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- Date:
- Tuesday , January 29, 2008
- Author:
- Paul Johnson
- Editor:
- Kyle Bennett
- Google +1
Antec NeoPower 650 and NeoPower 650 Blue
Antec is one of the most recognizable names in the industry when it comes to power supplies and chassis. Today we have a look at two units that are now considered "mid-range" offerings. So what makes an Antec 650w Blue?
Antec NeoPower 650
Build Quality
The Antec NeoPower 650 features a single 80mm fan design that is the preferred cooling solution by some brands. The major downside to this fan design is that to move a sufficient volume of air to cool a high output power supply, such as the OCZ ProXStream and PC Power & Cooling Turbo-Cool 1KW-SR, it must spin very fast resulting in elevated noise levels. While these 80mm designs are not great for quiet computing environments the key criteria in our evaluation is whether or not the cooling solution is sufficient, not necessary its sound level or form factor and our comments on such later are not absolute decibel values.
External Build Quality
The Antec NeoPower 650 is finished in a flat painted steel gray that is rather resistant to scratches. The color is certainly unassuming and is neither exciting nor revolting, but users with windowed cases looking to show off their hardware may not see much in the aesthetics of this unit. Since the unit features an 80mm fan the back of the unit is dominated by this fan and the on/off switch. There is no voltage selector switch as the unit is full range. The front side of the unit has the fixed cables and the connection points for the cables that are modular along with the square grated vent through which air from the case is drawn in.
The NeoPower 650 comes in at a total length of ~5 7/8 inches while the cables come in at a length of ~17 inches to the first or only connector. Additionally, the cables are all fully sleeved in black mesh.
Internal Build Quality
Once the screws securing the housing are released we are left looking at a power supply that too many people think doesn’t look like a Seasonic made power supply due to the heatsink structure. However, this is a Seasonic unit and the heatsinks used here are the same form as those found in some other Seasonic power supplies with 80mm fans including the X900, and the US version the PC Power and Cooling Silencer 750 which we reviewed a while back. These heatsinks are ridged in order to provide a larger surface area to dissipate heat in the air stream produced by the lone 80mm fan. The fan that is paired with these heatsinks is an ADDA fan rated at 0.25A at 12v. With the fan removed we can see on the PCB, next to non-user serviceable fuse, that this particular PCB is used on power supplies ranging from 360w to 650w including a 620w model.
On the primary side we see that it is neatly constructed and that the bridge rectifier has its own heatsink which is bent under the main heatsink and faces back towards the fan. On the primary capacitor we have a hard time making a lot of things out because of its orientation as it is squeezed in the middle of the unit next to the main transformer and the condenser label faces out of the unit. However, the primary capacitor is a Nippon Chemi-con rated at 400v 470uF 85c.
On the secondary side we see a number of things. While not part of the secondary we do see the small PCB that is mounted next to the AC receptacle that houses the majority of the input filtering components. Then on the complete opposite end we again see a small PCB that makes up part of the back of the modular interface with a few 12v (and 5v) leads running to it. The 12v leads correspond to the solder point labeled 12v2 (however the unit is a single 12v rail unit). Along the lines of cables we see all the cabling bundled and zip tied with the cables that are fixed sleeved back into the power supply housing with a wire guard and a zip tie to secure the cables to the housing. It seems that Seasonic and Antec were taking no chances with these cables coming loose or getting damaged. Finally we see that the power supply secondary is filled out with OST capacitors which certainly aren’t horrible (and typical of lower end Seasonic builds that are cost down by price point or the brand utilizing the build) as opposed to the Japanese electrolytics found in Corsair branded Seasonic units, PC Power and Cooling branded Seasonic units, or even the more mid/upper range Seasonic S12-II. Also while looking at the OST capacitors here on the secondary, we notice that the one in particular is not exactly well seated (this was also seen over by the power markings on the PCB but was unable to be photographed well). From this angle we can also see that the legs on the capacitors throughout the secondary side have not been trimmed as they protrude from the bottom of the PCB far enough that if the unit was not mounted on the tabs from the side of the housing that it is they would touch the bottom of housing.
Build Quality Summary
The build quality for the NeoPower 650 is good like we typically see from Seasonic built units. The primary side uses a Nippon Chemi-con but unlike many other high end Seasonic built units the secondary is filled out with Taiwanese capacitors from OST, that are poorly trimmed, as opposed to Japanese capacitors like on high end Seasonic units. The remainder of the build quality is very good with large heatsinks that are well matched to the single 80mm, good clean wiring, clean modular interface, and exterior finish.