Testing results
Our Chroma load-testing procedures can be found at this link.
Efficiency
| Load | 10pc | 25pc | 50pc | 75pc | 100pc |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Efficiency | 85.1pc | 91pc | 92.5pc | 90.9pc | 89.8pc |
There tends to be myopic focus on PSU efficiency these days, driven by the 80 PLUS organisation that doles out the various Bronze, Silver, Gold and Platinum awards. Our testing equipment shows the supply manages to exceed 90 per cent across a wide range of loads. The numbers are broadly in-line with other Platinum-rated supplies that have passed through the labs in recent months.
Regulation
In terms of regulation, we're looking at just how well the supply is able to hold to the various lines. The ATX spec. has a +/- 5 per cent leeway on all but the -12V line.
| Line/Load | 3.3V | 5V | 12V |
|---|---|---|---|
| 10 per cent | +0.5pc | +0.4pc | +1.0pc |
| 50 per cent | 0pc | -0.3pc | 0.1pc |
| 100 per cent | -0.8pc | -1.2pc | -0.6pc |
Antec's HCP-1000 doesn't over-volt (which is good) as much as some other supplies when a low DC load is produced. PSU companies like to see a maximum sway of ±2 per cent on high-quality supplies; the HCP-1000 manages that, according to our findings.
Regulation - cross-load
How about providing uneven loads that stress particular voltage rails? In the first attempt, we've put 80A on the 12V rails, and 1A on the 3.3V and 5V rails. This can actually be somewhat typical for a system heavy on graphics and CPU power. In the second, we've turned the tables and gone for 12A on both the 3.3V and 5V rails - highly unlikely in a real-world environment - and just 2A on the 12V - even more unlikely!
| Line/Load | 3.3V | 5V | 12V |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cross-load 12V focus | +0.2pc | 0pc | -0.7pc |
| Cross-load 3.3V/5V focus | -1.4pc | -1.5pc | +0.9pc |
Hammering one part of the PSU power delivery while using just a small portion of the other can throw cheaper supplies of out kilter. Numbers stack up nicely against the non-cross-load tests, which is a hallmark of a decent supply.
Ripple
| Line/Load (mv - p-p max) | 3.3V | 5V | 12V |
|---|---|---|---|
| 10 per cent | 12mV | 10mV | 15mV |
| 50 per cent | 15mV | 15mV | 20mV |
| 100 per cent | 25mV | 15mV | 30mV |
The ATX v2.2 spec states that the maximum permissible ripple is 120mV for the 12V line and 50mV for others.
PSUs convert AC power into DC, but doing so requires the AC waveform to be suppressed. What we're really testing here is the quality of the supply's rectifier and any smoothing capacitors in getting rid of this unwanted up-and-down ripple.
Per-line ripple excellent for the 5V and 12V lines but a little off for the 3.3V; we'd normally want to see 15mV for this. We're not overly concerned with this slight blip in performance, however, and it may be a sample-specific issue. It's also unlikely that users will be able to tax the full 1,000W for long periods, because you'd need a silly-spec. build to do so.
Temps
| Temperatures | Intake | Exhaust |
|---|---|---|
| 10 per cent | 27°C | 30°C |
| 50 per cent | 33°C | 40°C |
| 100 per cent | 37°C | 48°C |
Barely getting warm internally when pushing 100W and decent, if not outstanding, at 50 per cent and 100 per cent loads, the very fact that the supply is rated to produce huge outputs at a 50°C ambient temperature means it's easily performing within specifications.
Noise
We'd class the 135mm fan as very quiet at all loads below 650W. It begins to produce a low, consistent hum when running at 700W-plus, in-line with other high-end supplies. And, of course, if you do manage to pull near the capacity of the supply, which takes some doing, the noise from the other fans in the system are likely to drown out the supply's. We'll be stating the RPM of the fan(s) in upcoming reviews, to provide quantitative analysis rather than the qualitative descriptions previously in this section.
