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Antec recently introduced a new range of High Current Pro series power supplies, including 750W, 850W, 1000W and 1200W models. All of these models have 80 Plus Gold Certification and are rated to 92% efficiency using the highest quality Japanese brand capacitors.
The High Current Pro Series of power supplies is designed to satisfy the demands of the high end enthusiast market, those people who want the finest power supplies available.
Today we will be reviewing the mid range 850W supply which will be selling for $249 in the USA and £170 inc vat (best estimate right now) when it hits the United Kingdom.
These are expensive supplies with a ‘no compromise' design ethic. As such we have high hopes for the performance testing – let's hope they deliver the goods.
The Antec High Current Pro 850W Power Supply arrives in a bright yellow and black box with the name on the front and specifications on the rear.
Inside, the supply is protected with a felt bag, plastic covering and cardboard pieces.
The bundle contains a power cable, a bag of modular cables, four screws for installation into your chassis and a manual explaining the key benefits of the supply.
The Antec High Current Pro 850W Power supply is shipped inside a felt pouch, which offers a high level of protection. This can be resealed later if you wish to store the unit. There are a few cables running from the unit, so it isn't completely modular by design.
The Antec High Current Pro is a very attractive design. The Royal Blue paint is deep, very subtle and resistant to damage.
At the top of the chassis is a 130mm fan, which is always good to see, we like big, quiet fans. When we open the case later we can better inspect the fan model and specifications.
The direct cabling from the rear contains a 24 pin (20 + 4) main connector, an 8 pin (4+4) ATX 12V/EPS12V, and a 2 x 8 pin (6+2) PCI-E connector.
There are a total of three black input connectors each with five pins. The red connectors are a ten pin design. The black connectors are in place for powering peripherals, such as hard drives and optical drives while the red ports offer connectivity for CPU, PCI-E and 5 pin peripheral connectors. This means it offers a balance for graphic heavy system systems and others with a higher demand for peripheral support.
Modular cabling includes:
| No of Cables | Power Connectors | Description |
| 1 | EPS 12V Connector w/Cable | Includes one EPS12V connector |
| 1 | Molex Connector w/cable | Includes three molex connectors |
| 1 | Molex Connector + Floppy Connector | Includes three molex connectors and one floppy connector |
| 3 | Serial ATA connector w/cable | Includes three Serial ATA connectors |
| 2 | PCI Express connector w/cable | Includes two 8 pin (6+2) PCI-Express connectors |
It is a comprehensive list of cabling which should cover the majority of systems on the market.
Four 12V rails, offering 40A via each. The total 12v power draw is 70A. Many people instantly dismiss multiple 12V power supplies now, prefering a single 12V rail configuration, but there is nothing wrong with this design.
An ADDA ADN512UB-A9B is the fan of choice in the Antec power supply. It is a 12V design at 0.44A and while there is no detailed specification on this particular ‘B' fan at time of press, the ASN512UB A9 family are highly regarded within the industry. We would assume it is very similar to the ADN512UB-A91, which produces 108cfm of airflow at a rated maximum of 2,500rpm. It is a double bearing fan rated to over 100,000 hours – PWM controlled.
The internal design is created in partnership with Delta, although Antec has had a significant involvement with this particular range.
The 3 capacitors inside are manufactured by Rubycon and are rated to 105c, 450V and 220mF. The DC-to-DC voltage regulator module (VRM) converts +3.3V and +5V DC voltage directly from the +12V rail, promoting system stability and higher levels of efficiency. The PCB is a dual layer design to help improve reliability and heat dissipation.
The output is filtered with Chemi Con and Sanyo Polymer capacitors and Rubycon electrolyte capacitors. We are pleased to see the cabling is also fully sleeved into the unit, protecting against long term damage.
Additional technical assistance: Peter McFarland and Jeremy Price.
Correctly testing power supplies is a complex procedure and KitGuru have configured a test bench which can deliver up to a 2,000 watt DC load. Due to public requests we have changed our temperature settings recently – previously we rated with ambient temperatures at 25C, we have increased ambient temperatures by 10c (to 35c) in our environment to greater reflect warmer internal chassis conditions.
We use combinations of the following hardware:
• SunMoon SM-268
• CSI3710A Programmable DC load (+3.3V and +5V outputs)
• CSI3711A Programmable DC load (+12V1, +12V2, +12V3, and +12V4)
• Extech Power Analyzer
• Extech MultiMaster MM570 digital multimeter
• SkyTronic DSL 2 Digital Sound Level Meter (6-130dBa)
• Digital oscilloscope (20M S/s with 12 Bit ADC)
• Variable Autotransformer, 1.4 KVA
All 12V outputs are combined into a single rail for testing.
|
DC Output Load Regulation
|
||||||||||
|
Combined DC Load |
+3.3V
|
+5V
|
+12V
|
+5VSB
|
-12V | |||||
|
A
|
V
|
A
|
V
|
A
|
V
|
A
|
V
|
A | V | |
|
100W
|
1.58
|
3.38
|
1.19
|
5.11
|
6.65
|
12.14
|
0.50
|
5.05
|
0.20
|
-12.12
|
|
225W
|
3.70
|
3.36
|
2.80
|
5.07
|
15.54
|
12.09
|
1.00
|
5.03
|
0.20
|
-12.09
|
|
450W
|
7.51
|
3.33
|
6.00
|
5.04
|
30.67
|
12.03 |
1.50
|
5.02
|
0.30
|
-12.05
|
| 675W |
11.32
|
3.31
|
10.87
|
5.02
|
47.48
|
11.94
|
2.00
|
5.01 |
0.50
|
-12.02
|
|
850W
|
1.29
|
3.29
|
1.11
|
5.01
|
71.00
|
11.90
|
0.50
|
4.99
|
0.20
|
-11.97
|
A solid set of results for the Antec High Current Pro 850W Supply, falling well within the +/-5% nominal rated specifications. At 71 Amps on the 12V output, we recorded 11.90V.
| Antec HCP 850W | Maximum Load |
| 965.8W |
We managed to squeeze 965.8W out of the supply before it shut down.
Next we want to try Cross Loading. This basically means loads which are not balanced. If a PC for instance needs 500W on the +12V outputs but something like 30W via the combined 3.3V and +5V outputs then the voltage regulation can fluctuate badly.
| Cross Load Testing | +3.3V | +5V | +12V | -12V | +5VSB | |||||
| A | V | A | V | A | V | A | V | A | V | |
| 760W | 1.0 | 3.37 | 1.0 | 5.08 | 65.0 | 11.87 | 0.2 | 12.11 | 0.50 | 5.06 |
| 165W | 15.0 | 3.26 | 18.0 | 4.97 | 2.0 | 12.12 | 0.2 | -11.95 | 0.50 | 5.04 |
Cross loading results from the Delta/Antec design are impressive, with some fluctuation on the 12v rail.
We then used an oscilloscope to measure AC ripple and noise present on the DC outputs. We set the oscilloscope time base to check for AC ripple at both high and low ends of the spectrum.
ATX12V V2.2 specification for DC output ripple and noise is defined in the ATX 12V power supply design guide.
|
ATX12V Ver 2.2 Noise/Ripple Tolerance
|
|
|
Output
|
Ripple (mV p-p)
|
|
+3.3V
|
50
|
|
+5V
|
50
|
|
+12V1
|
120
|
|
+12V2
|
120
|
|
-12V
|
120
|
|
+5VSB
|
50
|
Obviously when measuring AC noise and ripple on the DC outputs the cleaner (less recorded) means we have a better end result. We measured this AC signal amplitude to see how closely the Antec unit complied with the ATX standard.
| AC Ripple (mV p-p) | ||||
| DC Load | +3.3V | +5V | +12V | 5VSB |
| 100W | 5 | 5 | 5 | 5 |
| 225W | 5 | 5 | 10 | 10 |
| 450W | 10 | 15 | 10 | 10 |
| 675W | 10 | 20 | 15 | 15 |
| 850W | 15 | 25 | 20 | 15 |
Ripple results are well within the parameters set down in the ATX12V Ver 2.2 standard.
|
Efficiency (%)
|
|
|
100W
|
84.75
|
|
225W
|
89.13
|
|
450W
|
92.09
|
|
675W
|
91.31
|
|
850W
|
90.31
|
Great efficiency ratings across the full range of supply loads, achieving the 80 Plus Gold rating. At full load the efficiency is still over 90 percent which is extremely impressive.
We take the issue of noise very seriously at KitGuru and this is why we have built a special home brew system as a reference point when we test noise levels of various components. Why do this? Well this means we can eliminate secondary noise pollution in the test room and concentrate on components we are testing. It also brings us slightly closer to industry standards, such as DIN 45635.
Today to test the Power Supply we have taken it into our acoustics room environment and have set our SkyTronic DSL 2 Digital Sound Level Meter (6-130dBa) one meter away from the unit. We have no other fans running so we can effectively measure just the noise from the unit itself.
As this can be a little confusing for people, here are various dBa ratings in with real world situations to help describe the various levels.
KitGuru noise guide
10dBA – Normal Breathing/Rustling Leaves
20-25dBA – Whisper
30dBA – High Quality Computer fan
40dBA – A Bubbling Brook, or a Refridgerator
50dBA – Normal Conversation
60dBA – Laughter
70dBA – Vacuum Cleaner or Hairdryer
80dBA – City Traffic or a Garbage Disposal
90dBA – Motorcycle or Lawnmower
100dBA – MP3 Player at maximum output
110dBA – Orchestra
120dBA – Front row rock concert/Jet Engine
130dBA – Threshold of Pain
140dBA – Military Jet takeoff/Gunshot (close range)
160dBA – Instant Perforation of eardrum
|
Noise (dBA)
|
|
|
100W
|
25.7
|
|
225W
|
27.3
|
|
450W
|
28.8
|
|
675W
|
30.3
|
| 850W | 32.7 |
This is clearly one of the quieter performance power supplies we have tested. It is generally operating well under 30 dBA when loaded, which is basically inaudible within an enthusiast system.
|
Temperature (c)
|
||
|
Intake
|
Exhaust
|
|
|
100W
|
35
|
36
|
|
225W
|
35
|
37
|
|
450W
|
38
|
44
|
|
675W
|
42
|
51
|
|
850W
|
45
|
54
|
The large fan helps to keep noise to a minimum, while forcing a high level of airflow across the internal components. At full load we reach a 9c above ambient intake threshold.
|
Maximum load
|
Efficiency
|
|
965.8W
|
82.7
|
Pushing the PSU above its rated limits generates an efficiency level of around 82.7%. This is not a viable ‘real world’ situation, but its interesting nonetheless.
The High Current Pro 850W Power Supply is set to continue the long line of success stories for Antec. We were immediately struck by the beautiful and somewhat unique blue paint scheme and the high standard of internal detail. We are always pleased to see top quality Rubycon 105c capacitors being implemented alongside Chemi Con and Sanyo Polymer capacitors.
The semi modular Delta/Antec design is very proficient, showing high levels of efficiency across the full range of tested loads to achieve the much sought after 80 Plus Gold Certification. The large ADDA fan maintains an impressive range of temperatures, without creating a racket. Ripple results are also very impressive, with only 20mv recorded on the 12V output at full load.
All the cables are fully sleeved right into the PSU housing and the modular cables are of an equally high standard. No corners have been compromised with the HCP design and the testing proves that Antec are clearly out to impress the enthusiast audience.
This is certainly one of the best designs on the market right now and earns our seal of approval, however as with all 80 Plus Gold certified power supplies just be prepared to dig a little deeper into your wallet. As we mentioned earlier, pricing is set at $249 in the USA, which we will assume should translate to around £170 in the United Kingdom when it hits retail.
KitGuru says: Not much to fault, unless you have a personal loathing for blue paint.
That is an excellent supply, rather costly but expected with gold certification
Hey, they had me on the blue paint alone :p
Seriously though, this is fantastic. Delta are known for good designs, but tis good to hear that antec had a part in the design.
850W should cover all bases really. good review KG
Indeed a bit expensive PSU but for that quality it is worthed 🙂 Also quality PSU can survive several builds so spending bit more for a quality is always a good investment 🙂
Excellent testing and delta make some good products. Antec however do have input into the design, not like many other OEMs who just accept a design and use it.
On my shortlist now. for jan upgrade to new intel core tech
Have always bought antec power supplies, lasted me for years every time. Will order this for my upcoming system build. stick with companies you trust I say.