Category: Power Supplies
Manufacturer: Cooler Master
Product: Real Power Pro 850W
Gallery: Click Here
Price: $249.00

This year has been full of product releases touting certain features that one-up the competition. In the processor world we have seen the Core 2 Duo followed by the Core 2 Quad followed by the Quad FX. In the video card world we have seen the 7950GX2 followed by the X1950XTX followed by the 8800 series. This constant power struggle takes place across the board in the hardware scene year in and year out, just not necessarily as prominently as the aforementioned examples. One of the larger of these battles, and probably the most important of them all, is one that you may not have been paying attention to. This battle has been raging very strongly over the last year or so, and it gets more intense with each new release. It’s not a war between hard drives. It’s not a conflict between headphones. It’s not even a clash between motherboards. This battle is between what we have called the most important part of any computer: power supplies.

Power supplies today are constantly being marketed with various features emblazoned proudly on their boxes. “80% + Efficiency!”, “SLI Certified!”, “Silent Operation” and “Dual +12V Rails!” are the big ones you will find all over most power supply propaganda these days. It would seem on the surface that the manufacturers are just trying to inform their customers of the valuable features of the product. However, it is exceedingly rare that the claims made on power supply boxes have any sort of relevance to the consumer. All too often are people purchasing power supplies for what’s written on the box rather than what is inside. And we can’t blame them. Buying a power supply is one of the most difficult things to do when putting together a new computer. The only way to make an intelligent decision is to understand how a power supply works, what the numbers on it mean, and the reputability of the brand and manufacturer. This is not common knowledge by any stretch of the imagination. The perils of purchasing a power supply are enough to make even the most seasoned hardware enthusiast's head spin.

When we saw the latest power supply from Cooler Master, we had one of those “...” moments. Cooler Master is not a company that is known for putting outrageous claims on their packaging, and they are certainly not in the business to deceive. So what could this “keystone” feature be that caused us to take a second look at this particular product? Well, the Cooler Master Real Power Pro 850W power supply sports “…the world's first technology of six +12V rails.” Yes that’s right, six. 6 +12V rails. Let’s investigate, shall we?