The overhead shot makes it quite obvious that this unit is built by Seasonic.
Above is a shot from the primary side of the PSU...
And here is a shot from the secondary side. All of the capacitors are OST except for the primary, which is a Hitachi.
Above
we can see that there is no grommet or even plastic ring around the
hole for the DC output wires. Instead, the steel is rolled in to
prevent accidentally cutting the wires.
Above, more OST's. Below is the Hitachi primary I told you about.
So now that that's all done, let's take a look at the scoring....
Performance (weight of 40%) gets a 7.5.
Because efficiency, ripple and voltage regulation were all good, I'm
going to score this unit relatively high. But hopefully Antec can fix
the problem of the PSU exploding in favor of just tripping so next time
around I can give it a higher score.
Aesthetics (weight of 10%) is 6. It's as old school, gray box with only the main ATX cable sleeved.
The Trio could've
hit it off big time in the Value department (weight of 30%) if it had
survived test 6, the one with the maxed out 12V rail. $120 is an
awesome price for an efficient 650W with APFC. But there's no value in
having one pop on you if you load it up too much. So the value score is
an 7.5.
For functionality (weight of 20%,) I'm giving this power supply a 7.5.
It has just enough cables and they do seem to be plenty long, but none
but the main ATX cable is sleeved. At least there are some
thermostatically controlled fan connectors!
So there you have it. 7.5is the final score. A well rounded score for a well rounded PSU. Sure,
I wouldn't go around bragging about it being "650W," but it is
efficient and quiet and it does have active PFC. For those that do
need a bit more than your average 500W or 550W unit, the Trio should be
a contender.
Performance
7.5
Aesthetics
6
Value
7.5
Functionality
7.5
Total Score
7.5
SUMMARY:
The
Antec Trio is a great budget PSU. It does have solid rails, is quite
efficient, quiet, has active PFC and SLI/Crossfire capable. The only
thing I can't report on is longevity. Keep in mind that the Antec Trio
is not built on the same platform as other Seasonics, such as the
Corsair HX units, the PC Power and Cooling Silencer or Seasonic's own
S12 and M12 models. But at $120, it's certainly far from overpriced.
The Good....
Good voltage regulation
High efficiency
Active Power Factor Correction
The Bad....
Couldn't handle claimed capability of +12V rail when put in the Hot Box
The Mediocre....
Ugly gray box
Other than the ATX cable, no sleeves on any of the cables
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