[jonnyGURU] Antec HCP-850 Platinum Review

[NEOAethyr]

Nah, what I mean by non standard cables is the atx 20 pin in this pic labeled mb:
http://www.jonnyguru.com/modules/NDR...num/Image2.jpg

It's not a 20 pin atx lol, it's wired way different.
I found that out looking for the pson wire.
I figured it out though and I also found out the oc link is just a pson and a ground, makes sense (I figured this but wanted to make sure before putting power into it).

I installed the psu about 2-3hours ago.
It was a hassle though.

1st thing I did was compared the cables between my seasonic x750 and the new antec hcp850 platinum.
I then realized I shouldn't get angry about the cable quality, both psu makers used aluminum pins and connectors lol.
So I thought to myself, ok whatever, I can deal with this prob later on some other day.

So I started hooking it up, only to find out another bummer of sorts.
The 8 pin eps is to short, I couldn't route it, I had to go straight up to the board instead of behind it.
I used a twist tie so it wouldn't get chopped up my my 2 deltas I got on my side panel.

There's also 3 sata cables, all the same length.
1st 2 sets were fine, long enough. 3rd set, not long enough for my bdr burner .
You'de figure they would include one cable that was longer just for this type of prob...

Ok now on to the biggest prob.
Every single ide and sata cable can only be hooked into 12v1.
There's 5 of those cables btw, not 6 ^^, what I mean is that there's an empty port on the back of the psu that you can never use lol.

I assume they wanted me to hook the motherboard up to 12v1 as well but I opted to use 12v2, again losing another port but who cares at this point.

Another thing that miffed me...
There is 3 sets of pcie cables, 2x 8 pins, separate ones, and another 2x 8 pins that aren't separate (cheap...).
Now the only way of hooking that one cable up, sets it up to use 2 separate rails for a single card.
I just said screw that!, no way.
So I checked it with an ohm meter and figure out which 8 pin is on what rail, so when the time comes I can setup 1 card to use 12v3 and the other 12v4.

Anyways enough with the bad stuff.
The only thing that really ticks me off with it is the cables, they all suck.
And making them all black, stealth cables lmao, wth they cheaped out on the cables ^^.

Oh and the voltage levels are way to high.
After hooking it up the levels were the same on load with 0 load :\, that's both a good thing and a bad thing.
It's bad because it's way to high lol...
I may tear this thing apart and mod it if it's even possible.
For now I don't know, it bothers me to all heck though.

Anyways the psu is a good one, it's way more steady then even the seasonic I had.
Way better.
I logged the soft readings for over an hour and a half and they didn't budge an inch, soft readings lol ! .
That's impressive.

Pc is quieter, even though the 12v is higher.
Temps are way lower, I was talking to my cousin about this showing him the readings, I was telling him this is odd, but really cool.
He's asked what could cause that?, a rebuild getting the dust out?
I told him no, I've done that before and I've never had 11c cpu dts temps with a normal ambient temp.
He said maybe it's because the pump is running faster, that may be true.
But we were both a bit confused because the sb and nb temps are way lower too.
Heck even the hard drives are faster now (maybe they like the higher volts, or maybe it's just the cleaner power...).

It's a good psu no doubt, but the cabling really does suck.
Best psu I've ever had so far.
Worst psu so far in terms of cabling though lol.

Oh and I didn't get a case badge heh, but I could care less though (edit: oh it wasn't a case badge thing, it was a velcro thingy, I got that so nm ..).

If anyone gets this psu, I only need say one thing, make yourself some new cables.

One more thing, no high pitched coil whine.
This psu won't give you tinnitus lol, health wise it's ok .

And antec if your listening.
Ensure that your psu's don't go past 12.20v, 5.14v, and 3.50v...
Plus seasonic has a one up on you guys when it comes to the connecter setup.
I mean really, 6 ide/sata connectors and only 5 freaking cables lol ? ^^
Spend a $1, use copper pins..., or better, gold plate them for longevity and solid connections.