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

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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