The AG-850M packs some nice features, which include its ability to deliver full power (and even more) under extremely stressful conditions, the very low inrush current under all conditions, decent ripple suppression, and the good transient response at +12V. This unit's turn-on transient response is also good, conducted EMI emissions are low, and the fully modular cable design, 6x PCIe connectors, and ten-year warranty sound nice. The cherry on top is the accurate power ok signal, but its ripple is way too high. The ATX spec talks of 400mV max, and we measured much more than that.

After mentioning all the positive aspects, it is time to talk about the negatives as well. This unit's major problem is its poorly tuned fan profile, which forces the fan to spin at very high speeds all the time, making it rather noisy. This might not be the most efficient PSU, but its thermal load isn't all that significant, which means there is no need for as much airflow as is produced here, at least not at all times. Obviously, the provided ten-year warranty made Solytech's engineers extremely cautious, which had them go with a very aggressive fan profile. Yet the plain sleeve bearing fan probably won't survive for such a long period, especially if it is pushed so hard. So unless the provided warranty doesn't cover the fan, Solytech should tune the fan profile properly, and it would be ideal if there were a higher quality fan as well. Such a long warranty might be a nice marketing tool, there is no doubt about that, but we do prefer a quieter operation and strongly believe that most users nowadays would avoid a very noisy PSU like the AG-850M. Performance-wise, there are some areas that need attention, including the somewhat lackluster overall efficiency compared to competing offerings and bad transient response of the 3.3V rail, though the latter doesn't play a great role nowadays since it will only be utilized lightly. Finally, a couple of EPS connectors would be nice, and better filtering caps on the PSU's secondary side would make us feel more confident about its reliability as time goes on.

The AG-850M is something different in a market where very few OEMs play a key role, and it is nice to see other manufacturers trying to enter the game. However, the competition is tough, and you need to be well aware of the situation before you try to release something new as it would have to compete with well-designed products offering high performance. This platform looks to have potential, but more work needs to be conducted for it to be able to compete with products like the Corsair RM850x, EVGA 850 G3, or Seasonic Focus models with a similar capacity.