Conclusion
The DeepCool PQ850M is the first DeepCool power supply we have seen here at TheFPSReview. That comes with a lot of questions attached to it. Particularly as DeepCool is not one of the biggest brands in North America so the number of their products, until recently, seen in the power supply market has been small. That said, small brands often have the best chance to be market disrupters. So, will the PQ850M give the big incumbents a run for their money? Or will it be an also-ran? Let’s see.
Build Quality
Today’s DeepCool PQ850M starts things out with a build quality that is very good as it is based on the tried and true Seasonic Pocus Plus Gold design. The exterior of this unit does vary a bit from the bone stock OEM model though as it has a unique fan guard today. Beyond that, we get the usual semi-textured black finish as well as a very nicely labeled modular connector interface. This is combined with a full complement of FlexForce-style cables.
The interior of the PQ850M is very nice and while this design is modern, it has also been around for a good bit now. On the bright side, we see the traditional Seasonic integration and soldering quality along with high-quality components being used today. This includes Nippon Chemi-con standard capacitors paired with Chemi-Con and FPCAP solid capacitors. The fan paired with this unit is a typical Hung Hua FDB fan that we see in lots of Seasonic units. Lastly, the documentation on the unit is very minimal at best but, at least, the unit carries a 10-year warranty.
Load Testing
Today’s DeepCool PQ850M provides us with good results overall. Indeed, we saw voltage regulation of up to 0.21v on the 12v rail, 0.02v on the 5v rail, and 0.01v on the 3.3v rail. In a relative sense, this unit was mixed with the SilverStone DA850 Gold, Enermax REVOLUTION DF 850W, MSI MPG A850GF, and ASUS ROG THOR 850W. The efficiency is very good by absolute numbers as the unit’s efficiency ranged from 86.85% to 89.27% at 120v and 85.46% to 88.55% at 100v. At the same time, this unit very nearly made its 80 Plus Gold rating but fell short at 100% load. Lastly, this unit passed our Torture Test in fine shape which is good to see from this unit.
When we look at the Transient Load Tests results for the DeepCool PQ850M, we see results that are passing and both excellent and not so excellent. When directly loaded, the 12v rail showed a peak change of ~400mV, and the 5v rail had a peak change of ~20mV. During the 12v load, the unloaded 5v rail saw a peak change of ~20mV. In absolute terms, these results are, as stated above, passing. In relative terms, this unit does best with the SilverStone DA850 Gold and MSI MPG A850GF but it was mixed with the Enermax REVOLUTION DF 850W and ASUS ROG THOR 850W.
DC Output Quality
The DC Output Quality results for the DeepCool PQ850M were passing and, overall, excellent. Indeed, we saw peak values of just ~30mV of ripple/noise on the 12v rail and ~15mV on the minor rails. When it comes to absolute values, these values are well within specification limits with the minor rails being the worst overall. When it comes to relative values, this unit was middle of the pack. It tied the Enermax REVOLUTION DF 850W and was mixed against MSI MPG A850GF while slightly trailing the SilverStone DA850 GOld and ASUS ROG THOR 850W.
Noise
Today’s DeepCool PQ850M is a middle-of-the-road-to-upper-end capacity unit. That means that quiet is normally not the name of the game. However, this unit does have a large overhead fan design, very good efficiency, and an open layout. Oh, and it comes from an OEM known for making quiet units. That said DeepCool could have gone with a larger fan in this form factor even though they did opt to go with an FDB fan. In the end, though, how did it work out?
In our testing, this unit was decent. It was not until Test #3 that we could discern the unit was adding noise to our load testing environment. That particular noise was a loud buzzing sound that drove me crazy. It was like that sound when a mosquito is in your ear/face and you can hear it but you can’t kill it. That sound, all the way through the rest of the testing. While not for TheFPSReview, at [H]ardOCP, I reviewed a lot of Seasonic units with Hong Hua fans and after looking at my notes this is the first time I have seen this exact issue.
Final Points
The DeepCool PQ850M ends up being a solidly competitive power supply TODAY. We say competitive TODAY because we have a tidal wave of 850Wunits coming so this result won’t stand. That said, compared to the previously reviewed units this is one of the better 850W units we have seen if you ignore the 12v load regulation. In an absolute sense, the PQ850M gave us very good/excellent build quality, good voltage regulation, excellent DC Output Quality, and good Transient Load results. Noise output was definitely not the best aspect of this unit though as it had a weird buzzing sound driving me nuts for way too much of our testing profile.
That said, this unit looks competitive across the board, mostly. Which gives us a fairly normal quandary. How do you separate such units from the field? Luckily, there is an answer. An easy answer. Price.
That, my friends, is where this unit runs headlong into a house while speedballed out of their mind like Anne Heche in an Austin Mini. Today, we find that the DeepCool PQ850M can be had for $144.99. That is not a great price given what we have seen in competitive offerings from SilverStone, MSI, Enermax, ASUS, and even Seasonic (with the exact same product). For the value proposition, the PQ850M doesn’t have any unique features up its sleeve for us other than an annoying mosquito imitation. While this is a very passable and even good unit, the pricing and lack of differentiation are a downside. That said, pricing in our current era is a bit of a wild card, so if pricing changes or you can find this for a good deal, it’s a solid power supply.
