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.
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Christoph Katzer - Wednesday, December 31, 2008 - link
We cannot run after every brand there is and if those companies don't come to us... there are surely many more missing but we can only test products from companies that are actually interested in us testing their stuff. We had an Akasa unit before though...boboko - Sunday, January 4, 2009 - link
>"We cannot run after every brand there is and if those companies don't come to us..."I guess that is the problem with almost all review sites. And the worst thing is not that you skip the smaller guys, but that what you are reviewing is not off the shelf, it's sent to you buy a company that wants a good review. So even if they have rotten quality control, and half their stuff is DOA, you know the one they send you has been triple checked and fine tuned. Not your fault, but to me the reliability is MUCH more important than a few extra watts or a few less decibels, and there's just no way to get good data on that.
Griswold - Wednesday, January 7, 2009 - link
If you read the reviews here, you'd know that this assumption is false in general. AT has had junk on their bench on more than one occassion - if every supplier would do what you claim, all reviews would take place in happy bunny land where everything is dandy and no negative notion is possible. But thats not the case.Surely there will be those who go the extra mile to make their product look better than it is off the shelf, but you just cant hide every trace of incompetence and bad quality.
Much like we cant expect a review site buy every piece of hardware to test it and hope they can re-sell it without a loss.
marc1000 - Thursday, January 1, 2009 - link
wow, I know it was said before, but you guys really do listen to us. that's the reason I come here everyday to know the news! keep up the good job at 2009! regards!C'DaleRider - Wednesday, December 31, 2008 - link
I'm just curious why the "old" version of the Antec Earthwatts 430 was dug out and retested since Seasonic is no longer the OEM for it but now has Delta as the OEM supplier and has been for many months now.Seems it'd be only fitting that the "new" version would be tested instead of a version no longer being made or sold, except as NOS (new old stock).
Christoph Katzer - Wednesday, December 31, 2008 - link
If only "someone" could send it to us :] I will make sure to get new revision on time, you're totally right.sprockkets - Wednesday, December 31, 2008 - link
What were those bad things happening to the SII Seasonic PS?JarredWalton - Wednesday, December 31, 2008 - link
I believe Christoph is just saying that he's received an increase number of email messages from people saying that their Seasonic PSUs have failed. It's anecdotal at best, and it could just be a case of more people buying their PSUs and thus a small fraction that fails can still result in more complaints than before.Christoph Katzer - Wednesday, December 31, 2008 - link
Yes ;)There was a revision in the beginning that had problems with certain motherboards somehow, something to do with the "power good" signal. They've upgraded the series long time ago though.
Lonyo - Wednesday, December 31, 2008 - link
I'd just ordered some new parts, including a CX400 about 30 minutes before I saw this article come up.Nice to see that my choice seems fairly solid.
I'm sure this article will be relevant for other people as well.