Verdict: Forget the boy racer looks, this is one mean PSU.
PSUs perform much the same role as that of the internal combustion engine: they transform one form of energy into another in order to power a machine. As such, the racing car styling is very appropriate for Antec's latest PSU, the Quattro 850. As is the name; the Audi Quattro was an awesome car, conquering the rally world roughly 25 years ago. However, both the name and paint job will probably be wasted once the Quattro 850 is installed.
In addition to the usual 3.3V, 5V, 5VSB and -12V rails, the Quattro 850 has (not surprisingly perhaps) four 12V rails, each rated up to 18A, providing a maximum combined output of 768W, while the PSU as a whole has a total combined output of 850W. The motherboard, CPU and two 6+2-pin PCI-E power cables are captive to the unit, but the remaining two 6-pin PCI-E, Molex, S-ATA and FDD cables have their own colour-coded modular sockets. The power distribution is well thought out, with 12V1 powering the CPU, 12V2 the drives, 12V3 the motherboard and two PCI-E cables, while 12V4 powers the remaining two PCI-E cables.
Despite providing a lot of power, the Quattro 850 is cooled by a single 80mm fan. Even more surprisingly, the fan is very quiet at full load, while at 50 per cent, it's practically inaudible. This is testament to the incredibly efficient circuitry - it proved to be 83 per cent efficient at full load and an incredible 85 per cent efficient at 50 per cent load. These are pretty amazing figures, which are backed up by rock-solid outputs, with all the rails performing well within the tolerances of the ATX spec.
Conclusion
Until now, we've been unable to unreservedly recommend any 850W PSU that isn't an Enermax. However, the 850W Enermax Galaxy EGA850EWL isn't only expensive at £160, but it's also a little too long to fit inside many cases. In contrast, the Quattro 850 is the standard size and costs just £111, making it one of the best value-for-money PSUs we've seen.
