Five 550 And 600 W 80 PLUS Platinum Power Supplies, Tested

By Patrick Afschar
published

A good power supply doesn't just provide you with ample output. Increasingly, vendors have put a bigger emphasis on delivering power more efficiently, too. We're testing five 80 PLUS Platinum-rated power supplies in the 550- to 600-watt range.

Antec EarthWatts Platinum 550 W

Antec released Platinum-rated models of its EarthWatts family some time ago, and today there are three models ranging from 450 to 650 W. The EarthWatts Platinum power supplies are value-oriented and marketed to the "Casual" and "Office" segments. This is a surprising strategy from Antec; most other PSU manufacturers only stick that coveted 80 PLUS Platinum logo on premium products with higher output levels. Nevertheless, as we mentioned on the previous page, Antec achieves its rating at the lowest price point.

While the Antec power supply's packaging reflects its value-oriented product positioning, the workmanship that went into building the PSU itself is impeccable.

Unfortunately, the EarthWatts Platinum doesn't employ modular cable management, though this obviously helps maintain a low price point. Despite the lack of modularity, the cable strands are of the quality, sleeved sort. Antec provides slightly fewer connectors than competing models, but we still think that two PCIe connectors, four Molex connectors, and five SATA connectors are sufficient for a 550 W unit. You'll only really need to look elsewhere if you're planning to use more than one graphics card or a big array of storage drives. The cable lengths are typical for power supplies in this class.

Antec leans on a 120 mm fan, which is smaller than the fans used in the other PSUs we're reviewing today, though there's nothing wrong with that per se. The EarthWatts power supply is also the only one in this test sporting a four-rail design. Breaking 12 V power up into multiple rails can sometimes be less flexible than just one rail. However, each of the Antec’s four 12 V rails can supply up to 30 A of current, for a combined maximum of up to 516 W.

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Antec Earthwatts Platinum 550 W
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
16 A16 A30 A30 A30 A30 A0.3 A3.0 A
Individual OutputRow 3 - Cell 1 Row 3 - Cell 2 Row 3 - Cell 3 Row 3 - Cell 4 Row 3 - Cell 5 Row 3 - Cell 6 3.6 W15 W
Rail UtilizationSysSysCPU And VGA
Combined Output95 W516 W
Total Continuous Output550 W
Peak Output605 W

Patrick Afschar
59 Comments Comment from the forums
  • what? no overload it until it blows test?

    and i was making popcorn.
    Reply
  • mousseng
    Is that a typo in the first chart for Kingwin's Lazer? It claims that it fails 80 Plus's 50% load spec (82% of 92%); I assume that was meant to say 92% (since that's what the chart below it shows).

    Pleasant read, though, I like PSU reviews.
    Reply
  • What happen to Seasonic? They have the 520W fanless SS-520FL Platinum version. No PSU test is complete without a seasonic to compare to, in my own opinion.
    Reply
  • dudewitbow
    jupiter optimus maximusWhat happen to Seasonic? They have the 520W fanless SS-520FL Platinum version. No PSU test is complete without a seasonic to compare to, in my own opinion.they asked for vendors for the PSUs. Theres the offshoot chance that seasonic declined the offer. On other sites, the 520w fanless seasonic unit was compared to Rosewill's 500w silent night unit. The seasonic unit I believe in that review barely edged out a victory.
    Reply
  • cangelini
    iknowhowtofixitEither the Rosewill FORTRESS was defective or your calibration was off for the last test. Your o-scope shots do not match those of other highly credible reviewers. Also, I'm curious of your testing methodology, but it was not listed.I believe this is still applicable to all of the power supply testing our German team does: http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/psu-test-equipment,2657.html. I'm waiting for confirmation that I'm right.

    Edit: Yup, that's the correct testing equipment/procedure!
    Reply
  • Dun dun dun..................... no acoustic performance measured, the only reason some people buy high end PSU's.
    Reply
  • sebbesapa
    WOW! Thanks a bunch for including the 25watt "Low-Power PC" efficiency test! All other reviewers stop @ 20% load witch is not "idle" or "low load" at all. :-)
    Reply
  • sanilmahambre
    Power supply unit is where a system builder cannot use a word "BUDGET"
    Reply
  • jaideep1337
    I don't understand
    Why is the 80 plus spec officially test by having more load on the 3.3v and 5v rails?
    Clearly loading the 12v rail would give us a better overall image
    Reply
  • jaquith
    Interesting, IMHO the most important aspect is 'Ripple Voltage' @ Rated Load. The only mention I see is a vague reference in your conclusion page.
    Never mind I see the ripple data buried in the individual tests. It would have been better in the summary side-by-side tests.

    Nice article.
    Reply