Corsair RMe Series RM850e – Hands-on and Quick Review

Corsair RMe Series RM850e – As the processing power of modern graphics cards, motherboards, and processors continues to increase, so too do the power requirements, which demand continuous power delivery in a compact power supply form factor.

This can be seen in the fact that in just a few years, from the seemingly high 250W TDP via two 8-pin PCIe connectors of the 2080 Ti, the new GeForce RTX 5000 Series requires up to 360W for the 5080, or even 575W for the 5090 via the new 12V-2x6 connector of the PCIe 5.1 standard.

Furthermore, when combined with high-end processors, the previous near 150W TDP has almost 'doubled', with the Intel Core Ultra 9 285K consuming up to 250W in boost mode, similar to the 170W of the AMD Ryzen 9 9950X3D, making older power supplies somewhat 'inferior'.

To fully meet the demands of modern component systems, the new RMe Series – with the Corsair RMe Series RM850e – represents an effort to improve all the most fundamental aspects of a power supply: from efficiency and operational capabilities to cabling and component quality, replacing power supplies that focus on 'appearances' like the CX-F RGB.

So, what upgrades will the power supply offer as component systems become increasingly demanding? Let's unbox and find out with tipsplay.net!

Corsair RMe Series RM850e – Compact, powerful, and quiet!

When focusing on products in the mid-to-upper-range segment, the Corsair RMe Series RM850e power supply initially appears extremely simple, with a box design that directly emphasizes power delivery, quiet operation, and modern compliance features compared to its predecessor.

If you're familiar with the packaging of power supply products, the Corsair RMe Series RM850e seems to 'lack' the 80 Plus certification on the box, which is one of the key indicators of a power supply's quality.

Instead, Corsair has adopted the 'Gold' performance rating and 'A' noise rating standards from Cybernetics, in an effort to provide consumers with a more rigorous and detailed performance benchmark, similar to the Corsair RMx Series RM1000x.

Similar to the 80 Plus certification, Cybernetics' Gold standard ensures that the power supply achieves an average operating efficiency of 87-90%, with additional tests at 5VSB efficiency above 75%, idle power consumption below 0.19W, and a power factor above 0.970.

In addition to performance certification, the Corsair RMe Series RM850e also boasts Cybernetics A certification for average operating noise levels of 20 to 25 dB, indicating improved temperature management of components and a higher-quality cooling fan system compared to its predecessor.

Equipped with quality hardware, the Corsair RMe Series RM850e boasts a relatively compact size of just 140x150x86mm, making it a good choice for 'near-ITX' cases under 30L that can utilize compact ATX power supplies such as the Lian-Li A3-mATX, Cooler Master NR200P (with mounting bracket), and SAMA IM01.

Featuring a modular design, the Corsair RMe Series RM850e is equipped with a Type-4 power cable featuring a thin, flexible braided design for more versatile cable management while maintaining a rigid structure.

At first glance, the power supply inside comes with two standard 24-pin ATX connectors, two pairs of 8-pin (4+4) EPS/ATX 12V connectors suitable for high-end motherboards, two pairs of SATA/PATA connectors, and only… one 8-pin (6+2) PCIe connector from the PCIe port on the power supply.

With the new ATX 3.1/PCIe 5.1 standard, the Corsair RMe Series RM850e has been equipped with a 12V-2x6 port, capable of delivering up to 600W of power with a single cable, a feature common on NVIDIA RTX 30 Series, 40 Series, and most recently, 50 Series graphics cards.

Therefore, the cables have also been partially 'modernized' with only one 12V-2x6 cable for the aforementioned graphics cards, and one 12V-2x6 cable with two standard PCIe 8-pin (6+2) connectors.

The Corsair RMe Series RM850e features built-in positioning combs for precise and neat cable management at both the 8-pin PCIe and 24-pin ATX connectors. Combined with a thin braided cable system, this makes cable management and concealment easier, even in challenging case layouts.

Unlike Corsair's higher-end power supplies, the RM850e is manufactured by HEC with relatively good build quality, equipped with Teapo electrolytic capacitors capable of withstanding temperatures up to 105°C, ball bearing cooling fans, and high-quality load-bearing components.

To ensure quiet operation, the fan on the Corsair RMe Series RM850e will operate in 'Zero RPM' mode at loads below 50%, with a maximum noise level of approximately 7 dB at 70% load, 15 dB at 80% load, and below 30 dB at maximum load.

Testing with a system using an Intel Core i5 14600K processor and an AMD Radeon RX 9070 XT (3x8-pin) graphics card, the Corsair RMe Series RM850e demonstrated excellent system performance even when the TDP reached its maximum of 700W, preventing components from experiencing power shortages that could lead to FPS drops or power shutdowns.

Even in today's most demanding systems, such as those paired with Ryzen 9 9900X3D and 9950X3D processors from 'the red team' with PBO (Precision Boost Overdrive) enabled, the power supply still demonstrates excellent load handling capabilities, even with fluctuating power requirements over short periods.

In a system using a 12V-2x6 connector, like the one used with the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5070 Ti graphics card, the dual-color connectors of the Corsair RMe Series RM850e partially ensure a complete connection between the graphics card and the power supply, preventing power cable burnout due to loose connections, unlike with the 12VHPWR cables of the ATX 3.0/PCIe 5.0 standard.

Summary

Overall, the Corsair RMe Series RM850e is a complete upgrade with full support for modern ports, along with significant improvements in performance, quiet operation, and convenient cabling.

With its accessible price point and compact form factor, the Corsair RMe Series RM850e is an extremely suitable choice for the vast majority of mid- to upper-mid-range PC builds today, whether you're looking for a high-performance power supply or require quiet operation and high compatibility with a wide range of case designs.