Lian Li SP850 SFX Form Factor Power Supply Review

A Closer Look

Although we know that the Lian Li SP850 is an SFX power supply, it still surprises you when you open up the box, take it out, and reflect on just how small it is. It seems incredible that they managed to pack 750 watts of power (with 80-Plus Gold efficiency) into such a tiny package!

Aesthetically though, it looks excellent and particularly so this white variant we have. – On the top of the power supply you have a nice large vented area with the 92mm fan sitting behind it.

You’ll also note what is probably the most brazen and eye-catching part of the design. The Lian Li logo is slapped front and centre and despite it being rather terse, I actually think it works quite well and especially so with its stainless steel/brushed metal effect look.

There is, of course, branding to other parts of the Lian Li SP850. This is, however, nicely understated which, in my opinion at least, really allows that white colouring to pop and grab the attention it deserves.

The cable input bank is exceptionally well organised for what is a very small PSU. Each section is clearly itemised to denote its usage and with a fair amount of space between the ports, both inserting and removing cables is very easy.

The rear of the PSU has plenty of exhaust space which pretty much accommodates all the space that was available. This has even been extended to go around the main switch and power input. This is, however, undoubtedly a key factor in the semi-passive cooling design the Lian Li SP850 has.

Cabling

With white cabling to match the PSU, on an aesthetic level, this gets a huge thumbs up from us. Yes, it seems like madness, but many manufacturers often decide to throw in black cables with a white PSU and, more often than not, it completely destroys the overall look they should have been going for.

The cables themselves are nice and flexible and come with individual braiding to ensure good protection. – In something of a minor complaint, however, the length of the cables isn’t overly generous. It does, in fact, hinder the design so much that for those of you who want solid levels of cable management, you’re likely going to be well rewarded going for good SFX cases rather than the generally poorer inexpensive alternatives.

A particular grumble is the main motherboard cable which is only 300mm long. And you’ll probably lose about 10mm of that through bends to get it from the PSU to the motherboard itself. – I really wish these were just a little bit longer. Oh sure, not so long as to completely compromise the point of an SFX power supply, but just another 50mm or so would undoubtedly make a huge difference for many consumers.

One mildly odd aspect was found on a singular cable. On one end it said CPU, and on the other it said VGA. – I have absolutely no idea what this cable is for and can only presume that a typo has been made somewhere on the ends where Lian Li (rather usefully – except in this situation) tried to help consumers easily identify the cables. I can only guess that one of them is supposed to say PSU. Which one though? Well, unless I’m missing something here, your guess is as good as mine!

Internals – A Look Inside!

Opening up the Lian Li SP850 is remarkably simple albeit clearly something you shouldn’t do as this will invalidate your 5-year warranty. The initial impressions, however, are excellent as for such a lot being packed into a tight space, the Lian Li SP850 looks exceptionally clean.

A closer look at the fan is admittedly a little disappointing as rather than a Lian Li design, it is, instead, a third-party manufacturer. We have encountered ‘YaLin’ many times before and it does appear to be one of the most popular choices with many PSU manufacturers. Likely, if we’re being brutally honest, because its a relatively inexpensive choice.

With that being said though, power supply fans don’t necessarily need to be ‘good’. Certainly not as good as a case or CPU cooler fan. They just need to move air and, hopefully, so it fairly quietly, which, all going well, this one will.

While the PCB is exceptionally busy, somehow Lian Li has still managed to make it well organised, and surprisingly presentable. It is legitimately surprising to see this as well organised as it is when you consider the features this PSU has.

A closer look a the capacitor (a very closer look) reveals it to be a Japanese design coming from the highly reputable manufacturer ‘Rubycon’. – Rated to 105C, this is exactly what you want to see in any quality power supply design.

Overall Thoughts!

For such a small PSU, I have to say that I’m highly impressed with the Lian Li SP850 both inside and out. It’s actually somewhat incredible that for having such a small amount of real estate to work with Lian Li has managed to put together a design that not only looks nice but is exceptionally clean inside too. All in all, this has given us a lot of confidence that this should provide some solid results in our testing. There is, however, only one way to find out for sure…

Let’s get this hooked up and see what happens!