Silver Power SP-S850 PSU

Silver Power SP-S850 PSU

Manufacturer: Tagan
UK Price (as reviewed): £72.07 (inc. VAT)
US Price (as reviewed): TBC

If you're wondering who Silver Power is - look no further than to its parent company: Maxpoint in Germany (or Nanopoint in the UK), and you may be more familiar with the Tagan brand, which it also manufacturers. In the past, Silver Power has found its way into many pre-built machines sold by large brands, but only recently has the brand made its way into the channel for us to buy.

So now at least we've set the foundation and ascertained the genetics behind the new brand, what does it offer? While Tagan is orientated towards the performance end of the market, and usually commands a "competitive" premium for its products, the Silver Power brand is a departure from this as it offers an extremely aggressive focus on value.

Diversifying a product brand is a great idea to attack other markets without devaluing your other brands or confusing people, by keeping a clear division people know what they are buying when they see a name. But at the same time, by adding a fresh brand with no history there is no buyer confidence and loyalty, and it's especially difficult in an already hugely saturated power supply market.

At just £72-£80 for the SP-S850W depending where you shop, you'd be right to think that's very inexpensive for 850W, or, dare we utter "cheap" and afford a different set of associations. How exactly does Silver Power cut its costs? Package? Efficiency? Noise? Rest assured we've tested the Silver Power 850W to see if it can do what it says on the tin - does it yield Tagan class quality or are we suitably justified in remaining cautious about something new? Let's find out.


It's not only the box that is pretty plain and offers the basic information on the side, when you get inside there's not that much more - just a power cable and the manual. The PSU is securely held in cardboard egg-box style packaging which appears to be recycled (kudos to Maxpoint if it is), which does hold the SP-S850 remarkably well although we don't expect it to work quite as effectively as chunky foam.


The whole thing does scream "no frills" a bit, which is understandable considering the price. While we'd love to see some Velcro cable ties or even simple zip ties included because the unit is non-modular, if you just don't care about any fluff and only want a power supply - look no further.