Posted On: Sun, Sep-28-2008
Reviewer: OklahomaWolf
Product: Antec Earthwatts EA650 650W
Product Link: http://www.antec.com/us/productDetails.php?ProdID=27650
Supplied By: Antec
Price: $72.51 @ SecureMart
Introduction
It's been a while since we last looked at one of the Earthwatts units from Antec here at the site, and in that time things have changed for this line. Instead of Seasonic building them, Antec has gone to a new source, Delta, who is still better known on this continent for fans.
After the Signature 850W also built by Delta did so well here, people have wondered if these lesser Delta builds were up to the same standards. Well, wonder no more, for Antec gave me the chance to look at one. I took the bait and ran.
Page 1 -

It's been a little while since we at the site took a look at one of Antec's lower end offerings, and I reckoned I would break that spell today as I take a look at the Earthwatts 650W model. The last time we looked at the Earthwatts series was more than a year and a half ago, when we examined the EA500. Since then, things have changed a bit for the series. Back in the day, Antec was using Seasonic to supply these units. Now, they've gone to a different OEM, Delta; distinguishing the new models using a "D" at the end of the model name.
The EA650 is the new flagship of the fleet, and it too is Delta sourced. I'm sure you're all anxious to see how it does in load testing, which will be on the next page. But, I'm going to try and cram a few box pictures into your eyeballs first.
If the name Delta sounds unfamiliar to you, it's because they don't have too much presence in North America yet. But, as we found out with the Signature 850W, they are capable of some fantastic units indeed. I confess I'm looking forward to page two myself.

The box doesn't carry too much data on its cardboard panels, but there is enough there to make an informed choice about the unit. On this side, we can see a load table, a reminder not to compromise in saving energy and maximizing performance, and a note that it carries a three year warranty. Three years is not bad for a midgrade unit like this.

Mr. Fuji must be feeling a bit ill today. Regardless, he has provided us with a shot of some of the few marketing bullet points on the box. 80 Plus certified? Cool! I took a look over at the site, and discovered that this unit is only carrying standard certification. No bronze, silver, or gold for this puppy it would seem.

The back of the box holds a few interesting tidbits of data as well. Or, do I mean Timbits? On a completely unrelated note, I'm hungry. Be right back.
Back. As I was saying, the back of the box gives you some information about connector counts, a little blurb on the 80 Plus program, and a few more bragging points on the unit. Triple 12V rails. APFC. One 8 pin PCI-E connector. It also brags about the unit being silent in operation... we'll see about that one on the next page.

The box unpacked. Why, it's just like bringing home a sackful of groceries, it is. First we have a paper grocery bag sleeve around the unit, and then we have egg carton like packing material to be removed. How... earthy. Along with the unit itself, there's an owner's manual, power cord, and a bag of screws. Pretty standard stuff for a unit like this.

The owner's manual turns out to be an adequate little book telling you how to install the unit and a few other useful Timbits... I mean, tidbits. Dudes, skipping breakfast is tough. Doesn't help any that we have no actual Tim Horton's stores around here.

Moving on, here we see the unit itself, all unpacked. As you can see, the case is finished in plain old generic gray. It fairly screams "utilitarian" at me, promising to get the job done and not much more than that.

The only adornment on the enclosure is that little embossed "Antec" you can just barely make out there on the left, about a third of the way down in the picture. Looks like we're only getting sleeving on one cable here.

In contrast to the rest of the unit, the label is an artsy looking affair done up in shades of purple and pink. The UL file number is e176105, which runs us back to Antec itself. Fortunately, there are enough clues inside the actual unit to confirm Delta as the OEM. Here's a table for you.
| Antec EA650 |
+3.3V |
+5V |
+12V1 |
+12V2 |
+12V3 |
-12V |
+5VSB |
| 25A |
25A |
22A |
22A |
25A |
0.5A |
2.5A |
| Max Power |
160W |
540W |
6W |
12.5W |
| 650W |

Yes indeed, only the main ATX cable is sleeved on this unit. I am happy, however, to see less of a mess made from the remaining cables than last week's review sample, the Xion 700W.
| Type of connector: |
EA650 |
| 8-pin Xeon/EPS connector (500mm) |
1 |
12V1 |
| 4-pin ATX12V connector (510mm) |
1 |
| ATX connector (510mm) |
20+4 pin |
12V2 |
| 5.25" Drive connectors (500mm+140mm+140mm) |
6 |
| 3.5" Drive connectors (+140mm) |
1 |
| SATA (500mm+140mm+140mm) |
6 |
| 2 x 3 PCIe (510mm) |
1 |
12V3 |
| 2 x 4 PCIe (500mm) |
1* |
|
Unit Dimensions(L x W x H) |
|
150mm x 155mm x 85mm |
*connector is 6+2 pin modular type
You will notice that both PCI-E connectors are joined to take 12V3 all to themselves. Which, I remind you, is rated for 25A. This means that you should be able to run a single GTX 280 on this bad boy, but one only. And really, SLI on those things takes something bigger than 650W anyway.
Page 2 -
It is time to finally see how the EA650 performs. To do this, I'm going to use my trusty SunMoon SM-268 automated testing environment. It has the ability to load power supplies in up to five preset loading patterns, or override them for manual control of the loads on each rail. Into the five presets, I'm going to set up a series of five progressive load tests, ranging from 20% to 100% of the rated power; attempting to stay within the general combined rail ratings on the label. Then, I'll override the presets, dial up a heavy 5V/3.3V crossload, and then a heavy 12V crossload.
Doing this will tell us just how good the voltage regulation, or stability, of this unit really is. Using a couple other gadgets at my disposal, I'm also going to take power draw and temperature readings. Since the SM-268 only has the ability to load two rails at a time, I'm going to sum all three 12V rails down to one big one.
Once all this fun is complete, I'm going to do it all again in the hot box, and see how the EA650 handles being baked like a box of Timbits. Hmm... I don't think lunchtime can get here fast enough.
| Results from Antec EA650 COLD load tests |
| Test # |
+3.3V |
+5V |
+12V |
DC Watts/
AC Watts |
Eff. |
Intake/
Exhaust |
| Simulated system load tests |
Test
1 |
3A |
3A |
9A |
148W/
184W |
80% |
21°C/
23°C |
| 3.33V |
5.12V |
12.04V |
Test
2 |
6A |
6A |
17A |
265W/
319W
|
83% |
21°C/
26°C |
| 3.32V |
5.09V |
12.03V |
Test
3 |
7A |
8A |
26A |
382W/
455W |
84% |
22°C/
30°C |
| 3.29V |
5.08V |
12.01V |
Test
4 |
10A |
11A |
34A |
498W/
602W |
83% |
22°C/
34°C |
| 3.28V |
5.07V |
11.99V |
Test
5 |
13A |
14A |
43A |
622W/
770W |
81% |
23°C/
36°C |
| 3.24V |
5.05V |
11.98V |
Test
CL1 |
18A |
18A |
2A |
182W/
254W |
72% |
23°C/
33°C |
| 3.26V |
5.08V |
12.02V |
Test
CL2 |
1A |
1A |
45A |
553W/
660W
|
84% |
23°C/
34°C |
| 3.32V |
5.08V |
11.99V |
There are a couple interesting figures up there. First, the unit is efficient, just like the box promised. I'm not seeing 85% up there, but the unit does get close enough to make me think it could easily do so in the real world. And thanks to the efficiency, the unit keeps itself cool as well, hitting a maximum of 36 degrees at the exhaust.
The second, and more impressive set of numbers are the voltage readings. It just doesn't look like this unit is having a lot of trouble keeping stable, which tells me one thing above all others - the unit is independently regulated. That is, it keeps the three main rails separate. This is a welcome change from the older Earthwatts units, which were not independently regulated. Unfortunately, this unit doesn't quite do as well on the 3.3V rail as some indy units, only holding to about 3% regulation, but the other two are controlled excellently at better than 2% and 1% regulation for the 5V and 12V rails respectively.
And the fan? It really was quiet - I never heard it once over the howling of the other fans nearby. So, we're off to a fantastic start here. Let's heat 'er up.
| Results from Antec EA650 HOT load tests |
| Test # |
+3.3V |
+5V |
+12V |
DC Watts/
AC Watts |
Eff. |
Intake/
Exhaust |
| Simulated system load tests |
Test
1 |
3A |
3A |
9A |
148W/
184W |
80% |
25°C/
28°C |
| 3.33V |
5.13V |
12.04V |
Test
2 |
6A |
6A |
17A |
266W/
317W |
84% |
29°C/
34°C |
| 3.32V |
5.09V |
12.03V |
Test
3 |
7A |
8A |
26A |
382W/
453W |
84% |
32°C/
38°C |
| 3.32V |
5.08V |
12.01V |
Test
4 |
10A |
11A |
34A |
498W/
601W |
83% |
34°C/
43°C |
| 3.31V |
5.07V |
11.99V |
Test
5 |
13A |
14A |
43A |
622W/
770W |
81% |
34°C/
55°C |
| 3.29V |
5.05V |
11.98V |
Test
CL1 |
18A |
18A |
2A |
182W/
256W |
71% |
33°C/
37°C |
| 3.31V |
5.07V |
12.02V |
Test
CL2 |
1A |
1A |
45A |
553W/
663W |
83% |
34°C/
41°C |
| 3.32V |
5.08V |
11.99V |
Well, then. The unit loves a good heating, it would seem. Efficiency turned out to be even better almost entirely across the board, and the unit is now outdoing its own voltage regulation. Now, we get 2% or better on all three main rails. That's very good indeed. There's not much else to say, besides that I wasn't expecting results this good to come out of a plain gray enclosure like this.
And I still couldn't hear the fan. That's awesome.
|
EA650 |
+3.3V |
+5V |
+12V |
|
Test
1 |

|

|

|
|
Test
2 |

|

|

|
|
Test
3 |

|

|

|
|
Test
4 |

|

|

|
|
Test
5 |

|

|

|
|
Test
CL1 |

|

|

|
|
Test
CL2 |

|

|

|
The picture isn't quite as rosy though, as we look at the oscilloscope shots from the unit, as provided by a USB Instruments Stingray. We get a few weird looking waveforms, and ripple and noise hits a maximum of 70mV on the 12V rail. However, everything here is well in spec. We can't exactly expect Signature 850W results from a low end unit, can we? I don't think I'm going to be too hard on the unit for this. That would be like dinging a Chevy because it's not a Rolls.
Page 3 -
As is the norm for me, page three of the review is dedicated to making absolutely sure the warranty goes bye-bye.

First, a look at the fan, an Adda AD1212HB.

With the cover off, we can see the hallmark of an indy regulated unit, namely those three filter coils on the left side of the picture. Over on the right, we can see the two Samxon primary capacitors below the big PFC coil. The PFC coil is in turn located below a D25XB60 bridge rectifier attached to a heatsink, good for 25A.

As was the case with the Signature 850W, the soldering in this unit is a breath of fresh air. I'll go so far as to say I've never met one as easy to desolder.

The transient filter, located toward the bottom left of this picture (as well as some parts mounted to the AC receptacle), is well supplied on this unit. Three X capacitors, two coils, and six Y capacitors.

Another look at the bridge rectifier and it's heatsink, as well as the primary side of the unit.

The capacitor compliment on this unit was a real grab bag of parts. It was like Delta took a big box full of random capacitors and picked some out as needed. Aside from Samxon, we also get Rubycon, Ltec, Taicon, and Nippon Chemi-Con represented in here.
However, I'm not worried about cap quality in here. Why not? Well, Rubycon, Samxon, and Nippon Chemi-Con are all recognized good quality names for SMPS use. The two others are the unknowns, and they are not found on the critical areas with the exception of one Taicon on the 12V (12V output filtering was done with the Chemi-Con parts), and an Ltec on the 5V.
At the bottom of the above picture, we see the fan controller and OCP daughterboard, which uses LM358N and LM339AN parts. The daughterboard a little further up in the picture contains the PWM and PFC controllers. I'll give you a close-up here:

The controller card holds an LM393N, along with a UC3845B PWM controller and an Infineon ICE1PCS02 which does the PFC duties.

At the top of this picture we have the primary heatsink. Two 20N60C3's in double forward config handle the switching duties, while two more 20N60C3's along with a diode take care of the PFC.
On the bottom is the secondary heatsink. We have two S60SC6M's for the 12V, adding up to a theoretical 120A of current capacity. Next to them is an L7912CV with 1.5A of capacity for the -12V. Moving to the other side are two STPS40L45CW's - one for the 5V and the other for the 3.3V. 40A theoretical limit each, there.
Page 4 -
Performance (40% of the final score) - the EA650 did very well in the cold tests and fabulously well in the hot tests. In nearly every way I can think of, this new Delta platform is a worthy and improved successor to the older Earthwatts designs. It's better designed, regulates better, and is more efficient in general than the EA500 we last tested in January of 2007. I've heard a lot of people complaining about the move to Delta, wondering if perhaps Antec was somehow doing them wrong again, perhaps going back to the time when Antec units used to cut some corners. Well, wonder no more - if the EA650 is any indication at all, Antec has in fact improved their offerings again. Run out and get one if you've been eyeing one, because I'm giving this puppy a 9. Better ripple and noise suppression would have added another half point, but as is it's not too shabby.
Functionality (20% of the final score) - lack of Timbits aside, the EA650 has all the features you'd be expecting from a midgrade unit like this. Enough connectors to do the job, enough power to run a single high power video card, a quiet fan, and a decent warranty. That said, I'm going to take a couple points off. Both of them for cabling. While I do like the sleeving on the main ATX cable, and don't mind so much the lack of it on the other cables due to the simple fact that they weren't a tangled mess, I did find some inconsistency with the cable lengths. Some were too short, leading to connector chains that had some cables stretched tight while others were slack. Some were 510mm to the first connector, others were 500mm. So, the EA650 only gets an 8.
Value (30% of the final score) -SecureMart.com is listing this unit at $72.51. The cheapest price I can find is around $65. Friends, that's an excellent value. Aside from the plain grayness and non sleeved cables, I daresay this unit would keep up very well in a race for performance against the Corsair TX650. If it were the same price as that unit, it would only be a so-so value due to the lack of sleeving and whatnot. But it isn't the same price (unless you consider the rebates)... it's a little bit cheaper than the Corsair by almost a twenty dollar bill. So, the EA650 gets a 9.5 from me.
Aesthetics (10% of the final score) - well, she's gray, she's only sleeved on one cable, and she's just not much to look at. But I have a confession - I'll take a plain gray box with purple/pink labels any day over a pretentious mirror coated off color gaudy Christmas tree ornament any day. While I like matte black best for my power supplies, I don't really mind plain vanilla that much. Especially for the prices these are going for. 7.
|
Performance |
9 |
|
Functionality |
8 |
|
Value |
9.5 |
|
Aesthetics |
7 |
Total Score |
9 |

Summary
The EA650 came to me looking to impress, and impress it did. Those of you looking for a good, reliable, cheap unit that just gets the job done should take a good long look at this unit and maybe buy one. Heck, buy two - they're cheap.
The Good:
- very good voltage regulation
- high efficiency
- quiet
- well built
The Bad:
- only adequate ripple and noise suppression
The Mediocre:
- doesn't come with a free box of Timbits