80 PLUS Gold: Four Efficient 700-850 W Power Supplies

Features
By TG Publishing Team, Patrick Afschar
published

Gamers and enthusiasts are always on the lookout for crème de la crème hardware. It's easy to pick winning CPUs and graphics cards; less so for PSUs. We put four 80 PLUS Gold devices from Antec, FSP, Seasonic, and SilverStone under the magnifying glass.

Antec High Current Pro HCP-850

The name of Antec's PSU leaves no doubt as to why it was developed: High Current Pro. The exclusive feature of the High Current Pro is its use of 16 AWG cables, which purportedly reduce resistance, increase efficiency, and improve power delivery. Antec's spec sheet heightens our expectations, which are already lofty given the company's claims. Each of four 12 V rails is designed for a current of up to 40 A. The combined power of the 12 V lines is 840 W, just slightly below the 850 W sustained output claimed by Antec.

The Antec HCP-850 comes in a compact paper box. The power supply itself and its cables are wrapped in a pouch. When it comes time to unpack the Antec HCP-850, the first things you notice are the workmanship of the dark blue housing and the partially-modular cable configuration. Only the lines for the motherboard, CPU, and two PCI Express connectors are hard-wired. The wire harnesses are designed as high-quality round designs, and they are comparatively long.

The number of connections also doesn’t give you anything to complain about; quite the opposite, in fact. With two eight-pin CPU power plugs, six 6+2-pin PCIe connectors, and nine SATA power leads, the manufacturer is very generous. Even the largest systems should have no problems connecting a large number of drives and graphics cards. The Antec HCP-850 is certified for both Nvidia SLI and AMD CrossFire X.

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Antec HCP-850
AC Input100-240 V, 50-60 Hz
DC Output+3.3 V+5 V+12 V (#1)+12 V (#2)+12 V (#3)+12 V (#4)-12 V+5 Vsb
25 A25 A40 A40 A40 A40 A0.5 A3.0 A
Individual OutputRow 3 - Cell 1 Row 3 - Cell 2 Row 3 - Cell 3 Row 3 - Cell 4 Row 3 - Cell 5 6 W15 W
Rail UtilizationSysSysCPU & VGA
Combined Output160 W840 W
Total Continuous Output850 W
Peak Outputn/a
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TG Publishing Team
51 Comments Comment from the forums
  • compton
    Every now and again you can catch the Seasonic X series on sale. I picked up a X-650 for about $110 with shipping. For that price, there isn't really anything better. With out a sale, I still say full modular and 80+ Gold is worth the premium over less auspicious contenders.

    Thanks for an excellent review.
    Reply
  • jjb8675309
    no need for a 200 dollar psu for me
    Reply
  • on the seasonic X-760 introduction, the first paragraph states that it comes with hard-wiring. But if you look at the pictures, and further down the review, you'll notice that it is fully-modular.

    no pun intended here ;-)
    Reply
  • The Greater Good
    comptonEvery now and again you can catch the Seasonic X series on sale. I picked up a X-650 for about $110 with shipping. For that price, there isn't really anything better. With out a sale, I still say full modular and 80+ Gold is worth the premium over less auspicious contenders.Thanks for an excellent review.
    I've used the X 650 in builds for two of my friends. I can't wait to get mine. The cabling is perfect for the Antec 1200 case.
    Reply
  • What about noise? Only had a quick glance at the article but that didn't seem to have been measured.
    Reply
  • flong
    Great review, but where is Corsair???? Certainly Corsair is one of the industry leaders and most recommended PSUs on the market.

    This review would have benefited greatly by including both silver and gold rated PSUs from 750W - 1000W. Some Silver rated PSUs actually perform at nearly at gold levels (Corsair) and so they are a great value.

    It would have been nice to have some expert comment on Au's claim that a non-modular cable setup improves efficiency. This appears to be a myth because we see many modular units outperform non-modular units in their class.

    Still I really enjoyed this review.
    Reply
  • jah_33
    Not to forget is that a 80+ PSU generates about twice the heat of a 80+ Gold PSU, 20% compared to 10% of the power output. So a gold certified PSU should be significantly more quiet then a 80+ given equal cooling.

    flongGreat review, but where is Corsair???? /citation]Corsair don't build there own PSU:s the are mostly Seasonic built, some CWT. For example the Corsair AX series are nearly identical to the Seasonic X series, the only difference is the fan.
    Reply
  • darreng101
    I have a SeaSonic X-760 fitted to an O/C'ed i7.

    The 'fan-on' at 20% (i think without looking back) is worst case, mine kicks on at about 30-35% depending on ambient temp, so its awesome quiet. Even when on its quiet.

    It works very well in a dual gaming/home cinema box...

    I'd definiately recommend one
    Reply
  • lol. 200 dollar psu's!

    are you guys complete noobs! do you think we need this ...?
    Reply
  • dominatorix
    ok., compare: http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/gaming-psu-efficiency,2796-11.html
    with: http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/750-watt-psu-80-plus-gold,2927-3.html
    Reply