INTRODUCTION

   Just like virtually every single thing in the PC industry the technology behind power supply units never stays the same and so the fast rates of advancement help lower costs so models which just a couple of years ago were aimed mainly at professionals and enthusiasts are now part of the mainstream market. Perhaps the best example we can give currently is to look at 80 Plus Gold certified PSUs which although just three years ago were at the top of the pyramid and cost an arm and a leg (short of speak) to purchase today have fallen third behind 80 Plus Titanium and Platinum certified PSUs. Well it goes without saying that enthusiasts, professionals and even some of the more demanding gamers will choose one of the new Titanium or Platinum certified PSUs for their systems but for the majority of consumers out there 80 Plus Gold is an excellent choice and so because of that today we will be taking a thorough look at the TruePower Classic 650W (TP-650C) model 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’s offering of enclosures includes a large range of cases, such as its technically advanced Performance One Series, cost-effective New Solution Series and server grade cases designed for the needs of all workstation and server markets. Antec’s products also include front line power supplies such as its TruePower Quattro Series and EarthWatts, the most environmentally friendly power supplies available. PC gamers are an increasingly significant consumer of performance components, and many Antec products are geared toward the gaming demographic, like the Nine Hundred, the premier gamer enclosure. Antec also offers a computing accessories line comprised of many original products, including its patented LED Fans and Notebook Cooling solutions. 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.

   Although it's the High Current Platinum, Pro and Gamer PSU lines by Antec that get the most exposure by media the new TruePower Classic line is actually quite nice (at least on paper) since aside the 80 Plus Gold efficiency certification and industrial PhaseWave™ Design the 650W variant comes with two +12V rails that can output 100% of the units power, 4 PCIe power connectors for up to quad GPU configurations, several industrial grade protections (Over Current/Over Voltage/Under Voltage/Short Circuit/Over Power/Over Temperature/Surge & Inrush/No Load Operation),ErP Lot 6 support, Japanese capacitors and a 5 year warranty. Also if the 650W of the unit at hands seem too high or too low for some people there are three more models in the TruePower Classic line two with lower outputs (450W/550W) and one with a higher (750W). So let's see what the brand new TruePower Classic line has to offer and more importantly if it hits the sweet spot between price and performance.

SPECIFICATIONS AND FEATURES

PACKAGING AND CONTENTS

The TruePower Classic series come in a new box with all the main features listed at the front along with the power output, 5 years warranty, Antec logo and a large dark picture of the product.

On the left side we see the features list printed in 4 languages while listed on the opposite side are the electrical table and available power connectors.

Antec has also placed the features list at the rear in 8 languages.

The 80 Plus Gold certification, 5 years warranty and ATX v2.4 features are mentioned at the top of the box.

Once you open the box you will see that the TP-650C is placed between two cardboard spacers.

Aside the TP-650C PSU you are also getting 4 mounting screws, AC power cable, product overview paper and a warranty paper.

THE TRUEPOWER CLASSIC 650W EXTERIOR

Unfortunately the TruePower Classic line is not modular and so all of the power cables are hardwired into the chassis (however due to medium output there's little need for models like the TP-650C to be modular).

An 120mm intake fan is used with the TP-650C.

The model name and its output are printed on both sides.

As usual the electrical table along with several certification icons is placed on a large sticker placed on the other side.

At the rear of the enclosure we see the usual honeycomb perforation along with the on/off power button and the AC port.

THE TRUEPOWER CLASSIC 650W INTERIOR

The 120mm dual ball bearing brushless fan used is manufactured by JAMICON Electronics (mostly Seasonic uses this brand) and can reach speeds of up to 2200RPM with 81.17CFM of airflow and 36.8dBA of noise.

Not the cleanest interior layout ever but the unit does seem to be manufactured by Seasonic so that's good news.

The primary capacitor used is part of Hitachi’s HU line (470uF/420V) and is certified for use up to 105 Celsius.

For secondary capacitors Seasonic has used United Chemi-Con KZE ones (2200uF/25v) also certified for use up to 105c degrees.

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

Since the TP-650C is not ment for enthusiasts we didn't expect to see stellar performance still its rails are quite tight.

POWER CONSUMPTION

Our test system did manage to squeeze up to 628W from the TP-650C.

NOISE LEVELS (DBA)

44.5dBA at load is not bad at all although the fan may achieve higher numbers when the PSU hits 650W.

CONCLUSION

   I've been testing PSUs by Antec for roughly 7 years now and no matter how hard i try i can't even remember a single model that failed to deliver on its advertised features, specifications and/or performance so when we received the TP-650C (and the TP-550C which we will review later on) a couple of weeks ago we knew exactly what to expect. I have to say that i was a bit surprised (in the good sense) that Antec teamed up with Seasonic once again in order to manufacture the new TruePower Classic line but what matters in the end is that Antec provided the specs and Seasonic their excellent craftsmanship so the end result couldn't be bad. Rail stability proved to be very good for its class, the TP-650C can output up to 650W continuously, has two +12V rails designed for gamers, is quite inaudible even at full load, is 80 Plus Gold certified and comes with a 5 year warranty. Unfortunately it's not modular and so some consumers may take that the wrong way but there's little need for the small number of cables of the TP-650C to be modular (in the end that feature would just up the price and you'd still end up using all of them).

   One of the things I’ve believed for as long as i can remember (and will continue to believe) is that you always get what you pay for with not many exceptions for the best or worst to that rule. Well the TruePower Classic 650W power supply unit may not be perfect but i really think that it just might be an exception to that rule since it currently retails for just USD99.99 inside the USA (Newegg) and for 105Euros inside the EU (Amazon.co.uk). Granted the TruePower Classic 650W is not the sole 80 Plus Gold certified PSU at around that price range from many other manufacturers including Seasonic, Corsair and EVGA so in the end it's all about performance and personal preference. That being said thanks to its performance, features and specifications the Antec TruePower Classic 650W is a very good solution for people on a somewhat tight budget and that's why it gets our Golden Award.

PROS

- Build Quality
- Performance (Rail Stability)
- Almost Inaudible
- 80 Plus Gold Certified
- Two +12V Rails (100% Output)
- 5 Years Warranty
- Price (For Some)

CONS

- Not Modular (For Some)