Introduction and Features

Today Antec debuts their new High Current Gamer line of PSUs designed to provide the reliability and stability that gamers demand at an affordable price. Check out the review – you won’t be disappointed.
Introduction
                   
Antec is a well known name among PC enthusiasts and their line of PC power supplies, enclosures, and PC accessories is one of the most complete in the industry.  Today they are introducing their new High Current Gamer line of PSUs following closely on last months debut of the High Current Pro series. 

Antec High Current Gamer 900W Power Supply Review - Cases and Cooling 37

Here is what Antec has to say about their new HCG series and the HCG-900 power supply we have up for review today:

The HCG series combines proven double forward topology with what gamers are after the most: reliability and stability. The High Current Gamer series was field-tested by one of the world’s most successful gaming teams: Team-Dignitas. The team made sure the power supplies stay true to their name and give gamers the optimal source of power for their high-end systems, even during high-demand situations like LAN events, where systems will run for days on end at maximum load with high ambient temperatures.

Making quad rail power and highly advanced power supply design available at a popular wattage, the HCG-900 features special high current connectors and heavy duty cabling, earning it NVIDIA SLI-Ready and ATI CrossFire certifications. At the same time the HCG-900 is also 80 Plus Bronze certified for efficiency, and features active PFC with a swift, quiet 135mm double ball bearing fan so you know you’re getting not only high current, but also high efficiency and excellent cooling.

The High Current Gamer series consists of five models, with model names based, as always, on Continuous Power output. The MSRP for the HCG series is as follows:

HCG-900    900W        $169.95 USD
HCG-750    750W        $149.95 USD
HCG-620    620W        $109.95 USD
HCG-520    520W          $89.95 USD
HCG-400    400W         $74.95 USD

Antec HCG-900 PSU Key Features:

•    900W continuous power
•    NVIDIA SLI-ready certified
•    80 Plus Bronze certified
•    ATX12V and EPS12V conformant
•    Four +12V outputs (up to 40A each, 71A total)
•    Japanese brand capacitors
•    135mm Cooling fan for quiet operation
•    Multi-core CPU and multiple GPU ready (6+2 pin PCI-E)
•    Universal AC Input with Active PFC
•    All cables sleeved and hard-wired into chassis
•    Industrial grade protection: SCP, OVP, UVP, OPP, OCP
•    Safety approvals: UL, FCC, TUV, CE, CCC, C-Tick, CB
•    AQ5 – Antec Quality 5-Year parts and labor warranty

PSU Testing Methodology

Establishing an accurate load is critical to testing and evaluating a PC power supply.  PCPerspective’s power supply test bench can place a precise 2,000 watt DC load on the PSU under test.  Each power supply is tested under controlled, real-world conditions up to its maximum rated load, using both 115 VAC and 240 VAC line voltage.  Our current suite of tests includes:

•    DC Load Regulation
•    DC Line Regulation
•    DC Cross-load (unbalanced load)
•    AC Ripple and Noise
•    Power Factor
•    Efficiency
•    Differential Temperature
•    Noise

Antec High Current Gamer 900W Power Supply Review - Cases and Cooling 38

The Antec HCG-900 power supply was evaluated on both features and performance.  A full range of equipment was used to test the power supply under controlled load conditions. 

•    (2) CSI3710A Programmable DC load (+3.3V and +5V outputs)
•    (4) CSI3711A Programmable DC load (+12V1, +12V2, +12V3, and +12V4)
•    (2) 200W Precision resistor load bank (+12V5 and +12V6)
•    Switchable precision resistor load bank (-12V and +5VSB)
•    Extech MultiMaster MM570 digital multimeter (Accuracy ±0.02%)
•    Extech 380803 Power Analyzer (Accuracy ±0.5% of full scale)
•    DS1M12 “StingRay” digital oscilloscope (20M S/s with 12 Bit ADC)
•    Powerstat Variable Autotransformer, 1.4 KVA, 0-140 VAC
•    Extech Model 407738 digital sound level meter (Accuracy ±1.5 dB)
•    Custom PC60 enclosure to simulate real-world operating conditions




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