Cougar CMX CMX850

Clockwork orange

The Cougar CMX850 is a semi-modular power supply with a quiet 14cm fan and a striking black and orange colour (Cougar's signature colours). You certainly don’t want to hide such a PSU behind the decorative casing of a computer case. Semi-modality means fixed power cables for CPU and motherboard and detachable all the rest.

Two or four video cards

The claimed power of the PSU is 850 W, of which 828 W goes through two separate 50-amp +12 V lines, which are used to power the most energy-intensive PC components — the processor and video cards. Thanks to four 6 + 2-pin clip-on power wires, these same video cards can be powered either by two top-end ones (up to 275 W each) or four mid-level ones (up to 150 W).

Reliable electronics

The internal circuitry of the Cougar CMX850 is based on the HEC platform, which is considered more advanced than the CWT or FPS found in other $100 PSUs. Capacitors are partly Japanese (can withstand temperatures up to 105°C), partly Taiwanese. All mandatory levels of protection are implemented: from undervoltage (UVP) and overvoltage (OVP), short circuit (SCP), overload on one (OCP) or all lines (OPP).

Bronze medal

The efficiency of the Cougar CMX850 is 88 percent, for which it has been awarded the 80 PLUS Bronze certification. Simply put, only 12 percent of the electricity is converted into waste heat, while the rest efficiently power computer components. The input voltage, on the other hand, can vary from 100 to 240 V, that is, the PSU does not care about both voltage drawdowns of the household power supply (a common problem in rural areas) and a slight excess (this is already characteristic of urban high-rise buildings).