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When building a new PC, it is important not to overlook the importance of a power supply. Without solid, stable power delivery a system can experience hard locks and in worst case scenarios, even component failure. Thankfully the market has no shortage of high quality, cost effective solutions available and today we will be looking at a product from Antec which retails for a modest £85 inc vat.
Antec are one of the industries most respected companies, especially when the topic of quality power supplies is raised. Earlier this year they released the new TruePower series which replaced the older Truepower Trio and NeoPower lines. This new lineup not only brings new technology to market but streamlines the range into a focused, cohesive platform.
The Antec TruePower New 650W has both nVidia SLI certification and 80 Plus Bronze Certification.
Safety approval: UL, CUL, CE, CB, FCC Class B, TUV, CCC, C-tick, BSMI
Meets 2010 EUP requirement: 5Vsb < 1W
Weight: 2.3 kg; 5 lbs
Dimensions:
– 3.4″ (H) x 5.9″ (W) x 5.9″ (D)
– 86mm (H) x 150mm (W) x 150mm (D)
Antec packaging is always very corporate by design. Effective, stylish and with a simple picture of the product on the front.
The bundle contains the modular cables, mounting screws, power cable and user manual.
The Antec TruePower series have always been an understated design and we like them for it. No gold or pink fans with purple paint, just simple subdued colours to ensure maximum compatibility in any system build.
The rear of the chassis is completely vented to ensure maximum heat dissipation.
The top of the chassis features a 120mm PWM controlled fan.
The front has colour coded ports to ensure no confusion can occur when attaching the connectors.
The TruePower 650W supply offers an 8 pin EPS 12V connector, dual 6 and 6+2 PCI-E connectors and 9 Molex/9 Sata connectors. This level of connectivity should sate most demands.
The Adda AD1212HB-A7BGL is a high quality 120mm fan which spins with a maximum rotational speed of 2,200rpm. The fan speed is automatically controlled by the internal ambient temperature due to the onboard PWM speed controller. It is rated to produce an air flow of 85cfm at under 40dBa. We will measure noise later.
At the far left we can see the daughtercard which is home to the AC transient filter. One X capacitor, four Y capacitors and a single coil. Soldering is high quality throughout.
All the capacitors used are high quality Nippon-Chemicon design. The double layer PCB optimises cooling efficiency. The cables are fully sleeved into the chassis to prevent any possibility of fraying over long term use.
This is a Seasonic built product with a Nippon Chemi Con capacitor positioned behind the primary heatsink. There are clear plastic isolation panels on the outside to stop contact with the outer chassis. The unit uses DC to DC converters to deliver +3.3V and +5v from the primary 12V area. The system features full OVP (Over Voltage Protection), UVP (Under Current Protection), SCP (Short Circuit Protection), OPP (Over Power Protection), and OCP (Over Current Protection).
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
|
DC Output Load Regulation
|
||||||||||
|
Combined DC Load |
+3.3V
|
+5V
|
+12V
|
+5VSB
|
-12V | |||||
|
A
|
V
|
A
|
V
|
A
|
V
|
A
|
V
|
A | V | |
|
152W
|
2.07
|
3.34
|
2.02
|
5.06
|
10.03
|
12.13
|
0.50
|
5.05
|
0.20
|
-12.11
|
|
270W
|
3.02
|
3.34
|
3.01
|
5.05
|
19.05
|
12.11
|
0.50
|
5.04
|
0.30
|
-12.09
|
|
400W
|
4.04
|
3.33
|
5.01
|
5.05
|
29.21
|
12.06
|
1.00
|
5.04
|
0.30
|
-12.08
|
| 523W |
6.00
|
3.32
|
7.08
|
5.04
|
38.14
|
12.05
|
1.50
|
5.02 |
0.30
|
-12.06
|
|
652W
|
8.03
|
3.31
|
9.02
|
5.01
|
48.31
|
12.03
|
2.50
|
4.99
|
0.30
|
-12.04
|
A great set of load results for the Antec power supply, all of the primary rails are holding within 2.5% of the nominal voltage.
| Antec Truepower New 650W | Maximum Load |
| 714.5W |
We managed to push the power supply to around 715w before it shut down, gracefully. The protection circuitry is working well.
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 | |
| 590W | 1.0 | 3.34 | 1.0 | 5.04 | 48.0 | 12.00 | 0.2 | -12.11 | 0.50 | 5.03 |
| 145W | 12.0 | 3.28 | 15.0 | 5.01 | 2.0 | 11.98 | 0.2 | -12.03 | 0.50 | 5.01 |
The XFX PSU handled the Cross loading tests without a problem and we experienced no issues. All the voltages remained within stated tolerances.
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 |
| 152W | 10 | 10 | 10 | 10 |
| 270W | 15 | 15 | 15 | 10 |
| 400W | 15 | 15 | 15 | 10 |
| 523W | 15 | 15 | 20 | 15 |
| 652W | 20 | 15 | 25 | 15 |
A very strong set of results for the Antec TruePower with a particularly impressive 12V result of 25mv under maximum load.
|
Efficiency (%)
|
|
|
152W
|
84.21
|
|
270W
|
86.76
|
|
400W
|
87.12
|
|
523W
|
85.21
|
|
652W
|
84.01
|
These efficiency results are great across the range of loads, holding well within 80 Plus Bronze certification requirements.
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)
|
|
|
152W
|
28.3
|
|
270W
|
29.2
|
|
400W
|
29.7
|
|
523W
|
33.5
|
| 652W | 36.1 |
At around 70% load the PSU becomes audible rising to around 36 dBa at 100% load.
|
Temperature (c)
|
||
|
Intake
|
Exhaust
|
|
|
152W
|
35
|
37
|
|
270W
|
35
|
38
|
|
400W
|
38
|
45
|
|
523W
|
42
|
50
|
|
652W
|
45
|
53
|
The large ADDA fan is very capable, managing to maintain a 8c above ambient intake threshold at full load. Very impressive.
|
Maximum Load
|
Efficiency
|
|
714.5W
|
80.7
|
Pushing the PSU above its rated limits generates an efficiency level of around 80.7%. This is not a viable ‘real world’ situation, but its interesting nonetheless.
The Antec TruePower New 650W Supply is a great design which delivers stable, tightly regulated power for the demanding enthusiast user.
On a performance level the unit is well balanced throughout with voltage regulation and efficiency particularly strong selling points. Ripple results are also excellent, especially via the 12V output. Noise levels and cooling proficiency are finely tuned with Antec sacrificing a little noise to keep temperatures only 8c above ambient when under full load. In the real world, this unit managed to power two 6870's in Crossfire X with an Intel 980x at the heart of the system. We can't see most people needing more than this.
The kicker is the price point, at only £85 inc vat it is a solid purchase for a performance enthusiast system without inflicting pain on the bank account. The only negative we could mention would be that some people may find the styling a little bland, but there is nothing to fault technically.
Antec offer a 5 year warranty with this unit and the fact there are no inherent weaknesses means this should be at the top of your shortlist.
KitGuru says: Efficient, reasonable pricing and stable power.
