Antec VPF Series 650W PSU Review

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Load Regulation, Hold-Up Time And Inrush Current

To learn more about our PSU tests and methodology, please check out How We Test Power Supply Units. 

Primary Rails And 5VSB Load Regulation

Load Regulation testing is detailed here.

Hold-Up Time

Our hold-up time tests are described in detail here.

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The hold-up time doesn't manage to meet the ATX spec's requirements. With such a low-capacity bulk cap, this didn't come as a surprise. In fact, we expected even less hold-up time.

Inrush Current

For details on our inrush current testing, please click here.

The inrush current that this medium-capacity PSU registered is the highest among all PSUs we have tested so far. It's a design flaw and should be fixed immediately. 

Load Regulation And Efficiency Measurements

The first set of tests reveals the stability of the voltage rails and the PSU's efficiency. The applied load equals (approximately) 10 to 110 percent of the supply's maximum in increments of 10 percentage points.

We conducted two additional tests. During the first, we stressed the two minor rails (5V and 3.3V) with a high load, while the load at +12V was only 0.10A. This test reveals whether a PSU is Haswell-ready or not. In the second test, we determined the maximum load the +12V rail could handle with minimal load on the minor rails.  

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Test 12V (A/V) 5V(A/V) 3.3V(A/V) 5VSB(A/V) PowerDC/AC(W) Efficiency (%) Fan Speed(RPM) Fan NoisedB(A) TempIn/Out(°C) PF/AC (V)
1 3.562A 1.963A 1.949A 0.984A 64.78 77.56 910 30.1 38.89 0.970
12.126V 5.094V 3.384V 5.073V 83.52 41.77 115.1V
2 8.179A 2.948A 2.924A 1.185A 129.75 81.75 910 30.1 40.20 0.987
12.091V 5.079V 3.383V 5.060V 158.71 43.90 115.1V
3 13.185A 3.454A 3.429A 1.384A 194.85 83.71 1000 33.0 41.12 0.993
12.042V 5.068V 3.379V 5.047V 232.76 45.52 115.1V
4 18.202A 3.951A 3.907A 1.585A 259.74 84.44 1350 41.3 41.32 0.995
12.009V 5.058V 3.375V 5.034V 307.61 45.89 115.1V
5 22.882A 4.957A 4.883A 1.789A 324.77 84.51 1650 44.5 41.96 0.997
11.987V 5.045V 3.378V 5.020V 384.31 46.98 115.1V
6 27.569A 5.962A 5.859A 1.994A 389.68 84.21 1840 47.6 43.06 0.997
11.967V 5.031V 3.378V 5.004V 462.75 48.32 115.1V
7 32.259A 6.978A 6.837A 2.199A 454.63 83.62 1960 48.3 43.28 0.998
11.952V 5.017V 3.377V 4.990V 543.72 48.89 115.1V
8 36.963A 7.994A 7.811A 2.410A 519.57 82.89 2470 60 44.07 0.998
11.936V 5.003V 3.379V 4.977V 626.86 49.92 115.1V
9 42.133A 8.511A 8.321A 2.411A 584.60 82.29 2470 60 45.33 0.998
11.916V 4.990V 3.376V 4.970V 710.46 51.53 115.1V
10 47.054A 9.040A 8.801A 3.032A 649.50 81.80 2470 60 45.49 0.999
11.897V 4.980V 3.373V 4.944V 794.01 51.86 115.1V
11 52.625A 9.056A 8.821A 3.034A 714.47 81.00 2470 60 46.17 0.999
11.872V 4.972V 3.367V 4.937V 882.03 52.89 115.1V
CL1 0.098A 14.020A 14.005A 0.000A 119.51 74.03 910 30.1 42.48 0.988
12.104V 5.000V 3.443V 5.083V 161.44 47.85 115.1V
CL2 53.975A 1.002A 1.003A 1.000A 655.00 82.38 2470 60 46.69 0.999
11.887V 5.038V 3.319V 5.025V 795.11 53.52 115.1V

Load regulation on the +12V and 5V rails is average. At 5VSB, it's good for the standards of this rail, while at 3.3V it was nothing less than amazing. In the efficiency section, the PSU achieves lower results than the 80 PLUS Bronze requirements, but we will give it a pass since we conducted our tests at a much higher ambient temperature. As a result, it's natural to measure lower efficiency.

Speaking of high operating temperatures, the VPF650 didn't have a problem delivering its full power continuously at up to 46 °C (114.8 °F), but its cooler was extremely noisy under these conditions. The 120mm fan rotates at full speed once the PSU is seriously stressed, outputting an annoying noise level that reaches 60 dB(A).

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Aris Mpitziopoulos
Contributing Editor

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

  • iam2thecrowe
    I do like Antec PSU's, their range is very solid. Good write up. Good value PSU.
    Reply
  • CTurbo
    I hope Delta is not going to get out of the consumer psu business completely. They've been one of my go-to oems for years. Top notch reliability.
    Reply
  • Onus
    Antec has been one of my go-to standards for years as well. Though it has been surpassed in efficiency, I may need to put my SG-650 in my will because of its anticipated durability.
    Reply
  • 2Be_or_Not2Be
    When the author says "... Delta no longer has an interest in this market..." - what market is he talking about? I seem to recall that quite a few of my Dell servers had Delta OEM PSUs, and I think a number of Dell desktops had custom Delta PSUs as well. So is it only the consumer market that they don't want to supply anymore?
    Reply
  • iam2thecrowe
    16537381 said:
    When the author says "... Delta no longer has an interest in this market..." - what market is he talking about? I seem to recall that quite a few of my Dell servers had Delta OEM PSUs, and I think a number of Dell desktops had custom Delta PSUs as well. So is it only the consumer market that they don't want to supply anymore?

    probably. There is now too much competition in the consumer psu market for it to be really profitable for some companies. It would make sense if a company only wanted to do anything other than generic PC ATX psu's, because they can charge a lot more for it.
    Reply
  • Aris_Mp
    Yeap Delta is away from consumer market. They mostly make OEM PSUs now. As far as I know only Antec has a contract with them for desktop PSUs.
    Reply