Also noteworthy is the fact that Nfortec has installed in this power supply a huge 140mm fan in diameter, responsible for keeping the internal components always fresh. This fan has PWM operation, which means that its speed will increase as the device heats up to maintain a good balance between temperature and noise.
Unboxing and external analysis
The 850W Nfortec Scutum X SemiMod comes packed in a red and black hard cardboard box, on the main face of which we can see an image of the source accompanied by the logo of its efficiency certification, the name and the model.
On the back we find all the device information, including its power table, cables and their length, connectors, and device dimensions.
On the sides we do not find anything else of interest except the usual QR that will send us to the product page on the manufacturer’s website, so we are going to proceed to see what we find inside. Nfortec includes a card with another QR for its instruction manual, a power cable with a European plug and four screws to anchor the source to the PC.
All the modular cabling is also included, which in this case consists of a cable with two MOLEX connectors and a Floppy, two cables with three SATA connectors each, and two cables each with an 8-pin PCIe connector.
There are no more “accessories”, so here you have the Nfortec Scutum X SemiMod right out of the box. Its aesthetic appearance is quite striking thanks to the curious metal grill that protects the fan.
On one of the sides we have a sticker with the brand and model, as well as some ventilation grills below. On the opposite side we have another sticker, this time with the power table.
At the rear, we have the usual honeycomb grille, along with a mechanical on/off switch and the 3-pole power cord connector.
On the opposite side we have the output of the fixed cables, as well as the connectors for the modular cables that are perfectly identified.
The lower part of the fountain is dominated by the huge metallic grille, with the brand logo in the center.
Finally, the upper face is completely empty.
By the way, before finishing with the external analysis, here you can see the connectors that are fixed to the source. We did miss an additional EPS connector to be able to use this power supply on top-of-the-line motherboards.
Internal analisis
To access the interior of this power supply, we must first remove the four screws that fix the metal grid.
Then you have to remove four additional screws and we can remove the external casing that already gives us access to the interior, although not without first removing the fan from above.
The fan is 140mm, with 11 relatively thin blades but quite steep, something that should not only generate a good flow of air, but also a fairly imperative static pressure. You can see that the center of the rear part of the fan, where its motor is located, has a “glob”… it is not to cover the mark, but to act as an insulator as a precaution, since this area can touch the internal components. .
Let’s go, now, to analyze the interior of this Scutum X SemiMod from Nfortec.
Here we have the initial input filter, where we have two Y capacitors and even a package with a protection relay. Although the welds are good here, the truth is that we find them a bit insufficient to hold the weight of the assembly, we would have preferred to see a sisterboard here.
The ground connection directly connects the input filters to the supply case.
This 850W model incorporates two main condensers, which although it may not seem like it, are from the Japanese brand Teapo, Japanese Tier 1 brand condensers that withstand 105ºC and offer an excellent guarantee of operation. It is the same brand used by other well-known manufacturers, such as be quiet! for instance.
The modular connection panel has a small PCB, where we now find excellent quality welds.
In the following image you can see the electronics responsible for transforming the DC-DC current (that is, from 12V DC to +5V and +3.3V), this time in a sisterboard.
We can also see part of the heatsink and the system of MOSFETs and diodes for power factor correction.
This is the main transformer, responsible for transforming alternating current into direct current so that it can be used by the PC hardware.
Finally, here are the control coils for voltage sensing, the capacitors C that are part of the protection circuit, the secondary transformer for 5Vsb and 12Vc, and the input filter for the main +12V rail.
Overall, the interior of the Scutum X SemiMod is a bit chaotic in the sense that the components aren’t overly organized. The solders are excellent in places but perhaps lacking on the input filters, and we think the manufacturer has overused a bit of those insulating ‘globs’ throughout, denoting that the components are perhaps too close together and should have opted for a larger for this power (look at the first photo of this section, where you can clearly see that the main PCB does not reach the ends of the case).
All in all, the interior is correct and we do not see any defects or signs of poor quality anywhere.
Scutum X performance tests
To test this power supply we have used our usual Intel Alder Lake-S platform, consisting of the following hardware:
- Intel Core i9-12900K.
- be quiet! Pure Rock 2 FX
- 2×16GB CORSAIR DOMINATOR PLATINUM RGB DDR5 5200MHz
- ASUS ROG MAXIMUS Z690 Hero.
- TeamGroup Cardea A440 Pro 2TB.
- Gigabyte RTX 3070 Ti Gaming.
This equipment has a maximum theoretical consumption of about 600 watts, so it is not unreasonable to use an 850W power supply to have a margin.
Before starting with our own tests, we are going to see, as usual, the official data of the 80 Plus certification entity…. and you will be left speechless. We start by looking at the efficiency graph, where the Scutum X SemiMod shows that it is more efficient the less the equipment consumes, but even so it shows us incredible values that exceed 90% efficiency… and that is 80 Plus Bronze!
In the following graph we can see the power delivery with respect to the power consumed. The smaller the red area, the less power is wasted as heat, and the better for us.
In the following table you can see the empirical tests of efficiency at different load levels.
As we can see, at 10% load this power supply is already delivering efficiency values above 87%, which will be what we will have with the equipment at rest. But, as soon as we start to “give the cane” to the PC and consumption begins to rise, we come across efficiencies even above 91% at 20% load and almost 91% at 50% load. Then, as we saw in the initial graph, the efficiency drops to 86% at 100% load.
These values are impressive for an 80 Plus Bronze font, and Nfortec could easily have certified it with a superior seal.
Let’s go now with our own tests, and for this we have used OCCT in its latest version with a maximum load of 10 minutes (CPU and GPU). This has been the result obtained.
As you can see, this Scutum X SemiMod is unfazed by the test PC at its maximum, and all rails remain completely stable.
In fact, we can see here in the highs and lows, that the +12V rail stays between exactly 11.904V and 12V all the time, while the +5V is always between exactly 5.04 and 5V and the +3 .3V ranges between 3.392 and 3.408V, maybe a little high but certainly with admirable stability.
Conclusion and verdict
After testing the behavior and operation of this 850W Nfortec Scutum X SemiMod, we can only say that it has surprised us to the point of almost leaving us speechless. Really, when you see that it is a power supply for 80 Euros and with 80 Plus Bronze efficiency certification, you do not expect it to be much, especially being semi-modular and with a slightly chaotic interior as we have seen in the analysis.
But then, you connect it to the PC and you see that its rails are tremendously stable, and that its efficiency is much, much higher than what the efficiency certification seal that it carries suggests, so of course it seems that you have bought a source higher-end food than you initially thought… and it may be so.
The fact that it is semi-modular does not bother us at all, since in the end both the ATX and EPS connectors are going to be used yes or yes, so you will have to connect it anyway. What we do find fault with is that to be an 850-watt power supply it only has one 4+4-pin EPS connector, when most modern boards already require two of these connectors… it’s a shame, and we really don’t understand how Nfortec has not added additional connectors, but good.
In any case, we believe that this source is quite good, efficient and reliable, and for this reason we give it our Gold award, as well as our recommendation for its very good performance / price ratio.
