Ok, everyone who reads Anandtech and can use one of these 380W PSUs in any of your current or future rigs please raise your hand. anyone? hello? (crickets) anybody?
Who thought it wise to waste their time reviewing this? I won't even read it.
I enjoyed the review, especially its technical component layout. It's nice to see Antec is making quality affordable, unlike PCP&C which makes quality unaffordable :)
I think you'd be surprised at the number of people using this size of power supply or even smaller. A lot of people even run dinky Pico power supplies. I have a couple rigs using 330W Seasonics, but I should be using even smaller supplies. I don't play ANY video games onboard video is fine for media server, or computers that crunch data.
If I have a media server with a i3 530 that draws 35W idle and 100W load, I'd want a small power supply to make it run in the 80% efficiency range if possible. I'm looking to build a new one and am going to read the article. Even if it is not the power supply I want, I might still learn something.
The only system you should need a > 380W PSU in is your gaming rig. Since you can't play games on more than one system at a time, the rest of your systems won't need it unless you're a quite extreme overclocker.
it's $45. I've seen their True Power line at 550 Watts on sale for a few bucks more. the features i would get for spending an extra 10 and the extra capacity would just void me wanting to use this.
but i did forget about the HTPC crowd. still waiting to try it but in the USA HTPC won't take off as long as you can't just decrypt cable/fios/direct tv with your tuner card which i hear may be in the works. still waiting for it.
Except you'll probably never use that extra capacity, meaning that you'll have lower efficiency for no reason, costing you much more over the life of the PSU.
Additionally there's more than just HTPCs, home servers are usually on all the time and they usually lack high-end CPUs and video cards, I plan to build a torrenting machine that will hopefully draw VERY little power as it will only serve to torrent and have websites open when I'm gaming, there are lots of people for whom programming is their life who don't even have (or need) high-end processors. Realistically we're past the point where the advances in speed really help the average computer user, these days a low to mid range dual-core and an SSD are all the upgrades that most people actually benefit from. If I was asked to build a new computer for any of my relatives I can't think of a single one who I would end up building a computer that draws more than 400W, and I myself will probably never have more than one computer that does either (if even that) it's simply not necessary.
HTPC not taking off? You've got to be joking. Practically everybody I know has a computer hooked up to their TV, if not just for streaming netflix, it's good for web browsing, youtube, hulu, itunes, etc. Then you have the more savvy users that have 1TB+ video libraries. Windows Media Center was a joke, yes, and using the PC to watch TV is a joke, yes, but those are just about the only TWO things wrong with the HTPC.
for what i want my HTPC to do....we are not there yet. it's not replacing my cable box or my tivo box yet and it can't do video on demand with the cable company. when it handles those 3...i'll get rid of both and build an htpc.
is that htpc able to do everything the cable box does right now? tivo?
i've looked into it and i have a more hassle free experience with my tivo and my cable box as the technology stands in the USA.
until htpc's can do video on demand and decrypt video without going thru hoops they won't take over, maybe you and your 3 to 5 geek buddies have htpc's but i don't know anyone. guess i need more geek friends.
A top-of-the-line i7 rig with a Geforce 460 or a Radeon 5850 fits comfortably in a 380W envelope. I'm guessing the reason you don't know that is because you "won't even read" Anandtech's actual power consumption tests. The only people who actually need more than this are people with SLI/Crossfire rigs or GF 470/480 cards. And they make up only a tiny fraction of the people reading Anandtech. Many people aren't even gamers, in which case a 200W PSU would be plenty with modern CPUs.
"jensend" is absolutely correct. I'm sick and tired of trying to correct people that think they need a 600W PSU for their i5-750 + GTX 460 build. I'd say 90%+ of builds (yes, including your ever so awesome gaming machine) would be more than fine using this PSU.
Unfortunately, finding reliable sources to link to can be difficult - and who is more reliable than Anandtech? How about a short "How Much PSU Do You Really Need?" article using modern hardware, done Anandtech style?
i7-920 12GB RAM 2 x HD 5850 Two 120GB SSDs 1TB HDD DVDRW 500W Enermax Pro87+ PSU
Power draw idle: ~125W Power draw load: ~350W
Note that that is total system power draw at the outlet, so accounting for efficiency it looks like the whole system is maxing out at around 300W power output from the PSU. I'd still be hesitant to try to run such a system off a 380W PSU, because I like my safety margin, but a 500W PSU works admirably.
One key to understanding things in life is not to think of how you cannot use something or how something doesn't apply to you, it is to think beyond yourself and how something might apply to others.
I have not 1 but 2 Antec 380W psus (1 of which is this same version, the other an older one). I can say from experience that not only are they reliable but can handle pretty much anything you plan to do with them that doesn't require a serious graphics card.
Hi. I read Anandtech and already own this exact PSU (bought it about six months ago to go in my HTPC). Wish this review had been up before I bought it, but better late than never. Nice to see my decision vindicated somewhat... I've been very happy with it.
Personally I am far, far, FAR more interested in a review of a PSU like this than of some $250 gold plated 1000W monster. Not only does this Antec capably power my HTPC, it'd also power my quad-core gaming rig without breaking a sweat. People grossly overestimate the amount of power their computers use.
Allio: "Personally I am far, far, FAR more interested in a review of a PSU like this than of some $250 gold plated 1000W monster."
Seconded. I hope Anandtech keeps publishing technical reviews of mid-range and lower end power supplies, especially inexpensive power efficient models.
As JarredWalton notes above, a 380 watt PSU can power a pretty high end machine. Even at Anandtech, I'd guess something like 85% of the readers don't need anything better. In the general population, whom lots of us make recommendations for, that number is more like 99.5%.
Your comment is quite a WTF. For HTPCs, non gamers AND for 99% of gamers this PSU is more than enough. It seems you haven't read much of anything on Anandtech.
I have to agree that for the most part we overestimate our power needs. As a side note this 380W PSU is a likely candidate for some of their case/psu combo's so it could be generating interest for that as well.
I've had some problems with Antec of late though .. (I build 40+ computers a year) so overall this review is lukewarm for me.
Not everyone is like you. I bet most here don't need high power PSUs.
In the old days even "normal" people were getting 400W power supplies because the P4s sucked (many had a TDP of 130W).
Nowadays many PCs only use 100-200W. Using a >=500W power supply would be less efficient since most power supplies are less efficient at low loads or very high loads.
My main desktop plays most of my games fine and I only have a 9800GT. Low fps for Crysis, but hey its Crysis ;).
And my home server uses only 100W. So I'd be happy to buy a cheap/affordable, efficient and reliable 380W power supply for my next PC.
I do have one system with moderate power draw and one system with a little more power draw(900) but it makes no point to surf with this one.sorry, no crickets!
I have 3 systems with 380W supplies. Overclocked i5 with overclocked 5770, overclocked i3 with overclocked 4850 and a fileserver.
If you aren't playing games at 100 FPS on a 30" display you can get by with a pretty minimal power supply. I really appreciate some attention to the normal person.
Why do we want a 500-700W supply when none of my systems use more than 250W, and that's only when I'm running Furmark and purposefully trying to max out power usage. 380W has plenty of headroom just about anyone using their machine for things other than just raw benchmarks.
Yes, I consider this kind of PSU since the first green series. It has been used in Antec NSK4480 case. I consider this a VERY good choice for corporate PCs. PS: Not every PSU goes under the reader's desktop.
I used one of these for an esx server. Yeah yeah its not exactly a server PSU but its fine in a home environment. I wanted good efficiency since its always on and low cost, this thing delivers both!
Although this might seem small, it is still too big in my opinion to be considered green. If you are claiming to be green, how about something in the 250W range, or smaller! A gamer is probably not going to bother looking at this article anyway because they think they need 1000W, even though they could probably do with much smaller. Come on it's like buying 94 Octane when most of us drive Corollas.
I think its becaus there trying to target the mid range market as well ;) they mention something about it in the second to last paragraph in the conclusion... then again you can always check the first page of the review to they have a mention of it there to.
"A gamer is probably not going to bother looking at this article anyway because they think they need 1000W ..."
Most readers and gamers here are computer and physics literate people - not withstanding the ignorance of the second top-level commenter above - who know they only need 400 -700 watts for a high-end SLI/Crossfire gaming machine, and 200 - 300 watts for anything less. Many of us also build HTPCs for the home, and the occasional machine for friends and/or family, or advise them in their own purchases.
You really should readjust your expectations and cliches in accordance with that.
I use a lot of PSU's in this range. Most budget gaming rigs that I've built over the years have been around this size of PSU (power wise that is). If your not OC'ing and you don't have some really demanding (power-wise), than this kind of PSU will work just fine.
I have a system with a x1800xt GPU and dual core AMD CPU on it. It has been running fine on a lower wattage PSU (Antec Smart Power 350w) and I've had NO issues whatsoever with it. Yeah I might be running it closer to it's limits when doing heavy gaming, but it has been a solid and steady PSU.
I also have another system being powered with a predecessor to this one (Antec 380w Earthwatts) and it has been just fine too. This level of PSU is plenty for a office PC or even decent HTPC's too. Even the budget to mid-range gaming system will be fine too. It all depends on your load and if your going to OC a lot or a little.
Just replaced a Truepower 380 watt which is just 2 months under 6 years old. One thing I noticed as it began to slowly go downhill was the thermostatically controlled fan got slower and slower. Then it began to not turn on, first only for a short time but the period steadily increased until it died.
One standout comparison between this power supply and just about everything else I've seen is it has always run at a much higher internal temperature. Just placing your hand in the exhaust stream of the fan was telling.
Now to be fair, I generally don't see power supplies go more than about 5 years - so this one dying at its age is probably acceptable. However, the heat that this thing operated at leads me to question whether I want to buy another Antec.
It is certainly difficult to judge from a technical spec review whether any given product will last a long time. It could look real pretty when new, and die 2 years later. I want to know how to identify the unit which will be expected to last 5, or more, years. Not an easy or straightforward task.
you'll want to check your air routing in your case and make sure most of the hot air isn't exiting through the P/S... I ran an antec 500w true power for 4 years and the exhaust barely turned a mild warm under gaming... i then sold the system with it still going strong, but I had a 120mm exhaust taking care of the cpu heat
I did a couple of tests reducing the 120mm exhaust speed and if brought too low, the P/S exhaust got incredibly hot because it began picking up cpu heat
I've been looking for ages for good quality PSUs that aren't rated for 600+Watts. I don't think most people realise how little power the average PC uses, even gaming rigs, until you get a Kill-A-Watt style power meter and see for yourself.
My rig has an overclocked Q9550, ATI 4850, 4GB DDR2, 4 x 7200rpm HDDs, 1 SSD, 2 x DVDRW, Discrete sound card, 3 x 200mm fans, 2 x 140mm fans
It never goes above 280W at the wall, assuming a generous 85% efficiency that is under 240W that the PSU is putting out.
Good on Antec, I have a 380w Antec power supply from 7 years ago that still works great. It is difficult to find decent power supplies that aren't over 600 or 700 watts. Also, I want to know that if I put a power supply in somebody's computer that it will last and not toast their gear. Its good to know Antec is still building decent power supplies for every day computers. I might need a higher wattage unit for my gear, but its good to know that if my Mom needs a new power supply I know where to go. I recently purchased a 500w modular design for my own system. I wonder if that old Antec will still be working when my new one dies.
More information is always better. Good PSU reviews are hard to come by. Keep it up.
As more people in this thread point out, this is not a 'nice little power supply' - it's got a really high rating. For 99% of the people, this power supply still is very much overrated. You do link to an article that shows an i7 or Phenom II X6 system to idle under 100W, but the reality is - most systems built today don't break 100W full-load.
Of all computers I built in the last 3 years, I recorded the power consumption and none broke 75W load. These are all IGP computers but look at the market share of these things; IGPs are probably 90%+ of the graphics processors. For all these computers, a picoPSU 150W with a 90W adapter would be enough.
And I'm not talking about anemic hardware either. The core i3 has been mentioned before, and if you have a motherboard that actually supports the lower voltages that both core 2 and core i-generation processors sport, the DC power consumption of a core i3 530 or Pentium dual-core E5200-system in idle can very well be about 20W, and about 40-45W under load. If you'd want a matching power supply here, you'd need a 100W PSU.
I think these smaller PSUs do have a market although it's of course psychologically hard to say 100W is better than 400W - more is better, right? More headroom, stuff like that. Besides - the reason that lower rated PSUs don't really exist (outside AC adapter bricks) is that they would carry a disproportionate price tag. Where you can get a 330W PSU for 36$, a 100W version would probably be 25$. Maybe, if they want to cater the truly green pc builder, they even need to price it higher to allow for more efficient topologies. I'm talking virtual chokes (=PFC with smaller, less lossy components but more silicon), synchronous rectification (the single biggest efficiency boost in these devices) and multilayer PCBs allowing for more efficient layout.
Hey anand, Thanks for the in depth review of this power supply! I find it nice to see you guys doing the midrange aswell.
Overkill isn't nessicarily good. Currently have a Q6600 (@3.0ghz) 4gb ddr2 800, and a geforce 8800GTS and idling on 150W. This is all powered by a OCZ 700W which for me is overkill.
Power supply's like these in these time become attractive for a lot of people. So I think it is a good move for them. Besides, a lot of people can run their PC setups flawlessly with this powersupply.
Funny, I bought this PSU 2 days ago, after checking here to see if it was reviewed. Glad to see I made a good choice, since I based it on NewEgg reviews. I'm going to put it in a fileserver that will pull double duty as a HTPC for a little while.
Also, if anyone is looking for a deal, this PSU is 45+3 shipped at NewEgg right now, they also have a combo deal where you can get it and an Antec 300 case for 85+6 shipped, a 20 dollar discount. Not bad at all if you want a fileserver, or just aren't into the design of modern gaming cases.
In my sugo sg05 with the stock 80+ 300W PSU (great psu btw), i can run a core i3 530@4ghz coupled with a HD 5850/GTX460 ( i tried both gpus) and stay under 220W at full load. So yeah 300W is enough for a quality PSU provided that you stick with dual cores. 350W for quad cores plus powerful gpus.
But what's the point of buying a so-called quality 350W or 400W PSU if it's at the same price than 500W or more still very good PSUs...Less power for the same or sometimes higher price to gain 2% efficiency. Not to mention that "He who can do more can do less" so better buy a 500W quality psu than an overpriced extra-quality 350W. Should be quieter for a given load.
In addition, i have a 380w earthwatts antec PSU and while it's damn expensive, it has only a 80mm fan and it's louder than 120mm fan discount PSUs.
Very refreshing to see a quality PSU in this segment. The wattage race is really getting out of hand. If someone posts about system crashes or poor performance, and has anything less than a 750W PSU, people instantly tell the person to upgrade the PSU. A week later, the original poster returns, saying the shiny new 1200W PSU did not solve the problems, and the original 550W PSU was more than enough for a 65W dual core CPU and a 100W GPU...
I helped a company a year back switch their internal computers to 10w - sub10w systems for basic things...such as email, work and writing up documentations and analyzing to improving business growth. A 400w supply truly means that I am using 25 - 30w more power on basics...
As far as HD goes, there are laptops which run 720P (though 1080P is the desired resolution) which draw a lot lower amounts of power....
This is why I frown on things like this....like when someone tells me I should buy ATI to save power on graphics to be able to do basic things, I simply wonder..."Why don't enough people who run on basic things buy basic laptops or sub-10w systems?"
The sub-10w systems based on nano-ITX boards also allow a LOT of space to be saved...specially since you wont have tons of towers floating around. I received an email a few weeks ago when they were moving to a new building they managed to put in two boxes, 100 nano iTX systems for their employees to transfer to their new building. As for monitors, that was another story....
I have owned one of these since March and it has functioned without incident.
I bought it in a hurry after I found that the cables on the other, more powerful PS I had purchased for a new build for my wife's use were too short to reach the MB's in the Antec 300 case that she had approved of for its cosmetics.
None of the other PS's I had laying around would reach either, so I assumed that an Antec would work. I bought the cheapest available since I had already exceeded my original budget. I have no regrets, which is the best compliment I can make for a PS.
This is not a very quiet psu. Or, I should say its predecessor the EA 380 has a noisy fan, especially with a little dust on it. Maybe it unbalances the fan. But even with the dust gone it makes too much noise. In a room full of computers, it is the EA 380 we all hear, and it is not a pleasant sound..
Larger fans move more air more quietly than this one does. This was absolutely the last psu I will get that has an 80mm fan.
The noise would have had nothing to do with the size of the fan. You'll wonder when you stress a power supply to its limits the fan will always turn louder which is good and necessary for cooling. It always depends on the bearing type in fact. There might have been something wrong with the fan which can unfortunately happen, but a blank statement 80mm fans are bad is very wrong. They are able to cool the PSU internals much more efficient for example. The air goes straight through without being rerouted.
A few years ago I read about how much PSU efficiency can be useful both to save on electricity and the environment, so I began looking for a 80plus certified units that didn't cost an arm and a leg. I found this very EA380W which had stellar reviews, the right size and a reasonable price of about 50 euros. If they made a 250-300W 80plus model I would have chosen it, because most system doesn't exceed 150W in full load
I've already built about 8 systems for my clients with this PSU (mostly office workstations). for its cheap price you get antec quality, plenty of connectors, all sorts of protection & its whisper quiet. i would reccomend this product to anyone building a reliable cost efficient workstation.
I've used and installed many of the older EA 380 units which are also 80+ rated and now a couple of these.
You can power a lot with them, a 3Ghz Q6600 and power sucking Radeon HD2900 or how about Q6600 and 8800GTS G92 512MB SLI. Both ran fine for regular extended gaming sessions.
I currently have one in an X2 5000 home server with a nvidia 7025 itx mainboard. Consumption is around 40W at idle so a quick calculation later (77% net @ 38W) and It's £7 ukp ($11 usd) per year of waste electricity for 24 / 7 / 365 operation.
While pico PSU and mini itx can be more efficent, the cost of the hardware negates the energy savings over a typical system lifetime.
As per a previous post, it would be good to see an article for low power systems <50W and <100W as more of us are using a purpose built 'efficient' home server or media centre and the data to make environmental and TCO based buying decisions is very hard to find.
Clarkdale i5 650 with a modest overclock (3.6ghz, 1.33v vcore) 4gb DDR3 RAM (2x 2gb) GTX 460 1gb (single card) 1 SATA hard drive 1 DVD-RW Using on-board audio 1 additional 120mm cooling fan 25% additional capacitor aging factor
Their recommended power supply? 392 watts.
Yeah. This power supply for a moderate gaming rig is JUST FINE. If you're running a high-end system, sure, get that 750w unit. But recognize that even among gamers, that's hardly the typical build. And really, this "alpha nerd" BS where people get sneered at because they're not running water-cooled +50% overclocks with quad-SLI video subsystems... we can do without that. Nice system, sure, but the degree to which someone gets to look down their nose at someone else isn't tied to FSB speed.
For the record, this Antec Earthwatts 380D PSU is enough to power my overclocked i5 2500K, EVGA GTX 460 1Gb FPB, SSD, HDD, DVD-ROM and PCI soundcard. Runs Skyrim just fine. The video card requires 24A and this PSU gives up to 25A per rail before the OCP protecion kicks in. Sure, no headroom whatsoever, but these current draws are already worst case cenario, so I guess there is no need for headroom.
I don't know what I am more impressed with. This PSU or this review. Really, terrific job here.
Great unit too. I use this to run my old XP box and its quite, reliable and I actually like the green paint job. I would totally buy this thing again for a future HTPC build. In fact, I know I will.
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64 Comments
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8steve8 - Saturday, October 2, 2010 - link
power consumption of 0.25A.azimex - Saturday, October 2, 2010 - link
Ok, its current drawn . Txs for pointing it out.gvaley - Wednesday, October 6, 2010 - link
I've seen worst. For example, "The current's power is 220V." :-)fausto412 - Saturday, October 2, 2010 - link
Ok, everyone who reads Anandtech and can use one of these 380W PSUs in any of your current or future rigs please raise your hand. anyone? hello? (crickets) anybody?Who thought it wise to waste their time reviewing this? I won't even read it.
DanNeely - Saturday, October 2, 2010 - link
Everyone who builds HTPC's raises hands and applies cluebats.bwj - Saturday, October 2, 2010 - link
I have a Core i7 CPU, 12GB of memory, six hard drives, three SSDs, and two video cards with a 300W power supply.Samus - Saturday, October 2, 2010 - link
I enjoyed the review, especially its technical component layout. It's nice to see Antec is making quality affordable, unlike PCP&C which makes quality unaffordable :)najames - Saturday, October 2, 2010 - link
I think you'd be surprised at the number of people using this size of power supply or even smaller. A lot of people even run dinky Pico power supplies. I have a couple rigs using 330W Seasonics, but I should be using even smaller supplies. I don't play ANY video games onboard video is fine for media server, or computers that crunch data.If I have a media server with a i3 530 that draws 35W idle and 100W load, I'd want a small power supply to make it run in the 80% efficiency range if possible. I'm looking to build a new one and am going to read the article. Even if it is not the power supply I want, I might still learn something.
mindless1 - Saturday, October 2, 2010 - link
The only system you should need a > 380W PSU in is your gaming rig. Since you can't play games on more than one system at a time, the rest of your systems won't need it unless you're a quite extreme overclocker.Leyawiin - Saturday, October 2, 2010 - link
I appreciate this review. I build a lot of basic PCs for friends and family that don't need what I have.fausto412 - Saturday, October 2, 2010 - link
let me put it this way.it's $45. I've seen their True Power line at 550 Watts on sale for a few bucks more. the features i would get for spending an extra 10 and the extra capacity would just void me wanting to use this.
but i did forget about the HTPC crowd. still waiting to try it but in the USA HTPC won't take off as long as you can't just decrypt cable/fios/direct tv with your tuner card which i hear may be in the works. still waiting for it.
fredgiblet - Sunday, October 3, 2010 - link
Except you'll probably never use that extra capacity, meaning that you'll have lower efficiency for no reason, costing you much more over the life of the PSU.Additionally there's more than just HTPCs, home servers are usually on all the time and they usually lack high-end CPUs and video cards, I plan to build a torrenting machine that will hopefully draw VERY little power as it will only serve to torrent and have websites open when I'm gaming, there are lots of people for whom programming is their life who don't even have (or need) high-end processors. Realistically we're past the point where the advances in speed really help the average computer user, these days a low to mid range dual-core and an SSD are all the upgrades that most people actually benefit from. If I was asked to build a new computer for any of my relatives I can't think of a single one who I would end up building a computer that draws more than 400W, and I myself will probably never have more than one computer that does either (if even that) it's simply not necessary.
Samus - Sunday, October 3, 2010 - link
HTPC not taking off? You've got to be joking. Practically everybody I know has a computer hooked up to their TV, if not just for streaming netflix, it's good for web browsing, youtube, hulu, itunes, etc. Then you have the more savvy users that have 1TB+ video libraries. Windows Media Center was a joke, yes, and using the PC to watch TV is a joke, yes, but those are just about the only TWO things wrong with the HTPC.fausto412 - Sunday, October 3, 2010 - link
for what i want my HTPC to do....we are not there yet. it's not replacing my cable box or my tivo box yet and it can't do video on demand with the cable company. when it handles those 3...i'll get rid of both and build an htpc.martyrant - Sunday, October 3, 2010 - link
First, did you just say HTPCs haven't taken off in the USA? Really, man? Where have you been for like, what, the last 8 years?Second, did you really just say HTPCs haven't taken off in the USA? Alright, alright.
Third, I got it on sale for $25 to replace a dead one in my girlfriend's HTPC/gaming rig (you heard it, HTPC in the USA!).
Her specs (she plays the sims and watches TV on it, she has my old monitor which is pretty nice):
GIGABYTE GA-MA785GMT-UD2H
AMD Athlon II X3 435 (unlocked to 4 fine)
OCZ AMD Black Edition 4GB
MSI R4850-512M Radeon HD 4850 512MB
2xWD 640GB
Lite-On DVD/CD combo
fausto412 - Sunday, October 3, 2010 - link
is that htpc able to do everything the cable box does right now? tivo?i've looked into it and i have a more hassle free experience with my tivo and my cable box as the technology stands in the USA.
until htpc's can do video on demand and decrypt video without going thru hoops they won't take over, maybe you and your 3 to 5 geek buddies have htpc's but i don't know anyone. guess i need more geek friends.
AstroGuardian - Sunday, October 3, 2010 - link
You are so boring dude... Come on!Iketh - Saturday, October 2, 2010 - link
i was dying for a small P/S review because I'm about to build my first HTPC. This came right on time, thanks a bunch!crucibelle - Sunday, October 3, 2010 - link
I could use one of these, no problem.jensend - Sunday, October 3, 2010 - link
A top-of-the-line i7 rig with a Geforce 460 or a Radeon 5850 fits comfortably in a 380W envelope. I'm guessing the reason you don't know that is because you "won't even read" Anandtech's actual power consumption tests. The only people who actually need more than this are people with SLI/Crossfire rigs or GF 470/480 cards. And they make up only a tiny fraction of the people reading Anandtech. Many people aren't even gamers, in which case a 200W PSU would be plenty with modern CPUs.GeorgeH - Sunday, October 3, 2010 - link
"jensend" is absolutely correct. I'm sick and tired of trying to correct people that think they need a 600W PSU for their i5-750 + GTX 460 build. I'd say 90%+ of builds (yes, including your ever so awesome gaming machine) would be more than fine using this PSU.Unfortunately, finding reliable sources to link to can be difficult - and who is more reliable than Anandtech? How about a short "How Much PSU Do You Really Need?" article using modern hardware, done Anandtech style?
JarredWalton - Sunday, October 3, 2010 - link
My own gaming system:i7-920
12GB RAM
2 x HD 5850
Two 120GB SSDs
1TB HDD
DVDRW
500W Enermax Pro87+ PSU
Power draw idle: ~125W
Power draw load: ~350W
Note that that is total system power draw at the outlet, so accounting for efficiency it looks like the whole system is maxing out at around 300W power output from the PSU. I'd still be hesitant to try to run such a system off a 380W PSU, because I like my safety margin, but a 500W PSU works admirably.
cruisin3style - Sunday, October 3, 2010 - link
One key to understanding things in life is not to think of how you cannot use something or how something doesn't apply to you, it is to think beyond yourself and how something might apply to others.I have not 1 but 2 Antec 380W psus (1 of which is this same version, the other an older one). I can say from experience that not only are they reliable but can handle pretty much anything you plan to do with them that doesn't require a serious graphics card.
Allio - Sunday, October 3, 2010 - link
Hi. I read Anandtech and already own this exact PSU (bought it about six months ago to go in my HTPC). Wish this review had been up before I bought it, but better late than never. Nice to see my decision vindicated somewhat... I've been very happy with it.Personally I am far, far, FAR more interested in a review of a PSU like this than of some $250 gold plated 1000W monster. Not only does this Antec capably power my HTPC, it'd also power my quad-core gaming rig without breaking a sweat. People grossly overestimate the amount of power their computers use.
JGabriel - Monday, October 4, 2010 - link
Allio: "Personally I am far, far, FAR more interested in a review of a PSU like this than of some $250 gold plated 1000W monster."Seconded. I hope Anandtech keeps publishing technical reviews of mid-range and lower end power supplies, especially inexpensive power efficient models.
As JarredWalton notes above, a 380 watt PSU can power a pretty high end machine. Even at Anandtech, I'd guess something like 85% of the readers don't need anything better. In the general population, whom lots of us make recommendations for, that number is more like 99.5%.
.
Touche - Sunday, October 3, 2010 - link
Your comment is quite a WTF. For HTPCs, non gamers AND for 99% of gamers this PSU is more than enough. It seems you haven't read much of anything on Anandtech.just4U - Sunday, October 3, 2010 - link
I have to agree that for the most part we overestimate our power needs. As a side note this 380W PSU is a likely candidate for some of their case/psu combo's so it could be generating interest for that as well.I've had some problems with Antec of late though .. (I build 40+ computers a year) so overall this review is lukewarm for me.
lyeoh - Sunday, October 3, 2010 - link
Not everyone is like you. I bet most here don't need high power PSUs.In the old days even "normal" people were getting 400W power supplies because the P4s sucked (many had a TDP of 130W).
Nowadays many PCs only use 100-200W. Using a >=500W power supply would be less efficient since most power supplies are less efficient at low loads or very high loads.
My main desktop plays most of my games fine and I only have a 9800GT. Low fps for Crysis, but hey its Crysis ;).
And my home server uses only 100W. So I'd be happy to buy a cheap/affordable, efficient and reliable 380W power supply for my next PC.
mosu - Sunday, October 3, 2010 - link
I do have one system with moderate power draw and one system with a little more power draw(900) but it makes no point to surf with this one.sorry, no crickets!Concillian - Sunday, October 3, 2010 - link
I have 3 systems with 380W supplies. Overclocked i5 with overclocked 5770, overclocked i3 with overclocked 4850 and a fileserver.If you aren't playing games at 100 FPS on a 30" display you can get by with a pretty minimal power supply. I really appreciate some attention to the normal person.
Why do we want a 500-700W supply when none of my systems use more than 250W, and that's only when I'm running Furmark and purposefully trying to max out power usage. 380W has plenty of headroom just about anyone using their machine for things other than just raw benchmarks.
Vesperan - Monday, October 4, 2010 - link
*raises hand*Low end PC, with a HD5750 for graphics. Build a couple of months ago, only needs a small power supply.
That said, if the power supply hadn't have come with the NSK3480 case, I likely would have gotten a bigger power supply.
enterco - Monday, October 4, 2010 - link
Yes, I consider this kind of PSU since the first green series. It has been used in Antec NSK4480 case. I consider this a VERY good choice for corporate PCs.PS: Not every PSU goes under the reader's desktop.
cknobman - Monday, October 4, 2010 - link
Umm I used an Antec 380 Earthwatts in my home server build.Dont knock Anandtech because of your short-sightedness you just make yourself look like a fool!
Great review Anand this power supply is freaking awesome and definitely the best buy you can get for a unit under 400 watts.
I got mine on the egg after rebates for $29.99 too!!!
jjcrandall - Monday, October 4, 2010 - link
I'll raise my hand to this review. I was looking at purchasing this exact model a couple weeks ago for an HTPC.digdugsmug - Wednesday, October 13, 2010 - link
I used one of these for an esx server. Yeah yeah its not exactly a server PSU but its fine in a home environment. I wanted good efficiency since its always on and low cost, this thing delivers both!pattakosn - Saturday, January 29, 2011 - link
use a watt-o-meter on your rig and get back to us with your setup and wattage please...Maybe you will then like to reconsider reading this review...
Wineohe - Saturday, October 2, 2010 - link
Although this might seem small, it is still too big in my opinion to be considered green. If you are claiming to be green, how about something in the 250W range, or smaller! A gamer is probably not going to bother looking at this article anyway because they think they need 1000W, even though they could probably do with much smaller. Come on it's like buying 94 Octane when most of us drive Corollas.khimera2000 - Saturday, October 2, 2010 - link
I think its becaus there trying to target the mid range market as well ;) they mention something about it in the second to last paragraph in the conclusion... then again you can always check the first page of the review to they have a mention of it there to.JGabriel - Monday, October 4, 2010 - link
"A gamer is probably not going to bother looking at this article anyway because they think they need 1000W ..."Most readers and gamers here are computer and physics literate people - not withstanding the ignorance of the second top-level commenter above - who know they only need 400 -700 watts for a high-end SLI/Crossfire gaming machine, and 200 - 300 watts for anything less. Many of us also build HTPCs for the home, and the occasional machine for friends and/or family, or advise them in their own purchases.
You really should readjust your expectations and cliches in accordance with that.
.
strikeback03 - Tuesday, October 5, 2010 - link
Well the series does include smaller models, and this is probably what Antec sent them.Lunyone - Saturday, October 2, 2010 - link
I use a lot of PSU's in this range. Most budget gaming rigs that I've built over the years have been around this size of PSU (power wise that is). If your not OC'ing and you don't have some really demanding (power-wise), than this kind of PSU will work just fine.I have a system with a x1800xt GPU and dual core AMD CPU on it. It has been running fine on a lower wattage PSU (Antec Smart Power 350w) and I've had NO issues whatsoever with it. Yeah I might be running it closer to it's limits when doing heavy gaming, but it has been a solid and steady PSU.
I also have another system being powered with a predecessor to this one (Antec 380w Earthwatts) and it has been just fine too. This level of PSU is plenty for a office PC or even decent HTPC's too. Even the budget to mid-range gaming system will be fine too. It all depends on your load and if your going to OC a lot or a little.
mpowell - Saturday, October 2, 2010 - link
Just replaced a Truepower 380 watt which is just 2 months under 6 years old. One thing I noticed as it began to slowly go downhill was the thermostatically controlled fan got slower and slower. Then it began to not turn on, first only for a short time but the period steadily increased until it died.One standout comparison between this power supply and just about everything else I've seen is it has always run at a much higher internal temperature. Just placing your hand in the exhaust stream of the fan was telling.
Now to be fair, I generally don't see power supplies go more than about 5 years - so this one dying at its age is probably acceptable. However, the heat that this thing operated at leads me to question whether I want to buy another Antec.
It is certainly difficult to judge from a technical spec review whether any given product will last a long time. It could look real pretty when new, and die 2 years later. I want to know how to identify the unit which will be expected to last 5, or more, years. Not an easy or straightforward task.
Iketh - Saturday, October 2, 2010 - link
you'll want to check your air routing in your case and make sure most of the hot air isn't exiting through the P/S... I ran an antec 500w true power for 4 years and the exhaust barely turned a mild warm under gaming... i then sold the system with it still going strong, but I had a 120mm exhaust taking care of the cpu heatI did a couple of tests reducing the 120mm exhaust speed and if brought too low, the P/S exhaust got incredibly hot because it began picking up cpu heat
iamezza - Sunday, October 3, 2010 - link
I've been looking for ages for good quality PSUs that aren't rated for 600+Watts.I don't think most people realise how little power the average PC uses, even gaming rigs, until you get a Kill-A-Watt style power meter and see for yourself.
My rig has an overclocked Q9550, ATI 4850, 4GB DDR2, 4 x 7200rpm HDDs, 1 SSD, 2 x DVDRW, Discrete sound card, 3 x 200mm fans, 2 x 140mm fans
It never goes above 280W at the wall, assuming a generous 85% efficiency that is under 240W that the PSU is putting out.
ckryan - Sunday, October 3, 2010 - link
Good on Antec, I have a 380w Antec power supply from 7 years ago that still works great. It is difficult to find decent power supplies that aren't over 600 or 700 watts. Also, I want to know that if I put a power supply in somebody's computer that it will last and not toast their gear. Its good to know Antec is still building decent power supplies for every day computers. I might need a higher wattage unit for my gear, but its good to know that if my Mom needs a new power supply I know where to go. I recently purchased a 500w modular design for my own system. I wonder if that old Antec will still be working when my new one dies.More information is always better. Good PSU reviews are hard to come by. Keep it up.
ssj3gohan - Sunday, October 3, 2010 - link
As more people in this thread point out, this is not a 'nice little power supply' - it's got a really high rating. For 99% of the people, this power supply still is very much overrated. You do link to an article that shows an i7 or Phenom II X6 system to idle under 100W, but the reality is - most systems built today don't break 100W full-load.Of all computers I built in the last 3 years, I recorded the power consumption and none broke 75W load. These are all IGP computers but look at the market share of these things; IGPs are probably 90%+ of the graphics processors. For all these computers, a picoPSU 150W with a 90W adapter would be enough.
And I'm not talking about anemic hardware either. The core i3 has been mentioned before, and if you have a motherboard that actually supports the lower voltages that both core 2 and core i-generation processors sport, the DC power consumption of a core i3 530 or Pentium dual-core E5200-system in idle can very well be about 20W, and about 40-45W under load. If you'd want a matching power supply here, you'd need a 100W PSU.
I think these smaller PSUs do have a market although it's of course psychologically hard to say 100W is better than 400W - more is better, right? More headroom, stuff like that. Besides - the reason that lower rated PSUs don't really exist (outside AC adapter bricks) is that they would carry a disproportionate price tag. Where you can get a 330W PSU for 36$, a 100W version would probably be 25$. Maybe, if they want to cater the truly green pc builder, they even need to price it higher to allow for more efficient topologies. I'm talking virtual chokes (=PFC with smaller, less lossy components but more silicon), synchronous rectification (the single biggest efficiency boost in these devices) and multilayer PCBs allowing for more efficient layout.
londiste - Sunday, October 3, 2010 - link
efficiency is not really comparable to the top power supplies coming out these days.plus, it's somewhat noisy for a psu this size.
radium69 - Sunday, October 3, 2010 - link
Hey anand,Thanks for the in depth review of this power supply!
I find it nice to see you guys doing the midrange aswell.
Overkill isn't nessicarily good. Currently have a Q6600 (@3.0ghz) 4gb ddr2 800, and a geforce 8800GTS and idling on 150W. This is all powered by a OCZ 700W which for me is overkill.
Power supply's like these in these time become attractive for a lot of people. So I think it is a good move for them. Besides, a lot of people can run their PC setups flawlessly with this powersupply.
Just my 2cents :)
Montrey - Sunday, October 3, 2010 - link
Funny, I bought this PSU 2 days ago, after checking here to see if it was reviewed. Glad to see I made a good choice, since I based it on NewEgg reviews. I'm going to put it in a fileserver that will pull double duty as a HTPC for a little while.Also, if anyone is looking for a deal, this PSU is 45+3 shipped at NewEgg right now, they also have a combo deal where you can get it and an Antec 300 case for 85+6 shipped, a 20 dollar discount. Not bad at all if you want a fileserver, or just aren't into the design of modern gaming cases.
kallogan - Sunday, October 3, 2010 - link
In my sugo sg05 with the stock 80+ 300W PSU (great psu btw), i can run a core i3 530@4ghz coupled with a HD 5850/GTX460 ( i tried both gpus) and stay under 220W at full load. So yeah 300W is enough for a quality PSU provided that you stick with dual cores. 350W for quad cores plus powerful gpus.But what's the point of buying a so-called quality 350W or 400W PSU if it's at the same price than 500W or more still very good PSUs...Less power for the same or sometimes higher price to gain 2% efficiency. Not to mention that "He who can do more can do less" so better buy a 500W quality psu than an overpriced extra-quality 350W. Should be quieter for a given load.
In addition, i have a 380w earthwatts antec PSU and while it's damn expensive, it has only a 80mm fan and it's louder than 120mm fan discount PSUs.
JimmiG - Sunday, October 3, 2010 - link
Very refreshing to see a quality PSU in this segment. The wattage race is really getting out of hand. If someone posts about system crashes or poor performance, and has anything less than a 750W PSU, people instantly tell the person to upgrade the PSU. A week later, the original poster returns, saying the shiny new 1200W PSU did not solve the problems, and the original 550W PSU was more than enough for a 65W dual core CPU and a 100W GPU...Setsunayaki - Sunday, October 3, 2010 - link
True Story,I helped a company a year back switch their internal computers to 10w - sub10w systems for basic things...such as email, work and writing up documentations and analyzing to improving business growth. A 400w supply truly means that I am using 25 - 30w more power on basics...
As far as HD goes, there are laptops which run 720P (though 1080P is the desired resolution) which draw a lot lower amounts of power....
This is why I frown on things like this....like when someone tells me I should buy ATI to save power on graphics to be able to do basic things, I simply wonder..."Why don't enough people who run on basic things buy basic laptops or sub-10w systems?"
The sub-10w systems based on nano-ITX boards also allow a LOT of space to be saved...specially since you wont have tons of towers floating around. I received an email a few weeks ago when they were moving to a new building they managed to put in two boxes, 100 nano iTX systems for their employees to transfer to their new building. As for monitors, that was another story....
mck22 - Sunday, October 3, 2010 - link
I have owned one of these since March and it has functioned without incident.I bought it in a hurry after I found that the cables on the other, more powerful PS I had purchased for a new build for my wife's use were too short to reach the MB's in the Antec 300 case that she had approved of for its cosmetics.
None of the other PS's I had laying around would reach either, so I assumed that an Antec would work. I bought the cheapest available since I had already exceeded my original budget. I have no regrets, which is the best compliment I can make for a PS.
ehume - Sunday, October 3, 2010 - link
This is not a very quiet psu. Or, I should say its predecessor the EA 380 has a noisy fan, especially with a little dust on it. Maybe it unbalances the fan. But even with the dust gone it makes too much noise. In a room full of computers, it is the EA 380 we all hear, and it is not a pleasant sound..Larger fans move more air more quietly than this one does. This was absolutely the last psu I will get that has an 80mm fan.
Christoph Katzer - Sunday, October 3, 2010 - link
Hi,The noise would have had nothing to do with the size of the fan. You'll wonder when you stress a power supply to its limits the fan will always turn louder which is good and necessary for cooling. It always depends on the bearing type in fact. There might have been something wrong with the fan which can unfortunately happen, but a blank statement 80mm fans are bad is very wrong. They are able to cool the PSU internals much more efficient for example. The air goes straight through without being rerouted.
Christoph
strikeback03 - Tuesday, October 5, 2010 - link
I have used several of the older EarthWatts 300-380W PSUs for builds in our lab, in all of them the fans have been essentially silent.METALMORPHASIS - Sunday, October 3, 2010 - link
Antec makes great power supplies. I have 4 of them, and all are going strong after 5 years.theagentsmith - Monday, October 4, 2010 - link
A few years ago I read about how much PSU efficiency can be useful both to save on electricity and the environment, so I began looking for a 80plus certified units that didn't cost an arm and a leg.I found this very EA380W which had stellar reviews, the right size and a reasonable price of about 50 euros.
If they made a 250-300W 80plus model I would have chosen it, because most system doesn't exceed 150W in full load
recidivist - Thursday, October 7, 2010 - link
From p7: "Antec is using an ADDA-fan (AD0812H5-A70GL), which has a ball bearing and a power consumption of 0.25A"The pic of the fan label clearly shows AD0812HS-A70GL. H=High Speed. S=Sleeve Bearing. Fan RPM is thermistor controlled.
Morbid666 - Thursday, October 7, 2010 - link
I've already built about 8 systems for my clients with this PSU (mostly office workstations). for its cheap price you get antec quality, plenty of connectors, all sorts of protection & its whisper quiet. i would reccomend this product to anyone building a reliable cost efficient workstation.decto - Monday, October 11, 2010 - link
I've used and installed many of the older EA 380 units which are also 80+ rated and now a couple of these.You can power a lot with them, a 3Ghz Q6600 and power sucking Radeon HD2900 or how about Q6600 and 8800GTS G92 512MB SLI. Both ran fine for regular extended gaming sessions.
I currently have one in an X2 5000 home server with a nvidia 7025 itx mainboard. Consumption is around 40W at idle so a quick calculation later (77% net @ 38W) and It's £7 ukp ($11 usd) per year of waste electricity for 24 / 7 / 365 operation.
While pico PSU and mini itx can be more efficent, the cost of the hardware negates the energy savings over a typical system lifetime.
As per a previous post, it would be good to see an article for low power systems <50W and <100W as more of us are using a purpose built 'efficient' home server or media centre and the data to make environmental and TCO based buying decisions is very hard to find.
Congratulation on the real world review.
More please.
Spazweasel - Thursday, October 14, 2010 - link
Using the power supply calculator at http://extreme.outervision.com/PSUEngine with a typical moderate gaming build:Clarkdale i5 650 with a modest overclock (3.6ghz, 1.33v vcore)
4gb DDR3 RAM (2x 2gb)
GTX 460 1gb (single card)
1 SATA hard drive
1 DVD-RW
Using on-board audio
1 additional 120mm cooling fan
25% additional capacitor aging factor
Their recommended power supply? 392 watts.
Yeah. This power supply for a moderate gaming rig is JUST FINE. If you're running a high-end system, sure, get that 750w unit. But recognize that even among gamers, that's hardly the typical build. And really, this "alpha nerd" BS where people get sneered at because they're not running water-cooled +50% overclocks with quad-SLI video subsystems... we can do without that. Nice system, sure, but the degree to which someone gets to look down their nose at someone else isn't tied to FSB speed.
Matias - Wednesday, December 7, 2011 - link
For the record, this Antec Earthwatts 380D PSU is enough to power my overclocked i5 2500K, EVGA GTX 460 1Gb FPB, SSD, HDD, DVD-ROM and PCI soundcard. Runs Skyrim just fine.The video card requires 24A and this PSU gives up to 25A per rail before the OCP protecion kicks in.
Sure, no headroom whatsoever, but these current draws are already worst case cenario, so I guess there is no need for headroom.
mrawesome421 - Friday, May 17, 2013 - link
I don't know what I am more impressed with. This PSU or this review. Really, terrific job here.Great unit too. I use this to run my old XP box and its quite, reliable and I actually like the green paint job. I would totally buy this thing again for a future HTPC build. In fact, I know I will.
Great review man. Thanks.