Part 1: Four Cheap 80 PLUS Bronze Power Supplies, Reviewed
Power supply manufacturers condition us to think that efficiency is the one variable you need to pay the most attention to. But we have a suite of tests that more thoroughly taxes PSUs. Can these four inexpensive units under $70 make it through unscathed?
Antec HCG-400
Antec’s three letter acronym HCG stands for High Current Gamer, which doesn't mean that the power supply transfers electric charge out of your PC and into you. Rather, the company is suggesting that its 400 W PSU is up to the task of delivering consistent power at high load levels, such as the ones you'd encounter in a taxing 3D game.
Although a $45 power supply like the HCG-400 isn't high-end by any means, we do like build quality of its chassis and the fully sleeved cables. Even the length of those cables can be considered sufficient for a budget-oriented PSU. The number of connectors you get, however, leaves something to be desired. There is but one six-pin auxiliary PCI Express plug, five SATA connectors, and four four-pin Molex leads.
Antec HCG-400 | ||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
AC Input | 100-240 V, 50-60 Hz | |||||||
DC Output | +3.3 V | +5 V | +12 V (#1) | +12 V (#2) | +12 V (#3) | +12 V (#4) | -12 V | +5 Vsb |
20 A | 20 A | 30 A | n/a | n/a | n/a | 0.8 A | 2.5 A | |
Individual Output | Row 3 - Cell 1 | Row 3 - Cell 2 | Row 3 - Cell 3 | Row 3 - Cell 4 | Row 3 - Cell 5 | 9.6 W | 12.5W | |
Rail Utilization | Sys | Sys | CPU & VGA | |||||
Combined Output | 120 W | 360 W | ||||||
Total Continuous Output | 400 W | |||||||
Peak Output | 440 W |
Stay On the Cutting Edge: Get the Tom's Hardware Newsletter
Get Tom's Hardware's best news and in-depth reviews, straight to your inbox.
Current page: Antec HCG-400
Prev Page High-Efficiency Power Supplies At A Fair Price Next Page Antec HCG-400: Measurements-
InvalidError
Some Chinese OEMs put rocks, small concrete blocks, lumps of steel or other stuff like that disguised as a transformer with bits of wire that aren't connected to anything to trick people into believing their heavier PSUs are better.11435905 said:always judge a power supply by its weight.
So weight alone is not a reliable indicator.
Also, at high frequencies and high efficiencies, the size of inductors, capacitors, transformers and heatsinks along with the associated weight shrink. While light weight and high quality may rarely be seen together, they certainly are not mutually exclusive. -
dudewitbow 11435841 said:no love for the EVGA 500B?
a good chunk of Tom's physical hardware reviews generally are conducted in europe. This goes for a good handful of the gpu tests as well. EVGA rarely ever shows up on review sites because of it(and possibly due to lack of EVGA response to a hardware review pitch)
-
computer_nugget2 11435944 said:
Some Chinese OEMs put rocks, small concrete blocks, lumps of steel or other stuff like that disguised as a transformer with bits of wire that aren't connected to anything to trick people into believing their heavier PSUs are better.11435905 said:always judge a power supply by its weight.
So weight alone is not a reliable indicator.
Also, at high frequencies and high efficiencies, the size of inductors, capacitors, transformers and heatsinks along with the associated weight shrink. While light weight and high quality may rarely be seen together, they certainly are not mutually exclusive.
do you have pics to prove this?
-
envy14tpe This is PART 1. Which means more PSUs to come, so let's hope for no dumb comments asking why not this PSU or this one...Reply -
jimmysmitty 11436142 said:This is PART 1. Which means more PSUs to come, so let's hope for no dumb comments asking why not this PSU or this one...
They have already listed the PSUs for part 2 and I didn't see a part 3 listed. I wonder where the Corsair CX430 is. Its a 85+ Bronze PSU and is $39.99 on Egg right now. Its one of the best entry level PSUs I have actually used as well and compared to other PSUs at the same price point or higher (within 550W and may or may not be 80+ at all) I have seen less of them come back bad. -
razor512 11435905 said:always judge a power supply by its weight.
While weight is an important factor, overall weight is 100% useless
for example check out the SIGMA SHARK SP-635
http://www.ocia.net/reviews/sigma635/page2.shtml
it is probably one of the heaviest power supplies you will find (with the exception of some of the 1200 watt ones)
I purchased it a while back and was disappointed at the internals. they used an insanely thick case that made the power supply weigh a lot but the insides were were the result of the owner of the company asking while walking around china, what are the cheapest items we can find on the shenzhen market today.
(at least the power supply can double as a flail or a boat anchor) -
pyro226 Hoping to see the CX430 and other corsairs reviewed. I like the little thing since it powers my PC. :D It originally rang a bit when the computer was suspended or at random after a few hours of use, but that went away with age.Reply