INTRODUCTION

   One COMPUTEX is over and another E3 has just begun so naturally things are somewhat chaotic these days with all the people going back and forth to attend both shows. Unfortunately although many manufacturers revealed quite a few impressive products during this year’s COMPUTEX we were unable to attend we did however managed to have some of those products delivered to us to start on their reviews before they were even unveiled in COMPUTEX so that in a way makes up for that. To be completely honest with you some of us are way more interested in this year’s E3 since there are going to be (or at least should be) several ground breaking game titles presented there such as Chris Roberts Star Citizen/Squadron 42, Call Of Duty Ghosts, Star Wars Battlefront, Thief and Elite Dangerous by David Braben. So if any of you end up going there remember not to miss out on these amazing upcoming game titles (if you are not worry not, you can check E3 at our friends over at Gamespot). Leaving E3 aside today we will be focusing one of the products presented in this year’s COMPUTEX the HCG-750M High Current Gamer Modular 750W PSU by Antec.

   Antec, Inc., is the leading global brand of high-performance computer components and accessories for the gaming, PC upgrade and Do-It-Yourself (DIY) markets. Founded in 1986, Antec is recognized as a pioneer in these industries and has maintained its position as a worldwide market leader and international provider of efficient, quiet, and reliable products. Antec has also achieved great success in the distribution channel, meeting the demands of quality-conscious system builders, VARs and integrators. Antec is headquartered in Fremont, California, with additional offices in Rotterdam, The Netherlands, as well as in Germany, China and Taiwan. The company’s products are sold in more than 40 countries throughout the world. Please visit www.antec.com for more information.

   Antec has designed the entire High Current Gamer line not for professionals or enthusiasts but mostly for demanding gamers so the HCG-750M comes ready with an 80 Plus Bronze efficiency certification (up to 88% efficient), two +12V rails, Japanese heavy-duty capacitors, several industrial grade protections (OCP,OVP,UVP,SCP,OPP,OTP,SIP) and is backed up with a full 5 year warranty. Certainly Antec could have given the new HCG-750M 80 Plus gold or platinum certification by using different components and topography but that would certainly up the price quite a bit something which would make little sense considering that they already have such solutions available in their High Current Pro line. So the time has come for us to see exactly what the latest HCG-750M has to offer and in a way to see just how it compares to its predecessor.

SPECIFICATIONS AND FEATURES

PACKAGING AND CONTENTS

The HCG-750M arrived inside a typical black/yellow Antec box with the model name in large letters on the front alongside the Antec logo, NVIDIA SLI Certification sticker and the 80 Plus Bronze Certified sticker.

Listed on the right side are all of the available modular connectors.

The electrical specifications table is placed on the left side.

At the bottom we see 3 images pointing to three of the unit’s main features.

Moving at the rear we find the specifications list written in 6 languages.

The HCG-750M is safely packed inside a second cardboard box.

The bundle is not the richest one ever so aside the main unit you are also getting a cloth cover, modular cables, AC power cord, installation screws, warranty paper and a product overview paper.

THE HCG-750M EXTERIOR

The HCG-750M follows the normal ATX design and features a nice black matte color.

Antec is using a 135mm LED fan to keep the temperatures inside the unit at a minimum.

On both sides we see the Antec logo and a large sticker with the Antec logo (again), the model name and the power output.

The electrical specifications are placed on a large sticker on the top.

Cable sleeving extends all the way to the interior of the unit while the modular connectors are both different in size and are also tagged. What really surprised me was the on/off LED button for the fan.

At the rear we find the typical honeycomb perforation, the on/off switch and the AC power port.

THE HCG-750M INTERIOR

Antec has used the same ADDA model fan (different controller however) as they did back in 2011 with the original HCG line the only difference is that this particular model features clear blades with LED illumination. This 135mm fan can reach speeds of up to 2500RPM and produce airflow of up to 82CFM with just 36dBA of noise.

The interior layout is very clean and is divided in 3 sections by 3 heatsinks.

Primary capacitors used are made by the Japanese Nippon Chemi-Con and are rated for use up to 105°C.

United Chemi-Con is the manufacturer of the secondary capacitors rated at 105c.

TEST BED

TESTING METHODOLOGY

     Using a dedicated measurement instrument such as a Chroma or a SunMoon to test power supply units is without doubt the most ideal and accurate way (not to mention the fastest) to do that currently. However it's certainly not the only way there is and so pretty much anyone can test a power supply unit just by using a computer. Certainly limitations do apply and so you can't really test a 1000W power supply if your system only uses 500W at peak loads and that's why during the past 5 years i have saved certain hardware components for the purpose of building a dedicated PSU test rig. True it may not be as accurate as the above mentioned solutions but it comes really close and is in fact closer to real world usage. So as always we ran several games with maximum graphic options enabled at a resolution of 2560x1600 in order to stress every hardware component and increase the overall power demands of the system. The Passmark BurnIn Test was also used to overstress the components in an effort to provide the most accurate results possible. As a final test we also used the latest OCCT 4.4 software and its dedicated PSU testing suite since it can really bring a power supply to its knees after inside a few minutes.

     Rail stability was checked/measured with the CPUID Hardware monitor and a Metex multimeter which also recorded the system load in idle and in load. As always try to remember that the power consumption numbers listed in the graph are the highest (Peak) ones recorded during the entire duration of the tests and not the average ones. Noise levels coming from the fan were recorded using the high precision HD600 ExTech Sound dBA Meter from the rear of the unit and at a range of no more than 5-10cm. Readings under load are recorded the exact moment we manually switch the fans of all graphics cards from full speed to almost zero, that way the fan of the power supply does not have enough time to slow its RPM and so by doing this we get very accurate noise level readings. Needless to say in order to get 100% accurate readings you need to have a noise isolated room for that exact purpose, something which is quite impossible unless you are working inside a real lab (some people use very small noise insulated boxes but due to their size both heat and noise exceed normal levels and so the results can't really be considered to be 100% accurate). Also do take into account that since all noise measurements take place from just 5-10cm away the final noise levels to reach your ears will be far less.

TEST RESULTS

RAIL STABILITY

We've seen tighter rails in the past but considering that we overloaded the HCG-750M quite a bit these are actually very good.

POWER CONSUMPTION

We were lucky in this review since our test rig managed to squeeze up to 812W from the HCG-750M without it shutting down.

NOISE LEVELS (SPL)

The ADDA fan is not the most silent one ever but compared to the one used 2 years ago it's actually quieter.

CONCLUSION

   One of the things i like about Antec is that they like to update/polish their lines in regular intervals and that's basically what their brand new High Current Gamer line is. Naturally as expected they have updated the entire design with new and improved components (even added an LED fan with an on/off switch) to justify the launch of a brand new line but if you already have one of the previous High Current Gamer PSUs (especially the HCG-900) then i see no reason to get one of the new ones. On the other hand if you are out to purchase a new PSU with good performance, relatively low noise levels and good performance the new HCG-750M could be the right one for you.

   Antec just launched the new High Current Gamer M line so they are not widely available yet (we were only able to locate them in just 4 online stores globally) so you can expect their prices to drop even further. Right now however judging solely by the few stores we did find carrying it the HCG-750M comes at a retail price tag set around 160USD inside the USA and 130Euros inside the EU. Of course as usual the competition is fierce on most price segments but in the end there aren't really that many manufacturers currently in the market one can trust like Antec (5 years warranty is also something not many have in their mid-end PSUs). Regarding the HCG-750M its performance is very good, it's almost inaudible even at full load (and then some), the LED fan is a nice touch (especially since there's also a LED on/off switch present) and the price tag is not half bad so naturally it walks away with our Golden Award in hand.

PROS

- Build Quality
- Performance (Rail Stability)
- Almost Inaudible
- LED On/Off Switch
- 80 Plus Bronze Certified
- Future Proof

CONS

- Price (For Some)