Antec HCG1000 Extreme 1000W PSU Review: Good Looks For $150
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Ripple Measurements
To learn how we measure ripple, please click here.
The following table includes the ripple levels we measured on the HCG1000 Extreme’s rails. The limits, according to the ATX specification, are 120mV (+12V) and 50mV (5V, 3.3V, and 5VSB).
Test | 12V | 5V | 3.3V | 5VSB | Pass/Fail |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
10% Load | 18.5mV | 5.9mV | 5.1mV | 4.5mV | Pass |
20% Load | 20.8mV | 6.2mV | 5.7mV | 4.9mV | Pass |
30% Load | 21.7mV | 6.9mV | 6.4mV | 5.1mV | Pass |
40% Load | 21.3mV | 8.1mV | 7.2mV | 5.4mV | Pass |
50% Load | 14.4mV | 9.3mV | 8.3mV | 6.1mV | Pass |
60% Load | 13.5mV | 9.2mV | 7.7mV | 6.5mV | Pass |
70% Load | 14.1mV | 9.3mV | 8.0mV | 6.6mV | Pass |
80% Load | 14.5mV | 9.8mV | 9.2mV | 11.3mV | Pass |
90% Load | 15.6mV | 11.0mV | 9.5mV | 11.9mV | Pass |
100% Load | 17.1mV | 10.9mV | 10.1mV | 12.0mV | Pass |
110% Load | 22.5mV | 16.5mV | 17.2mV | 16.2mV | Pass |
Cross-Load 1 | 18.6mV | 9.4mV | 9.7mV | 5.6mV | Pass |
Cross-Load 2 | 17.5mV | 9.5mV | 6.2mV | 9.6mV | Pass |
Ripple suppression is excellent on every rail, even under the tough operating conditions that we apply.
Ripple Oscilloscope Screenshots
The following oscilloscope screenshots illustrate the AC ripple and noise registered on the main rails (+12V, 5V, 3.3V, and 5VSB). The bigger the fluctuations, the bigger the ripple/noise. We set 0.01 V/Div (each vertical division/box equals 0.01V) as the standard for all measurements.
Ripple At Full Load
Ripple At 110-Percent Load
Ripple At Cross-Load 1
Ripple At Cross-Load 2
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Aris Mpitziopoulos is a contributing editor at Tom's Hardware, covering PSUs.
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richardvday I am very curious why so many 1000W or larger PSU's ? How many of these do they actually sell ? How many people need a 1000w PSU ? 500-600W seems the sweet spot that most people would need. I have an 850W that I have been kicking myself in the head for ever since really. I need 500W so my efficiency sucks, wasting energy.Reply -
totalinsanity4 PSUs are actually most efficient when you're at about half load, so people with 500-600W loads will actually be seeing a slightly lower power bill with a 1000W PSU than, for instance, a 650W oneReply -
crmaris modern PSUs featuring LLC resonant converters also have good efficiency under light loads regardless capacity, given that their design is good. With LLC Burst Mode efficiency under light loads vastly improves.Reply