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Performance, Value, Noise & Efficiency
Performance Rating
The following graph shows the HCG850’s total performance rating, comparing it to other units we have tested. To be more specific, the tested unit is shown as 100 percent, and every other unit's performance is shown relative to it.
Antec's HCG850 scores a little lower than the Seasonic SSR-850FX, and it's on par with the previous-generation RM850x (which achieves similar overall performance as Corsair's new RM850x).
Performance Per Dollar
The following chart may be the most interesting to many of you because it depicts the unit's performance-per-dollar score. We looked up the current price of each PSU on popular online shops and used those prices and all relative performance numbers to calculate the index. If the specific unit wasn't available in the United States, we searched for it in popular European Union shops, converting the listed price to USD (without VAT). Note that all of the numbers in the following graph are normalized by the rated power of each PSU.
At the time this review was written, Seasonic's offering was a few dollars cheaper. And as a result of its higher performance score, it enjoys a notable advantage over the HCG850.
Noise Rating
The graph below depicts the cooling fan's average noise over the PSU's operating range, with an ambient temperature between 30°C and 32°C (86°F to 89.6°F).
Both Antec and Seasonic lose big time to Corsair's RM850x when it comes to noise output. To make matters even worse for those two models, the newer RM850x is even more conservative in the acoustics department.
Under light and moderate loads, even in warm operating environments, the HCG850 is quiet. However, once the applied load reaches 80% of this PSU's maximum-rated capacity, the fan ramps up quickly, pushing noise up with it.
Efficiency Rating
The following graph shows the PSU's average efficiency throughout its operating range, with an ambient temperature close to 30°C.
The HCG850 lands within the efficiency range that we expect from a good 80 PLUS Gold-certified PSU.
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