Antec Edge 650W

[testman78]

Introduction

Antec is a company that i'am always found to never mess around. All of the products that they offer are well respected amongst enthusiasts.Antec broadens its range of modular power supplies with the new EDGE series.The series contains three models, each delivering 550, 650, and 750 watts of continuous power, respectively.All models are 80 PLUS Gold certified.Gold has also been adopted to imply a high level of standard and is used in recognition of items that are above and beyond their peers. In sports, gold medals and trophies are awarded to the first place winners. In music, a gold record represents the sale of a million records. When it comes to power supplies, an 80 Plus Gold standard requires efficiency rating of up to 92% and is priced higher than 80 Plus Bronze or Silver power supplies.Antec, with their latest Edge-series modular power supply line, aims to provide a feature-rich Gold rated PSU at a competitive price.This efficiency effectively reduces electricity bills by 20%.



Specifications:




Packaging & Contents

Packaging has changed a little for the new Edge line of power supplies when compared to other Antec PSUs.An elegant greyscale theme covers most of the box with icons focused on the most important features of this power supply.Antec proclaims that this PSU is Haswell ready.



The back gives you more details about the key features.



The top presents us with the unit dimensions.



Turning things to the other side, we see some figures pertaining to what you might have if you were to make the switch to the Antec Edge.



One side contains a simplified feature list.



This side has a list of specifications as well as a connector availability list.



The unit is shipped with only a layer of cardboard surrounding it for protection.It has been working well for Antec for some time apparently as they haven't changed it.The bundle includes a bag for the modular cables.



Included with the power supply are the user manual,AC power cord and mounting screws and warranty card.



Two sets of silicone anti-noise de-couplers.




The Psu

The psu housed in 0.8 mm SECC steel.The Antec Edge 650W is an attractively finished unit. Antec are using a thick "anti scratch" paint on the surface and it works extremely well.Negatively, it does attract fingerprints easily, but a quick wipe with a cloth removes these.



The lesft side uses hexagonal mesh sporting a gold-tinted Antec logo.The right side has this the other way up so its “the right way up” whichever way you choose to mount power supply.



The top gives us a good shot at the matte black finish and the I/O specification label.



On the back we find the standard honeycomb mesh grill with on/off rocker switch and AC input.



The front features all of the modular connectors and one LED on/off switch.All of the connectors are well labeled.EDGE series PSUs are fully modular with 18 + 10-pin MBU socket, and 16-pin sockets double the modular connectivity, supporting two different 8-pin connectors and even future connectors of 10, 12, 14, or 16-pins.



The bottom houses the 135mm fan that cools the unit.You can also see an Antec badge at the centre of the fan.



Furthermore, silicone anti-noise de-couplers minimize vibrations for enhanced noise reduction.



All cables are darkened and also flat (except for the MBU cable), translating to stealth cables that blend in with your chassis.




A look Inside

It is obvious that the OEM behind the Edge 650 is Seasonic.In terms of component and build quality,Seasonic does not let us down.I spot four heatsinks,the smallest one handles the rectifier bridge,the one near the edge of the PCB cools the active PFC components,and those on each side of the main transformer handle the inversion and conversion transistors of the primary and secondary stage respectively.Two fully-protected High Current +12V rails with high load capabilities ensure maximum CPU and GPU compatibility.Circuit Shield industrial grade protection means your computer's components are safe from any damage from fluctuating electrical currents.



The EDGE series PSUs features a fluid dynamic bearing (FDB) fan with white LED lighting.The cooling 135 mm fan is by Hong Hua,and its model number is HA13525H12F-Z (12 V, 0.5 A, 2300 RPM max).



Line filtering starts with four Y caps, one X cap, and one coil.



The primary capacitor is Rubycon rated 420v/330uF/105c.



All electrolytic secondary side capacitors are either Rubycon or Nippon Chemi-con.All of the polymers are Enesol.



Love those big old Rubycons I see in there.Main filter cap?That one's from Hitachi.



This vertical daughter-board houses an ICE2HS01G resonant controller and an ICE3PCS01 PFC controller.




Test System

In order to review power supplies the right way i needed some key pieces of equipment. Briefly those pieces of equipment are shown below.



SunMoon SM-8800 SMPS ATE
CSI3710A Programmable DC load (+3.3V and +5V outputs)
CSI3711A Programmable DC load (+12V1, +12V2, +12V3, and +12V4)
Extech MultiMaster MM560 digital multimeter
Extech 380803 Power Analyzer
SkyTronic DSL 2 Digital Sound Level Meter (6-130dBa)
Oscium iMSO-104 signal oscilloscope
Oscium WiPry-Combo peak power meter and spectrum analyzer
Sperry DT-506 4 Channel Digital Thermometer
Powerstat Variable Autotransformer, 1.4 KVA, 0-140 VAC


Voltage Variance

Load regulation is very good across the output range.No concerns here.




Cross Load

Cross load results are excellent.All rails held steady even when tasked with high load.




AC Ripple

Ripple suppression falls within the rated tolerance guidelines. The +3.3V and +5V output peak at 20mV and 25mV respectively. The +12V output hits 40mV at full load which is well within the rated guidelines.




Efficiency

Efficiency is very impressive–peaking around 92 percent at 50 percent load.At full load this drops to around 89 percent efficiency.




Temperature

The large fan helps to ensure that rising load demands are met with increased air flow.




Noise

At normal spped,the PSU operates quietly with low-middle loads, but higher loads have the fan speed up, which produces significant amounts of noise.




Conclusion

Having reviewed several units from Antec already i expected good results from the Edge 650w unit, and i wasn’t disappointed.Initially, the power supply won’t leave much of an impression because Antec have opted for a plain black paint finish.That said, most people with side windows do like a black power supply as it will fit in with any colour scheme.The paint is deep and can withstand rough handling. Fingerprints are not an issue.The modular panel is densely laid out however Antec have clearly labelled both connectors and cables to help less experienced users during the build process.The pure modular design will also ensure a neat and tidy build, especially with a windowed panel.The unit was able to withstand quite extreme load variance.Ripple suppression is very good, holding +3.3V, +5V and +12V well within industry rated tolerance guidelines.Load regulation is excellent and it achieves 80 Plus Gold efficiency without a hitch.Antec are using high grade Japanese 105c Nippon Chemi Con and Rubycon capacitors inside the unit, which is again, very reassuring to sustain long term reliability.This power supply is almost seen as a budget psu for Antec, even though it is full modular and 80 Plus Gold Certified.The only downside to this unit is the fact that at higher load figures the fan spins very fast and the noise levels are a little intrusive.I didn't spot any other negatives truly worth mentioning.



For many,a 650 watt power supply is the perfect capacity.The majority of enthusiast gaming systems will require around 300-400 watts under load, so this Edge 650W will be running at optimum efficiency, between 50 and 60 percent load.This power supply is targeting the mass enthusiast audience–those users with around 95 Euro's available who want a capable, good looking, reliable power supply for a new system build.The five year warranty helps to sweeten the deal.I have no doubt that this power supply will serve a wide audience for many years.I am very impressed with this power supply,it is the latest in a long line of success stories for Antec.