300W to 450W: 20 Power Supplies on the Test Bench
by Christoph Katzer on December 31, 2008 6:00 AM EST- Posted in
- Cases/Cooling/PSUs
Antec Earthwatts 430W
The Antec Earthwatts 430W comes in plain grey and is equipped with an 80mm fan at the back of the power supply. Even though this power supply is an older model, we felt that we should include it again in our roundup because it is still available and is generally well regarded. The label provides the typical information we find on power supplies, with the expected figures for a 430W maximum output. Two 12V rails of 17A each are enough for most users, and the combined 12V power of 360W is quite acceptable. 360W combined equates to 15A for rail when both are "fully" loaded. We would be hesitant to try to use this PSU with one of the top-end graphics cards, but if you're using a power supply with a single 6-pin PCI-E connector you should be fine.
The inside looks familiar to other Seasonic-made power supplies, since Seasonic rarely changes their basic internal design. Of course, that doesn't mean the power supplies themselves are actually the same. There are several differences, and we expect this unit will be at a slight disadvantage. Antec uses an 80mm exhaust fan located at the rear of the power supply, but the heatsink design would normally use a 120mm intake fan. We expect this unit to be slightly warmer and/or noisier than similar designs that use a single 120mm fan. Nippon Chemi-Con manufactures the primary capacitor.
Other than the main 24-pin ATX power cable, the cable harnesses are sleeveless. Antec has taken a very simple approach in terms of appearance, and the only concession to keeping the cables tidy is the use of cable ties spaced over the length of the cables. The length of the harnesses is average, with the last Molex connector just 80cm from the power supply. The main connectors are all on 50cm cables. The quantity of connectors could have been better, but a normal midrange PC shouldn't require more than what Antec provides. There is only one 6-pin PEG connector, which makes sense considering the overall wattage and target market.
Facebook
Twitter
RSS
39 Comments
View All Comments
Martin84a - Monday, January 5, 2009 - link
I think it says the german and the english site, run things pretty seperately.250watt, 16a on the 12v rail that results in a ~300mV ripple. That's a lot. We are not even talking 80% or 100% of its max rated capacity.
I know that are "allowed" to vary 10% on the 12V rail, but i still think it is a testament to the quality of the PSU. Look at the competetion next to it, nearly straight line.
I recently had an Antec Truepower 480 watt dying on me. I had it for a little more than 3-4 years. Prior to buying it i did a tons of research. Anandtech also gave it a very good score. Today it is clear that a lot of these has failed, because of some very shitty caps being used. You don't see this in most of the reviews, because they only test if for a day or a week or so. Warranty is a big deal for a lot of people, including myself. I won't buy western digital or maxtor anymore, because i have had too many dying on me, granted they have been running for 3-4 years. Seagate give a 5 year warranty as the only HDD manufactor, so of course i pick them.
The same with PSU's, I still consider the Seasonic S12II a good PSU, but i would rather pick a PSU with a better warranty.
kenyee - Friday, January 2, 2009 - link
They just don't make them as well as they used to. I bought one of the expensive ones a year ago because it was the quietest around at the time...croaked after a month. Didn't bother sending it back under warranty because I didn't think it was worth it. It also doesn't support older 2.0 systems which I did send it back to them for but they could have told me via email :-PFinraziel - Thursday, January 1, 2009 - link
Although I understand what you're saying about the 10% load and how no PSU comes close to 80% efficiency there, would it be possible to still post the actual results of the different psus rather than only the rather blunt comparison in the graph? Many systems may not go far below 20% load with these psus, but if you're intent on setting up a very efficient pc it's not that hard to approach or even duck onder 30 watt idle. So in those cases, even though it's not close to 80, it'd still make a big difference wether the efficiency is 50, 60 or 70%...Christoph Katzer - Thursday, January 1, 2009 - link
Did a small update to the efficiency page. Thanks for the suggestion.sonci - Thursday, January 1, 2009 - link
So, best PSU regarding efficiency should be ENERMAX Liberty ECO, cause for 24/7 use, you hardly need 50% load..?Christoph Katzer - Thursday, January 1, 2009 - link
Depends on your system power requirements. There is a difference if you just need 50 watts or 150. Check the power consumption first, then check in which state you are running most of the time and then check which PSU would fit best. From some of the tested units we have separated reviews already where you can check the exact efficiency at a specific load.JonnyDough - Wednesday, December 31, 2008 - link
You really DO listen to your readers! KUDOS. You're one of the few companies that does.sonci - Wednesday, December 31, 2008 - link
AnandTechThankyou for your honest work..
Happy new year!!
JeBarr - Wednesday, December 31, 2008 - link
I can vouch for the S12II 330W and it's ability to run an hd 4850. Originally I had installed the FSP group ZEN 400W fanless, but due to orientation of PSU inside of htpc case did not allow the heatsink to function as designed, so I gave the seasonic a try and have no regrets. It also helps that the rest of my components are low-power, of course.marc1000 - Wednesday, December 31, 2008 - link
why does akasa products never show on Anandtech?? well, I have one Akasa AK-P300PG (or something like that), it's a 300W unit. I used to power a Pentium-D 945 with a radeon 3850 (now i have a C2D e7200) and it works just fine. silent and stable power. It's a great product that could be included in future reviews.by the way: HAPPY NEW YEAR!!! :D