Page 4 - Minor Tests and Conclusion
Power supplies are interesting products, because often, reviews of products in this category are conducted and tested in methods that make it difficult to distinguish one power supply from another. Many aspects must be taken into consideration. Certain criteria consist of efficiency, noise, power ripples, and of course the ability to pull out the rated specifications. Because many cannot afford such equipment to obtain results regarding those aspects, articles covering power supplies often come out with less than adequate and acceptable information. As this is a product report -- not a review -- what we are doing is a close examination of the power supply and the internal hardware and build. But what we can do for you is do some minor testing with the results we can present to you with and let other review sites with professional equipment show you the actual test results. We are not going to try to create useless test results by installing the power supply into the latest gaming rig and try to take readings from that, as this is not even remotely the correct way to test power supply units. We understand that many websites do that as a means of load testing, but the results, even if you use an oscilloscope and multimeter at each output location, it is not sufficient, nor does it accurately reflect the performance of the power supply.
Using our power supply tester which exerts minimal load on the power supply, the initial consumption was 8W as measured by our wall meter unit -- indicating that the basic load-free power consumption of the power supply is very good. Independent reviews from websites with professional load testing equipment showed the Antec Signature Platinum 1000W delivered industry-leading efficiency for its class and matchless voltage regulation and ripple across all rails. This is an 80 Plus Platinum certified power supply unit.
Voltages with minimal load are generally accurate, which is a basic requirement of power supplies out of the box. In this situation all are within 2%. The PG (Power Good) delay seems to be well within its rated range and general power supply standard of 360ms.
Active power correction is important to correct AC load line loss. In AC power, there are three components to it; as there is a phase difference between current and voltage. This makes up the power triangle, which consists of the following: Average usable power (P, measured in watts), reactive power (Q, denoted as VA-R), and total power (S, written as VA). While they all have the same physical units, it is not the same thing as aforementioned. What we want is the average usable power with as little wasted reactive power as possible. The total power provided over the AC line is the magnitude of the two combined (sqrt(P^2+Q^2)). Power factor can then be easily calculated by P divided by S. The ideal value is 1.00, and this is where active PFC comes in. The Antec Signature Platinum 1000W has active PFC, and the power factor will approach 0.99 with a nominal load.
The Antec Signature Platinum 1000W is silent to quiet power supply, depending on the amount of power being drawn. Under idle level loads, or less than approximately 40%, the Signature Platinum 1000W is inaudible, because the fan can be shut off completely in Hybrid Mode. Under moderate to high loads, which is above 40%, the 1000W Signature Platinum is very reasonably low noise. Personally, I found the Ong Hua HA13525H12F-Z to be very good, even when spinning at maximum speed. While this is very subjective, I am quite a picky person on noise. On a scale from 0 to 10 where 0 is silent and 10 is the loudest, I would rate the Antec Signature Platinum 1000W to be at 0.0/10 when the fan is off, because, well, the fan is off. Above that, I would peg it at 2.5/10 acoustically under moderate loads. The fan is reasonably quiet even at full speed. If you are a silent PC enthusiast, the Antec Signature Platinum 1000W simply will not disappoint.
Antec provided this product to APH Networks for the purpose of evaluation.
The Antec Signature Platinum 1000W is one of the best power supplies in the market today with exceptional performance in every meaningful metric according to our affiliates with professional load testing equipment. It is based off the renowned Seasonic PRIME platform, so you know it delivers flawless output and excellent efficiency for its class. Antec's unique OC Link feature allows you to operate a pair of these in tandem should your demands call for it. This is a combination that is hard to compete against. With low to no noise in operation in Hybrid Mode and a long 10-year warranty, the Antec Signature Platinum 1000W is simply amazing. I could not find a retail price at press time, but if you can get it at a good price relative to its platform mates, this is a PSU that will last you for years to come.
Page Index
1. Introduction, Packaging, Specifications
2. Physical Look - Outside
3. Physical Look - Inside
4. Minor Tests and Conclusion
