W in DC output), fans, and storage solutions. SilverStone has built up this impressive product repertoire since its founding in 2003. For this review, we are looking at the current second largest capacity unit in the Decathlon series the DA850 Gold (SST-DA850-G) DA850-G. This is a $170 80 plus Gold 850w fully modular ATX power supply. It is produced in conjunction with CWT.
Channel Well Technology (CWT) was founded and began manufacturing power supplies in 1993. Since 1993 Channel Well Technology products have shown up under various guises including Antec, Xclio, 2theMax, CWT, Thermaltake, Xigmatek, and Corsair.
While most familiar to our US users from when it used to provide OEM services for Antec, CWT is one of the more complete OEM manufacturers as it has a fairly high level of vertical integration providing transformers all the way up to its well designed independently regulated SMPS. Recently, however, CWT has begun stretching out and is providing OEM services for a number of brands as today’s unit demonstrates.
Still A Small Big Deal?
The SilverStone DA850 Gold is the latest among a long line of power supplies that we have seen from SilverStone. This particular unit is probably a bit more realistic of an option for users than the last Decathlon series unit we reviewed the DA1650. So, with this being a unit that is just right in capacity, but also sporting a trim form factor, we are right back in SilverStone’s wheelhouse. However, before we get too far ahead of ourselves, let’s first see what SilverStone has to say about this unit:
ï¿ High efficiency with 80 PLUS Gold certification
ï¿ 24/7 continuous power output with 40℃ operating temperature
ï¿ Class-leading single +12V rail
ï¿ Silent running 120mm FDB fan with 18 dBA minimum
ï¿ Japanese electrolytic capacitors
ï¿ Specially designed cover designed to effectively dissipate the residual heat
ï¿ Compact design with a 140mm depth for easy integration
ï¿ Strict ±3% voltage regulation and low ripple & noise
Let’s move on now and see what we can expect when a user purchases the SilverStone DA850 Gold power supply in retail in terms of documentation, accessories, cable count, rail layout, output characteristics, and general build quality.