Antec HCP-1000 Platinum – Hardware Review
Antec’s HCP power supplies have been on the market for quite some time now, but they believe they can still power some of the most demanding rigs of high-performance gamers. This time, we’re having a look at the HCP-1000 Platinum which delivers 1000 Watts, full modularity, high efficiency and a whole lot of cables.
Specs
- Model: HCP-1000 Platinum
- Wattage: 1000 Watts
- Compliancy: ATX12V V2.32 & EPS12V V2.92
- Efficiency: 80 PLUS® PLATINUM
- Dimensions: 86 mm (H) x 150 mm (W) x 190 mm (D)
Exterior Design
The design of the Antec HCP Platinum series is pretty much the same for all of the modals, similar to the HCP-850 Platinum we’ve reviewed a while ago. The HCP-1000 Platinum is a standard size PSU and it looks very slick and minimalistic. It tries to blend in with most matte black modern cases by also featuring a fully matte black design, with the needed branding, labeling and stickers applied to it of course. The front part (the one that sticks out of your case) features a fishnet grille with a power connector and an on-off switch. The sides look pretty slick as well with an Antec sticker featuring the PSU model. On the bottom of the PSU there’s an informational sticker. Overall the power supply looks very stealthy and will fit nicely in matte black cases without grabbing attention too much.
Cables
Antec’s HCP series features fully modular power supplies, and the HCP-1000 is no different. There are loads of connectors on the beast and a lot of included cables to make sure you can power your rig in the most optimal way possible and not have unused cables tucked away where nobody can see them. In the box there’s a nice bag with all the cables you might possibly need in them. Included cables are a 20+4 Pin motherboard cable, an 8 pin EPS 12V which is used for very demanding motherboards like server boards, 6 x 6+2 PCI-E cables for powering graphics cards or other PCI expansion cards, 9 x SATA power cables for filling your case with hard drives and SSD’s, 6 x Molex connectors mostly for older hardware, a Floppy connector for the really old hardware, a 4+4 ATX/EPS cable which is similar tot he EPS 12V and last but not least an OC Link cable which can be used to attach two of these bad boys together for extremely demanding systems, although they’re not redundant so they might not be in place in a server.
One thing to note though is the motherboard cable, on the PSU side you’ll find that this cable actually requires 28 pins which isn’t very common or needed by most systems. It also has 4 added pins for the motherboard, which most systems won’t need either nowadays. However, to keep the PSU’s future-proof, extra pins are added on these connectors because high-end motherboards will become more power-consuming over time so this is a nice way to make sure you can keep using this PSU in a couple of years when upgrading. However, it does seem like these cables were mostly for mid-tower cases. Some cables might not reach all of the connectors in full-tower cases, where some connectors can be pretty far away from the PSU.
Performance
Antec has built the HCP series all around performance as it’s their pinnacle of power supplies. As mentioned in the Cables section, it has you covered for next-gen motherboards with more power-demanding standards by extending the motherboard connector with some extra pins while also including a cable which allows you to connect two of these power supplies with one another. Another thing which screams performance is in the “HCP” name, which means stands for High Current Pro, which is very much true as the PSU is available in up to 1300W. While it does pack quite a punch, it’s also very energy efficient with its 80 PLUS® PLATINUM efficiency running at 94% efficiency under load, which can save quite a bit on the energy bill.
Own opinion
The HCP-1000 was extremely easy to install with its modular design. It allows you to mix and match whichever cables you need for your system and leaves you with enough connectors on the PSU itself to choose from. All cables were just the right length for my medium-tower case and they look great since they’re sleeved in black. The 20+8 motherboard connector did have me scratching my head for a bit though since I didn’t need so many pins, but after a quick skim through the manual and website it was easily resolved.
Conclusion
All in all, while the Antec HCP-1000 Platinum power supply has been on the market for quite a while, it’s still a beast and will satisfy most modern-day gamers and PC builders. It features great efficiency, full modularity, a stealth look, sleeved (and flexible) cables although they might be a bit short for full-tower or even bigger cases. It’s also great that this PSU has you covered for the future with extra pins on the motherboard connector.
Antec HCP-1000 Platinum - Hardware Review,
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