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

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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