Antec HCP-850 Platinum – Hardware Review
The HCP-850 Platinum is part of Antec’s highest-end power supply series. It offers 850 Watts to play with, features excellent efficiency and is fully modular. “The pinnacle of power supplies” is what Antec claims. Let’s take a look and see this PSU can live up to its expectations.
Specs
- Model: HCP-850 Platinum
- Wattage: 850 Watts
- Compliancy: ATX12V 2.4 & EPS12V 2.92
- Efficiency: 80 PLUS® PLATINUM
- Dimensions: 86 mm (H) x 190 mm (W) x 140 mm (D)
Exterior Design
A power supply is typically a simple box, not too much you can do to really change that. What manufacturers can do is go all out with the finish and detailing of their product. That’s exactly what Antec did. The HCP-850 doesn’t look special from a distance but you’ll notice the premium feel once you get up close. The outer shell has a matt black finish and some subtle styling elements. Antec’s branding was also done with taste, not being too obnoxious.
Cables
All members from Antec’s High Currency-family are fully modular. It means that the power supply has an interface to which you can connect all cables yourself. Provided with it, is a bag of all cables you would need in even the more extreme systems. Special here is the 20 + 8-pin motherboard power connect, instead of your typical 24-pin one. It makes sure you are all set for the future, in which power demanded by motherboards will probably increase as they’ll deliver more performance. You’ll also get an OC-link cable, which will be discussed a little further in this review. The rest of the cables include everything you’d need to power any motherboard, up to 9 drives, 6 additional Molex connectors, a floppy connector (nice addition) and enough connectors for a 3-way SLI configuration (whit each card requiring up to double 6 or 8-pin power cables). Only issues you’ll face is when you have a big case, you’re going to need some extensions of which none are included with the product. It would also be nice to see some cable kits with a varied range of colours come out to go with the unit, something a lot of custom pc enthusiasts care about.
Performance
“HCP” stands for High Current Pro, which is Antec’s most high end line of power supplies. The name explains itself when at 50% load it performs at a whopping 92.35% efficiency. Even when powering 2 graphics cards, you’ll still be running with impressive efficiency. Included with the unit comes an OC-link cable. You’ll be able to connect 2 of these PSU’s together to power up some insane machines. Together with a 7-year warranty and 24/7 tech support, the HCP-850 (or multiple ones) is a great power solution which will be able to power the most demanding rigs, for a long time.
Own opinion
Installing and using the HCP-850 was both easy and enjoyable. Everything about this product feels premium. I did have to get some extensions for proper cable routing inside of my XL-ATX case. Apart from that, the variations between the daisy-chained connectors allowed for optimal usage and a minimum of clutter. The cables were also easy to bend, which is often a problem with the 24-pin motherboard connector. That was achieved by allowing some of the wiring to remain unsleeved near the connector but all those are coloured black and result in a very clean and neat look.
Conclusion
The HCP-850 Platinum delivers excellent efficiency. Being fully modular, you’ll have total control over your cable management. 850 Watts is also the right amount for both more extreme systems and normal systems operating at an optimal 50% load. It would be nice to see some optional coloured cable packages for custom builds. In general this power supply is definitely a great choice for pc enthusiasts and power concerned users alike.
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