Antec High Current Pro 1200W Review

Performance Analysis

The HCP-1200 proved to be rock solid at both 10 per cent and 50 per cent load; all of the 12V rails ran at a steady 12.1V under half load, which is well within the Intel ATX specification. The news was also good at 100 per cent load, with the 12V lines again standing up particularly well and not dropping below 12V.

One slight niggle, however, is that the 3.3V rail only output 3.18V when the PSU was loaded to 100 per cent of its rated wattage – this is still within the ATX specification, of course, but only by 0.04V. It was a similar story with the 5V rail, which dropped to 4.8V when heavily stressed. Again, this is within the ATX spec, but only just.


In addition to remaining within the ATX spec on all of its rails, the HCP-1200 also proved to be particularly efficient. At 50 per cent load, the PSU averaged 91 per cent efficiency, as it required only 662W from the wall to output 604W to the Chroma machine we used for testing. The HCP 1200’s efficiency dropped slightly to 89 per cent at 100 per cent load but this is still a very good result.

As we mentioned in the Test Setup page, a new area of testing that we’ve introduced for PSUs is hold-up time. This measures how long a PSU can continue supplying power after its AC power input is cut off. This is important for stability, as domestic power sockets can sometimes cut out for very short periods of time. The HCP-1200 proved average in this regard, as its hold-up times of 15.9ms on its 5V rail and 16.1ms on its 12V rails are both just slightly below the 17ms hold-up time recommended by the Intel ATX specification.


We’ve also introduced a ripple test for PSUs, which measures the amplitude of the waveform from its highest to lowest point on the unit’s first 12V rail. In this particular test, a lower score is better, with the Intel ATX spec recommending a value below 150mV. The HCP-1200’s result of 10.6mV at 50 per cent load and 18.7mV at 100 per cent are well within the ATX spec and superior to the results we saw from the Enermax MaxRevo 1350W.

Conclusion

The Antec High Current Pro 1200W was completely stable during our testing, and while its hold-up times may be just outside of the ATX recommended spec, its performance in our power rail ripple test was very good. It’s also well priced compared to the Enermax MaxRevo 1350W, and ran quietly thought testing, despite only using an 80mm fan. As such, the HCP-1200 earns a shiny Premium Grade award.