Testurteil: "4 out of 5 stars"
Test: Einzeltest: Antec EarthWatts Platinum 650W
Zitat: hexus_award_performance_small
Pro: + Platinum-rated efficiency for mainstream wattage
+ Real financial savings to be made if run for long periods
+ Fairly quiet in use
Con: - Expensive for a 650W supply
- Merely average in non-efficiency areas
Thoughts
Antec has revamped its mid-wattage line of power supplies with models that conform to the highest efficiency standard mandated for consumer PSUs. Highlighting that power efficiency of the EarthWatts Platinum isn´t just marketing bombast, as shown by our calculations on the first page, there´s real money to be saved if running at mid-loads for extended periods. Examining the EarthWatts Platinum 650W supply further shows it´s based on a tweaked FSP Aurum design. Crunching the numbers tells us that this is a basic Platinum-certified PSU, focussing on the headline efficiency figure while being at least average in most other respects: Antec´s top-line supplies are reserved for higher wattages, and we will see a premium Platinum supply in the very near future, according to company representatives. Solid, quiet and built from established foundations, the £100 asking price is high for a 650W model. Whether it´s valuable to you depends upon just how much you use it; the premium over, say, a Bronze-certified supply can be made back in less than a year. Bottom line: the Antec EarthWatts Platinum 650W is a mainstream PSU whose focus is on providing super-efficient power. Consider it if you´re really into wattage-guzzling distributed computing. Worthy of a performance award for bringing high efficiency to a mid-wattage PSU.