Antec Truepower Quattro 1000w ATX PSU
Internals & Cables
Published: 31st January 2008 | Source: Antec | Price: ~£125.00 |
Internal Components
In the past, many people have judged the quality of a PSU on its weight and size of internal components. However, with many manufacturers moving on to newer and more efficient ways of designing their PSU's, it has become increasingly obvious that this is no longer a reliable method for gauging a power supply's quality. By popping the hood on the Quattro we should be able to identify some of the components used and get a good feel for the overall build quality of the unit.
As we can see from the images above, Antec have utilized every single inch of space inside the casing leaving very little leeway between each of the components. Generally this kind of claustrophobic layout leads to cooling issues, but with the oversized aluminium heatsinks that span almost the entire surface of the unit, hopefully this shouldn't be a problem.
Taking a closer look around the interior we can see that Antec have opted for a single, large transformer (yellow component) to power all four of the +12v rails. A smaller transformer can also be seen towards the back of the unit, which is undoubtedly responsible for powering both the +3.3v and +5v rails.
A cut-out has been made in the heatsink towards the front of the unit to accommodate the height of the Hitachi capacitor (blue component). Markings on the capacitor indicate that it is rated at 560uF / 450v with a maximum operating temperature of 105°C.
We've already mentioned that the Quattro uses a single 80mm fan located at the back of the unit for cooling, however let's take a closer look at the specifications:
• Model: AD0812UB-A70GL
• Size (mm): 80x80x25
• Bearing: BALL
• Speed (RPM): 3900
• Airflow (CFM): 50.0
• Noise (dBA): 41.0
• Size (mm): 80x80x25
• Bearing: BALL
• Speed (RPM): 3900
• Airflow (CFM): 50.0
• Noise (dBA): 41.0
While the 41dBA output of the fan may seem intimidating to those who enjoy some level of silence from their PC's, Antec will have undoubtedly installed some kind of monitoring to ensure that the fan speed only increases under heavy load or high temperatures.
Cables & Connectors
Despite the surge of modular PSU's entering the market recently, the Antec Quattro is quite unique in the fact that it's one of very few modular PSU's based around an 80mm fan. The reason that this kind of design is not used very often is that it prevents manufacturers from utilising all the available space at the front of the unit for the modular connector system.
The problem is extremely apparent in the image above-left, where the Quattro unit only has a total of 5 modular plugs (two of which are dedicated to PCI-E power) available for use. This severely limits the number of devices that can be plugged into the unit making it almost impossible to fully utilise the 1000w output. Most other 1000w+ modular units we've tested recently have featured 8-10 connectors, so unfortunately Antec have lost some major points here.
Putting aside the fact that half of the modular connectors provided with the Quattro can't actually be plugged in at the same time, credit has to be given to Antec for the quality job they've done on the sleeving. Not only is every cable sleeved right up to the last connector, but each length of sleeving is held in position with a moulded plastic stopper.
The ATX connector on the Quattro is native 24-pin. However, as you can see above, a small block of 4 connectors can be broken off to switch the connector to 20-pin. As many motherboards still make use of the P4-12v 4-Pin connector, Antec have chosen to include two separate cables for P4-12v (4-pin) and EPS12v (8-pin) standards.
Most Recent Comments
Looks pretty dam good tbh (performance wise...). 900odd watt it can keep its rails to spec and only £125.Quote
Silly me but if a PS says 1000watts it should put out 1000 watts in the real world.Quote
It probably will, that was just due to our load tester not being able to reach 1000w...yetQuote
CSS Valid
(Goes to read review)
Edit: rofl Quote