BUT WHEN YOU CALCULATE BACKWARDS FROM A WALL WATTAGE TO A DC WATTAGE, YOU USE THE EFFICIENCY RATING TO DO SO
Which wasn't the point. Saying "Of CoolerMaster V850, barely @120V
by virtue of higher efficiency" is nonsense. The efficiency of the power supply has absolutely nothing to do with what DC load it can handle. Nothing. The only difference between a 850W 90% efficient unit and a 850W 20% efficient unit is how much additional AC power is used to generate the same amount of DC power.
The DC load isn't going to change, the ability of the PSU to handle that DC load isn't going to change.
You also seem to not grasp that LOWER efficiency means for a given observed AC load the DC load is even lower. You corrected my use of a (intentionally) high 90% efficiency to point out it was "only 87%" when the 3% lower efficiency only means the DC load was EVEN LOWER for a given observed AC load. If a unit isn't over spec at 90% efficiency it isn't going to be over spec at 87% efficiency or 1% efficiency.