Antec HCG 750W: Built for Gamers?
by Martin Kaffei on April 12, 2011 8:20 PM ESTMeet the Antec HCG-750
We've tested many Antec PSUs over the years, so this certainly isn't a case of "long time no see". However, most of the Antec products we've reviewed have been higher-end designs with unique features or abilities—for instance, there was the "sandwich" PCB in the HCP-1200 and the environmentally friendly design of the EarthWatts Green 380W. There's nothing out of the ordinary in the HCG data sheets other than the powerful +12V rails. The HCG series seems to represent most PSUs: it's ordinary and "boring". So what makes this PSU into an Antec product?
For starters, plenty of manufacturers have attractive power supplies, but the robust case and red highlights are at least unusual. We've seen designs like this in the higher cost/wattage PSUs like the 850W Enermax Revolution85+ and HuntKeys' X7 1200W. Now Antec brings this aesthetic to lower wattages and prices.
That's all well and good, but Antec cares about quality. They have chosen very expensive capacitors from Rubycon. In addition, as our Antec contact Christoph (Business Unit Manager at Antec) likes to say, "more is better", meaning that two main caps are better than one. The ball bearing fans also last longer than cheap sleeve bearing models, which is another minor upgrade. While these simple elements aren't unusual for PSUs in this price range, they do set our expectations and we're expecting a good showing from the HCG-750.
On the following pages we will see if the caps can reduce ripple and noise and if the fan runs quietly. Moreover, good results can help compensate for the non-modular cables, as they are a disadvantage for most customers. Let's begin with a closer look to its characteristics and delivery contents.
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Mumrik - Tuesday, April 12, 2011 - link
I'm not really sure a PSU can ever be a "gamer' dream"...Don't you need an apostrophe somewhere in that title BTW?
L. - Wednesday, April 13, 2011 - link
Precisely ...Just what is that for a title ?
This PSU does NOT have a single 12V Rail.
This PSU is NOT modular
and it's not even interesting in terms of green-itude.
Alright it's cheap ... but Gamer's havent quite been known for going cheap so far - there wouldn't be any Fermi today if that was the case.
quanta - Tuesday, April 12, 2011 - link
I thought the High Current Gamer line is supposed to be a single 12V rail, instead of quad 12V rail as in the TruePower New series. Even though it has 40A per rail instead of 25A, I am better off with Cooler Master GX 750W, which is a single 60A rail. To Antec's credit, at least when it comes to factory rebate, Antec still pay cheques instead of credit cards.lacrits - Wednesday, April 13, 2011 - link
You are not better off with the Cooler Master GX 750! That PSU has high ripple, poor voltage stability and can't stay to ATX specs when getting close to it's specified max output. You can check several reviews of the CM GX750 from Hardwaresecrets, jonnyguru and HardOCP.strikeback03 - Wednesday, April 13, 2011 - link
I wondered the same thing. If you aren't going to stick to the ATX spec for current per rail why not go all the way and just have a single rail and really not need to worry about what is on which rail?luker3 - Tuesday, April 12, 2011 - link
I have limited understanding of electrical terms, but as I understand it, whether you are on a 120v or 240v circuit you are going to use the same wattage. So, when looking at these efficiency numbers, the benefit is that the PSU is simply wasting less energy in the form of heat. Not, I save on my electric bill.Correct?
JarredWalton - Tuesday, April 12, 2011 - link
Efficiency will save on your electric bill a bit. For example, if you're 90% efficient, than a 200W load on the PSU will draw 222W at the wall; with 80% efficiency, you'd draw 250W at the wall -- so saving about 28W in that case. Running 24/7, however, that means you're really only saving about $20 to $30 per year. Turn off a light in your house and you save the same amount of money.The other benefit is lower heat inside the PSU, which means the fans don't have to spin as fast to dissipate the heat. It's one reason why modern PSUs are generally much quieter than old PSUs. If you run a game that uses 350W from you GPU + CPU + accessories, an 85% efficient PSU would have to dissipate around 62W of internal heat, a 90% efficient PSU would only need to cope with 39W, and an old 72% efficient hunk of junk would have to cool a whopping 136W.
As far as input voltages, 230VAC is easier to convert to the internal 12V. I don't recall the exact reasons, but generally speaking 230VAC will give slightly better efficiency at the cost of worse PFC.
mindless1 - Saturday, July 2, 2011 - link
The slight efficiency difference comes from two things.1) Which voltage it was optimized for, EU has tighter efficiency requirements.
2) Parts tend to have inherent resistive qualities or forward drop voltage loss, both of which increase nonlinearly with current. So, if you double voltage you draw roughly half current which makes that loss go down some, and with component forward drop, for example a rectifier bridge could cost 1.4V drop, which is 50% lower drop as a percentage of input voltage on 220VAC compared to 110VAC.
lacrits - Wednesday, April 13, 2011 - link
Higher efficiency has an effect on your electricity bill. How much depends on how long you use the PSU and what the difference is when comparing two PSU's against eachother. You can not decide if you run your PSU off ~110V or ~220V, you are at the mercy of what the wall outlet provides that you connect your PSU to.In most countries in Europe we have 220~230V outlets. In Americas I understand it's 110~120V.
METALMORPHASIS - Tuesday, April 12, 2011 - link
Most of the time you get what you pay for, and I always look for the best bang for the buck.Take your time,research,look at the reviews, and also count me in on any rebates.
Just let your smarts and pocket book guide you!