Kingwin Lazer Gold 850w Power Supply

Manufacturer: Kingwin
Supplied by: Kingwin
Street Price: $180 (USD)

by Dean Barker (6/06/2010)

Introduction

The good people at Kingwin have been around since 1992 and in that time have risen to be a leader in high quality aftermarket computer components and accessories.  Kingwin has continued to advance their power supply line up with features and efficiency ratings that push the standard of excellence higher and higher.  Their latest line, the Kingwin Lazer Gold denotes each unit in this series is 80 Plus Gold Efficiency Certified.  The units average efficiency rating is reported at 90% far exceeding the 80 Plus standard.  Coupled with that high efficiency rating, Kingwin has packed in a number of practical features in at a price point which makes for quite an attractive purchase.  The Kingwin Lazer Gold is offered in four levels of output; 1000 watts, 850 watts, 750 watts and 550 watts.  Today we have a sample of the 850 watt on the bench for a tour and torture test.  Let jump in and see how well the Kingwin Lazer Gold lives up to the Kingwin name.  First up let's look at the white papers.

Specifications

• Maximum Power: 850 watts

• Full support for: Intel Core i7/Core 2 Quad/Core 2 Duo; AMD Phenom X4/Phenom X3/Athlon 64 X2

• Dimensions: 180 x 150 x 86mm

• Weight: Six pounds

• Fan (s): 140mm Blue LED bottom mounted fan

• Compliance with ATX 12V v2.2, EPS 12V v2.91 and SSI EPS 12V v2.92 Specification

• Crystal Cube Modular Plug w/ Patented Power Connector Cable Management System

• Over Power/Under Power/Over Voltage/Short Circuit Protections

• All cables modular and sleeved with black mesh and shrink wrapped ends

• Compatible with Crossfire/SLI/3 Way SLI

• 80 Plus Gold Efficiency Certified

• 87%, 90% and 87% Efficiency @ 20%, 50% and 100% Load

• Active PFC

• Three year warranty

What you get

The packaging of the Kingwin Lazer Gold is a bit different that other power supply units I've seen.  The outer box has a flap attached with a Velcro fastener like a motherboard or VGA card.  Extracting all the goodies we find the Kingwin Lazer Gold unit of course, a power cord, manual, four thumb screws (I so love thumb screws) and a nylon case containing eight modular power lines.

Before we get to far, I do want to mention the Kingwin unit utilizes Active PFC.  Active PFC ensures a power supply's efficiency in its power delivery.  Active PFC automatically adjusts for variances in the AC input voltage to keep the unit's power delivery clean and stable.  AC stands for Alternating Current.  AC Power oscillates continuously, so to keep the unit operating at peak efficiency, the Active PFC monitors and adjusts this input voltage so the output is always consistent.

Here is the unit itself laid out beside the modular power lines.  The Lazer Gold sizes out at 180 x 150 x 86mm.  This makes it virtually guaranteed to fit in any case.  A number of the larger wattage power supplies on the market have grown to 200 or even 220mm deep making application vary from chassis to chassis.  I'm glad to see that isn't the situation here.

The rear of the unit is covered in a stamped mesh allowing air to exhaust with almost zero restriction.  A simple power rocker switch and power port break up the screening.

It's a good thing that we have that free flow area for air to escape.  Check out the intake fan. 

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