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The Cooler Master GX III 850W is a decent all round power supply that exhibits no major glaring concerns. It is far from being a market leader in regards to performance, but if picked up at the right price, would still make for a decent option.
In terms of its appearance, I quite like the looks of the GX III. It is nicely styled and the touch of purple on the case adds a subtle bit of colour. While in everyday use, you won't see the anodised heatsinks inside but it gives an overall aesthetic that is quite appealing. The modular bay is cleanly laid out and labelled, and the paint finish is pretty good. The cabling is also of decent quality, even if a few of the cables are a little shorter than I would have liked to see.
Technically while not class leading, it did not exhibit any major problems during our testing. Load regulation is acceptable on the +12V rail but somewhat looser on the minor +3.3v and +5v rails. In a reverse scenario, ripple suppression is stronger on the minor rails and a little weaker on the primary +12V rail. They all fall well within industry tolerances however so there is nothing to be concerned about.
While the adoption of TK capacitors is something I don't often see in many units I test, they have a good enough reputation in the industry and with a 10 year Cooler Master warranty, it is reassuring to see the company have faith in the product long term.
While it is hard for us to test the long term life of power supplies we see in the labs, I was a little surprised to see Cooler Master adopting a lower grade Yate Loon fan for this supply. It isn't a bad fluid dynamic bearing fan, but there are much better units available for a few dollars more, rated to have longer life spans from the likes of Hong Hua – which we often see in Seasonic units.
Right now you can buy this from SCAN for £129.98 inc. VAT HERE. At this price I feel there is a lot of competition on the market today. If Cooler Master could drop the price by £15-£20 it would be a much more tempting proposition.
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Pros:
- Fully modular.
- Ten year warranty.
- High levels of efficiency.
- Soldering quality is excellent.
- Looks great (subjective).
- Cabling quality is good.
- ATX 3.0 and PCIe 5.0.
Cons:
- It's not a bargain price point.
- Fan could be better.
- A few cables could be longer.
- It gets a little noisy at higher loads.
KitGuru says: The GX III 850W power supply is a solid offering from Cooler Master targeting a large audience of enthusiast user. The high levels of efficiency stand out, well in excess of the 80 Plus Gold rating.
