The
12V rails only dropped .16V over all. That's VERY good and gets the
Antec an 8.5 score here. Efficiency averaged 75%, so the True Power
gets a score of 7 for efficiency. The lack of PFC hurts the performance
score and the fact that the PF is as low as .66, .71 and .74 at the
loads most typical of a real life power supply means this power supply
only gets a score of 4 in this category.
Another
observation to make is the heat coming out of the back of this unit.
Although the intake temperatures are typical of all of my power supply
tests (naturally, room temperature is going to defeat air conditioning
when you have 400W of power exhausting into the room) the exhaust
temperature of the PSU was as high as 50°C! That's insane! As I get the
"hot box" ready for the Antec, I wonder if it can get any hotter.
Results from True Power 2.0 550W HOT load tests
+3.3V
+5V
+12V1
+12V2
Watts
Efficiency
PF
Intake
Exhaust
Simulated system load tests
2A
5A
3A
3A
119.3W
73%
.66
30°C
37°C
3.37V
5.06V
11.95V
11.96V
5A
10A
7A
7A
249.4W
77%
.71
31°C
38°C
3.34V
5.03V
11.91V
11.91V
7A
14A
11A
11A
370.1W
77%
.74
32°C
42°C
3.30V
5.00V
11.89V
11.86V
10A
17A
15A
15A
488.2W
75%
.75
33°C
46°C
3.28V
4.97V
11.85V
11.82V
10A
17A
17A
17A
534.4W
73%
.75
35°C
50°C
3.27V
4.96V
11.83V
11.80V
10A
12A
18A
18A
533.3W
73%
.75
38°C
50°C
3.27V
4.97V
11.83V
11.79V
As
we can see, any drop in any of the rails is not even worth mentioning.
It's as if the PSU simply did not care how hot the air being pumped
into it was.
I
did find out that the thermal protection is in fact set to 50°C because
after half an hour in the hot box during test 6, the PSU shut off. I
knew it was thermal protection because I couldn't turn the PSU back on
with just a simple hand held PSU tester. I pulled the unit out of the
case and it was actually so hot that I couldn't hold it in my hand. I
set it down on the floor and let it cool down, and not until half an
hour later did the PSU come back to life.
Panasonic 1200uF 200V caps on the primary side.
This
brings up another concern. Channel Well built Antec's typically use
Fuhjyyu capacitors on the secondary side. If there's anything Fuhjyyu
caps don't like, it's heat. Given the high temps of this unit, one has
to question the longevity of the unit. I'd hate to taint a review with
speculation, but it's not as if stories of long term failure are
nonexistent on the web.
All Fuhjyyu's on the secondary side.
For
this review, the score will not be affected by speculative long term
effects. The Antec still gets a 10 for surviving the hot box testing
without any change in voltage, efficiency or power factor.
As
for the crossload test, the Antec stood up to very low 3.3V and 5V
loads (3A and 4A respectively) and continued to deliver 11.87V and
11.83V on the 12V rails cold, and 11.85V and 11.82V on the 12V rails
while crossloaded in the hot box.
True Power 2.0 550W
+3.3V
+5V
+12V
Test 1
Test 2
Test 3
Test 4
Test 5
Although
the fluctuations in the 5V were great, at least they were consistent.
The 5V would consistently waiver 1%, which is not that good especially
in the lower loads, but at least it never got worse than that.
So now that that's all done, let's take a look at the scoring....
Performance
8
Aesthetics
6
Value
8
Functionality
7
Total Score
7.5
Performance (weight of 40%) gets a 8because of it's excellent voltage regulation, it's resistance to the
hot box. It could've scored better with Power Factor Correction and
better efficiency.
Aesthetics (weight of 10%) is 6. It's as old school, gray box power supply as you can get. Hey! Anyone seen Jeff Goldblum? I'm looking for a beige case.
Value (weight of 30%) score is an 8. It's
tough enough to find a 550W PSU for under $100, never mind a decent one
or even one that's both SLI and Crossfire certified.
For functionality (weight of 20%,) I'm giving this power supply an 7.
It has just enough cables. Again; not much sleeving, no 8-pin EPS, no
AUX. Just the basics. And some thermostatically controlled fan
connectors to boot.
So there you have it. 7.5is the final score. A well rounded score for a well rounded PSU. Sure,
you can find better for more money. More power, better finish, more
connectors or sleeved or modular connectors, but over all this PSU
really does stand out. If not for being flashy, for just being a good
solid power supply.
SUMMARY:
The
Antec True Power 2.0 is an excellent choice for the builder on a
budget. Solid rails, SLI/Crossfire capable, and no apparent crossload
issues.
I
would easily suggest this power supply for use in a build with a pair
of Nvidia 6x based cards or even a pair of ATI x1800 cards. Maybe even
x1900 if the build doesn't also have to power a RAID, a TEC or a pump.
The
only technical draw backs are it's lack of power factor and mediocre
efficiency. On a subjective level, the power supply's complete lack of
"bling" may steer those with window cases away.
The Good....
Solid rails that didn't even move while under punishing heat
SLI and Crossfire certified
The Bad....
No PFC
The Mediocre....
Mediocre efficiency
Kind of plain looking
Other than the ATX cable, no sleeves on any of the cables
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