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).

Swipe to scroll horizontally
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.

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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
Contributing Editor

Aris Mpitziopoulos is a contributing editor at Tom's Hardware, covering PSUs.

  • 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 one
    Reply
  • richardvday
    And idling ?
    Reply
  • 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
  • test_purch1
    Test Automation comment 1535112055212
    Reply