ANTEC 1300 User Review

[whyscotty]

Antec HCP 1300W "80+ Platinum" Modular Continous Power Supply

http://www.antec.com/product.php?id=706571&fid=357

REVIEW LINKS
http://www.techpowerup.com/reviews/Antec/HCP-1300/1.html
http://www.hardocp.com/article/2014...t_pro_platinum_1300w_psu_review/#.U5sXTvldW9E
http://www.jonnyguru.com/modules.php?name=NDReviews&op=Story&reid=374


I've had this set up since Feb '13 and have run into a couple of issues with PSU's.

Either they couldn't provide enough power(PSU would shut down) or the PSU was very loud.

So to have the opportunity to try Antec's top dog was to good to pass up.

My previous PSU's were Evga 1300 and the Corsair AX1200i


So before I start, I would like to thank ACE Modder for providing me with this PSU to test(try to kill)

Below is the rig it will be powering.




Rampage IV Extreme
3930K
TriSli Titans


As this is a user review I'll not be covering the normal gumf on packaging etc as that can be found in the links above.

So I'll get into the fitting and connecting up of the PSU.




After fitting the PSU itself the first thing I noticed was how stiff the cables are,

the cables look and feel thicker than some of others I've used.

This I would imagine may cause problems if it was being fitted in a smaller case (less roomy) than mine.



The one thing that let the cables down was the braiding is not the best and the fact it doesn't go all the way to the connectors


Another stumbling block I hit was with cable routeing as with my case being slightly bigger than most,

the 8pin cable for the CPU power and one set of GPU PCI-e cables only just reached.




With that out the way onto the main course,


Day to day I run my rig @ 4.4Ghz and my Titans at stock.

All the PSU's I've tried have coped very well, apart from one thing NOISE.

The noise they made when under around 900 watts gaming load can be/is annoying on a otherwise quiet setup.

This little beauty is virtually silent compared to the others, as the load increases so does the fan speed which was inaudible upto around 800 watts

I had to hit around 1100 watts be fore I noticed the fan, the only time I used this sort of power draw was when benching.



Now on to benching.(well pretend benching at best)

This PSU had no problems running a [email protected](1.52volts) and 2 Titans 1315/7600 (1.325volts) no v-droop

I'm using a custom bios on my Titans that allows for upto 600 watts(no balls to push that far)

The only issue I had was with this PSU being multi rail - each rail is clearly marked.

I had to make sure I split the load correctly otherwise I had shut downs thru user error - Yes I had a few till I got it right.

My AX1200i couldn't get near those clocks/volts before shutting down.


Now my main reason for wanting to try this psu, was to see if I could overvolt 3 Titans and still run my 3930K @ 5.0Ghz.

Alas, this proved to be a bridge too far.
It hit the wall @ around 1440watts
This was quite a bit more than the AX1200i managed and similar to the Evga PSU's.



So, what are my thoughts on this PSU.

Overall quite impressed with the performance and how quiet it was under load.

Pro's
Well made
Not too big compared to other makes
Ample cables for whatever you need to connect
Can take some serious stick
Very quiet even under load

Cons
Cables are very stiff and may make routeing awkward in confined cases.
No decent user manual
Multi rail is a pain to split the load correctly




Only one gripe, spending over £200 on a PSU I would expect /want individual braided cables


The question is would I buy one - YES

Even more so that they are on offer for £199.99

YOUR BASKET
1 x Antec HCP 1300W "80+ Platinum" Modular Continous Power Supply £199.99
Total : £209.59 (includes shipping : £8.00).



Once again thanks to ACE Modder for the PSU

I hope I've covered the important things and you enjoyed my first attempt at a review.

 

[Ace Modder]

Nice review. Seems the antec out performed the Evga you owned before and that's a super flower unit.

Nice to see you think this is a better unit

 

[LtMatt]

Great review Scotty. Looks like a beast power supply and lovely rig setup too.

I have to say im not a fan of those cables though. My old powersupply (the one you recommended to me ) had similar designed cables and they were a bit of a pain. They were not quite as smart as those though.

What do you mean splitting the multi rail load is a pain? My psu fu is weak so forgive me if this is a stupid question.

 

[whyscotty]

Great review Scotty. Looks like a beast power supply and lovely rig setup too.

I have to say im not a fan of those cables though. My old powersupply (the one you recommended to me ) had similar designed cables and they were a bit of a pain. They were not quite as smart as those though.

What do you mean splitting the multi rail load is a pain? My psu fu is weak so forgive me if this is a stupid question.

Cheers,

This PSU has 4 x 50Amp rails, but is rated at 108Amps max combined.

So I had to ensure the loads were split across all 4 rails so to prevent overloading 1 rail.

IE - GPU's had a rail each and the rest on it's own rail.

Hope this makes sense?

 

[Ace Modder]

The psu actually shows you which modular port is which rail number too

 

[Gregster]

Great review Neil

 

[davido_labido]

Very nice review mate. If I had the hardware to justify a PSU at this wattage I think I'd definitely go for the antec after reading this.

Ok, a few minor issues, but nothing that would be a massive issue.

 

[khemist]

Thanks for the review!, i would consider it if i needed a psu that powerful.

 

[~Mike~]

Nice review scotty.

Only one gripe, spending over £200 on a PSU I would expect /want individual braided cables

This.

 

[Ace Modder]

It's £199.99 at the moment

 

[RetrogamerX]

Awesome review Neil.

 

[Annihilation]

Thanks for this - Been looking at PSUs recently.

 

[stulid]

It's £199.99 at the moment

Actually cheaper than the 1000W I reviewed.

 

[Ace Modder]

Yes, special offer on at the moment, ends on Wednesday.