Antec 850W HCP Platinum power supply review

PSU - Power Supply Units 108 Page 8 of 8 Published by

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Final Words & Conclusion

Final Words & Conclusion

This is the second time we have an Antec HCP on our bench and once again it is very impressive. This also is the second HCP model that now is tagged with Platinum certification, and can I let the rabbit out of the bag ? ... aside from the sticker this is the 1000 Model with subtle difference and better cabling. Having that architecture makes me think that this 850 Watt model could take a tremendous beating. And sure, if Antec gives a PSU 7 years warranty, it better be good right ? So Antec offers an exquisite power supply with the High Current Pro 750W series. Very few PSUs that can come close to this build quality level, one that comes to mind is the Seasonic 1000W Platinum.

The PSU itself and the overall design are great, it has good looks but is slightly longer then usual for a 850 W PSU with its 19cm length. At first I was a bit worried about ventilation as really only the top and front side have a decent a mesh and with a PSU of this caliber that could be an issue. However once you start to stress the PSU, you'll understand the reasoning behind it, it doesn't get very warm at all. Even under full load with an overclocked processor and four GPUS well the PSU was lukewarm at best. As a result the fan doesn't need to do much either, that itself results into a very silent PSU. This is all related to the high efficiency, less loss means less heat to oozes away somehow. Since we are on the topic, efficiency wise the product certainly is impressive, the PSU was the best performing product we have tested to date, especially at the middle of it's rating (425 Watt) the PSU definitely shows that a 80+ Platinum certification is validated. Looking at some other reviews has shown that under load with chroma like test equipment the PSU delivers as promised with an exception here and there. But that confirms our findings. With our PSU reviews we are always the first to state that our review remains somewhat subjective with our real-world test approach. Test methods wise we say our test is valid, as it is precisely the kind of load you guys would apply to a PSU like this. Scientifically, however the tests are a little less precise and we want to be very transparent about that fact.
 

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Aesthetics

Some people like them, others are hate them as they belive they are less efficient  ... modular cables. Personally I like modular cables on power supplies very much as you get to use the cables that you actually need. So there's no spaghetti swarm of cabling inside the PSU killing the cool looks. Then again, a lot of people have a closed PC or just don't care about it. One fact now is clear, modular designs do not have a significant enough impact on power efficiency, no Sir. Connectors wise there's plenty available all of them quite lengthy as well. But yeah the six 6/8 pin PCIE connectors rock already and then you'll receive another nine SATA connectors, six Molex peripheral connectors and the rest. For the enthusiast motherboards that have it, you may also connect two 8-pin ATX12V connectors which will help you out with some more extreme overclocking to get some extra juice flowing to the CPU. We very much appreciate the new all black cabling and connectors which lifts up the aesthetics a bit over the previous generations HCP PSUs.

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Final words

What I like very much is the fact that Antec offers a seven year (carry-in) warranty on the product, really it's hard to go wrong with that eh ? With that 80+ Platinum certification, its features and then a price tag of roughly 200 EUR we feel that Antec has an excellent PSU offering in their hands. It easily measures up with the best of the best in the PSU industry. Honestly, this is the Antec HCP 1000W in disguise with only very few features being different, so if you are in the market for an excellent Platinum energy efficient kilowatt PSU that is fairly priced then you do not have to look any further. We're not saying these PSU's come cheap, as we expect final retail prices hovering at 200 EUR/USD but it really is an investment. Your PC is well fed, totally stable and comes with a lot of reserve next to being very efficient in terms of power consumption. Armed with 7 years warranty, really you can not go wrong.  Once again well done Antec.

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