It’s well-known amongst PC fans that the majority {hardware} corporations that promote PSUs don’t truly manufacture their merchandise. As a substitute, they depend on platforms and designs developed and manufactured by the Authentic Design Producer (ODM). The engineers employed by the varied client-brands do carry out modifications and/or upgrades to the unique design however, extra ceaselessly than not, these modifications are restricted to aesthetic modifications and using a special fan. All of which implies that many of those ODM-derived PSU designs are basically copies of the unique platform’s topology and advisable digital parts. In different phrases, whereas there are dozens of PSU distributors on the market, the PSU trade as a complete is constructed on the again of a handful of corporations.
Over the previous decade, a number of ODMs determined to launch their very own retail divisions. Probably the most outstanding examples are SeaSonic and FSP Group, whom launch new retail merchandise nearly each time they improve their core designs. FSP Group not too long ago carried out a long-overdue replace of their retail lineup and offered a number of contemporary merchandise. Just a few months in the past we had a take a look at their top-end Hydro PTM Professional 1200W ATX PSU, an upgraded model of their tried & true flagship platform that has been round for almost a decade. In right now’s evaluate, we’re going to take a look at one thing considerably completely different – a really {powerful} 850W SFX unit, the Dagger Professional.
By conventional metrics, 850 Watts is quite a bit for a typical small type issue (SFF) PC, however the always rising demand for compact–yet-powerful PCs is continuous to drive growing demand for high-performance SFX PSUs. That is induced primarily by the gaming market, as top-tier graphics playing cards have substantial energy necessities (e.g. 450W for RTX 3090 Ti). On paper, the FSP Dagger Professional 850W isn’t too spectacular by right now’s requirements, with an 80Plus Gold certification and no extravagant options – but it surely makes up for that with its tiny dimensions.
| FSP Dagger Professional SFX 850W Energy specs ( Rated @ 50 °C ) |
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| RAIL | +3.3V | +5V | +12V | +5Vsb | -12V |
| MAX OUTPUT | 20A | 20A | 70.83A | 2.5A | 0.3A |
| 120W | 850W | 12.5W | 3.6W | ||
| TOTAL | 850W | ||||
| AC INPUT | 100 – 240 VAC, 50 – 60 Hz | ||||
Packaging and Bundle
We obtained the FSP Dagger Professional inside a comparatively massive and really sturdy cardboard field that one might simply assume was meant for an ATX unit as an alternative. Contained in the field, the small PSU lies inside a really thick packaging foam container. The art work could also be a little bit extreme however isn’t actually extravagant, with loads of info printed on all sides of the field.
FSP stored the bundle pretty fundamental, with only a common AC energy cable, typical mounting screws, and a small handbook to be discovered contained in the field. The noteworthy addition to the bundle is the SFX to ATX adapter that permits the Dagger to be put in in ATX-compliant instances, permitting customers the pliability to modify between ATX and SFX instances at will.
With the Dagger Professional being a completely modular PSU, each cable may be indifferent. This contains the principle 24-pin ATX cable. The entire cables are ribbon-like, “flat” sort, with black wires and connectors. It’s noteworthy to say that the cables with the SATA and Molex connectors are combined.
| FSP Dagger Professional 850W | ||
| Connector sort | Hardwired | Modular |
| ATX 24 Pin | – | 1 |
| EPS 4+4 Pin | – | 2 |
| EPS 8 Pin | – | – |
| PCI-E 6+2 Pin | – | 4 |
| PCI-E 8 Pin | – | – |
| SATA | – | 5 |
| Molex | – | 2 |
| Floppy | – | 1 |
The FSP Dagger Professional 850W SFX PSU
Exterior Look
Regardless of the huge energy output of the unit, FSP’s engineers by some means managed to take care of the usual SFX type issue dimensions of 125 × 63.5 × 100 mm / 4.92 × 2.5 × 3.94 in (W×H×D), making the Dagger Professional totally suitable with any SFX-compliant case. The chassis of the Dagger Professional is sprayed with textured black paint.
Stickers with the corporate and collection logos cowl each the left and the best facet of the chassis. The highest facet is roofed by the sticker with {the electrical} specs and certifications of the unit.
One of many main setbacks that SFX PSUs have is that 120 mm followers don’t match into the usual SFX type issue dimensions. As such, FSP had to make use of a slim 92 mm fan for the Dagger Professional. Regardless, regardless of the very compact dimensions, FSP by some means managed to put a small on/off swap subsequent to the AC cable receptacle on the rear facet of the PSU.
The entrance facet of the Dagger Professional is dwelling to the connectors for the modular cables. A delicate legend is printed on the chassis itself, in the identical gold colour as the remainder of the art work. The connectors are keyed, so it isn’t potential to insert any cable into the improper connector.
Inside Design
The 92 mm low profile fan liable for the cooling of the Dagger Professional 850W is equipped by Energy Logic, a comparatively well-known fan producer whose merchandise are ceaselessly discovered on GPU coolers. It encompasses a easy however very dependable double-ball bearing engine and has a most rotational velocity of 2500 RPM.
Naturally, there is no such thing as a third-party ODM behind the creation of the Dagger Professional as FSP designed and constructed this unit themselves. The inside of the unit is clear however packed to the brim, with the designers clearly having spent many hours attempting to make the whole lot match inside customary SFX proportions. The filtering stage begins on the rear of the AC receptacle and extends over the facet of the chassis, with two Y capacitors, two X capacitors, and three filtering inductors whole. There are two rectifying bridges which might be merely hooked up to one another, with none heatsink cooling them.
Because of measurement restrictions, the designers have been pressured to make use of three APFC capacitors, the mixed whole capacitance of which is 420 uF. All three capacitors are equipped by Nippon Chemi-Con. There are two major facet inversion MOSFETs that type the guts of a half-bridge design, feeding a fairly small distinctive transformer.
The secondary facet MOSFETs are positioned beneath the principle PCB and are thermally linked to the chassis of the PSU. It is a frequent method in such very compact designs. A vertical PCB on the facet of the unit holds the DC-to-DC converters for the 5V and three.3V voltage traces. Nippon Chemi-Con and Rubycon provide the electrolytic capacitors, whereas the polymer capacitors are coming from Teapo.
