Antec EarthWatts Platinum Series EA-450 450W ATX12V / EPS12V SLI Ready CrossFire Ready 80 PLUS PLATINUM Certified Power Supply

Pros: 80 Plus Platinum!
450Watt design
Std. ATX dimensions

Cons: None. It would be nice to see a modular version. I have this thing in a Lian Li PC-Q06 test bench case and it is a tight fit. but in my HTPC case it would have been a nightmare routing cables.

Other Thoughts: Very good power supply. I was worried it wouldn't be enough power to run my system at 50% as that is the most efficient the PSU gets. The worst it gets is 89% at 20% power (50watts). My 6870 + 2600K get at most 225 watts which is perfect and idles 138Watts.

Very Impressed even after paying full price.

Pros: Near-silent (so much so I'd say 'silent', but the purists get offended), very clean line voltage, solidly built, and absolutely standard ATX dimensions, which means it fits without any problems in most cases - including proprietary cases (like Dell, or HP - I just replaced the meager 300w PSU that came with a new HP h8 machine, and the Antec fit *perfectly*. Like a glove. Thi is important for this wattage since most people looking sub-500 watts are not gamers, and are probably working with proprietary builds, which generally don't need much power. Proprietary builds (Dell, HP, IBM...) often have very stringent component sizing, and there ain't a lot of wiggle room for longer PSU's (like most modular ones). This AnteC PSU is standard size, and will fit almost anything except micro/slim profile cases.

Cons: Too many cables. For a 450 watt supply, you're not likely to have 5-6 drives, Sli vid cards, or lots of other power sucking things, so why cable the PSU as if you were going to run a full-blown and p*mped out rig? I need 1-2 SATA connector, 24-pin ATX cable, CPU (4- or 6-pin), and generally, thats it. Of course, the generic solution is to go modular, but that requires a case that can accommodate a longer PSU (modular PSU are generally ~0.5-1 inch longer). I won't knock a star off for the extraneous cables, since there may be people who might actually use them.

Other Thoughts: I've had great luck (knock wood) with Antec over the years. Had a long look at SeaSonic X series, but couldn't find a decent/well-priced one in the sub-500 watt range.

Pros: High efficiency and I do not hear it's fan.

Cons: Length of the cords can be an issue when using being the motherboard wiring trays (you would think this wouldn't be an issue in Antec's own P280 case), also I ran into issues with the sata connectors and attaching 4 hard drives and a sata DVD drive. One of the cables out of the PSU had to be consumed to run a sata connector to my CD writer, leaving only one other 3 pronged sata cable to wire up 4 sata hard drives. This lead me to needing a 4 pin to 2 sata converter.

Other Thoughts: I didn't have a need to actually upgrade my PSU, but I am happy I did. Despite running into slight issues getting enough power to all my devices, my idle wattage using a watt meter went from ~130 watts down to ~100 watts.

Pros: It is a nice compact power supply with all relevant plugs.

Cons: I was building up some new lab equipment so it had to be green, had to be up and running that day. Well after messing with the PSU and a scope; it was clearly dead on arrival.

I'm very mad I had to explain delays due to a inferior product w/ QC issues.

Other Thoughts: I've bought antec supplies say maybe 8-10 in the past and this was the first dud. I doubt I will continue to buy them though.

Manufacturer Response:

Hi,

I certainly apologize that the PSU you received was DOA. From time to time there are issues but we're more than happy to send you a replacement under warranty - please email us at VIP@antec.com and we'll show you how to get started on the RMA process. We look forward to your email. Thank you.

Chris
Antec Customer Support

Pros: Easy to install (as is the case with most power supplies) and the cables have enough length for my Mid-Tower sized case. It runs really quiet and puts off only luke-warm heat at most.

Cons: It's a 450W power supply, so if you're needing more juice for a power-hungry rig, a bigger unit would be wise. Otherwise, it has enough watts to power most low- to mid-end computers

Pros: I just ordered today and haven't received, so I can't speak to the performance of the PSU. Design-wise, am very happy to be paying a reasonable amount of money for a PSU (1) with the highest available efficiency rating, (2) with this low of a wattage rating (to get a NAS build well within the 20%-80% optimum efficiency load range), (3) with a 2-rail / effective-OCP design, and possibly most important for me, (4) with a depth of just 5.5 inches (!). See other thoughts for the PFC note.

Cons: Too bad this doesn't come with a 5-year warranty - not that I regularly exercise warranties or track coverage very closely, but it's just a more-solid indicator I think of the company's confidence in the integrity of their product. 'Fingers crossed'.
I am scared that the PCI-e connectors are going to clutter up my ultra-small form-factor case - am completely with the other reviewer Bill48105 when he says tempted to cut off the cables (though I won't actually do it either).
Anybody have a link to a PCIe-->Molex/SATA/Floppy cable adapter that could turn these cables into something useful for non-gamers?...

Other Thoughts: About the PFC - Saw today's 15% off deal and was highly intrigued when I saw this platinum with the 5.5" depth, but was surprised to see the line in the Newegg specs that read "PFC: No" for something rated at platinum efficiency. Went to the Antec product page, opened the PDF manual, and what do you know? Says 'features Active PFC' right on the 2nd page:
antec.com/pdf/manuals/antec_ea-450_platinum_manual_en_v1_0.pdf
Thought I'd post early in case this got posted today and could set it straight for other potential buyers.

Pros: SUPER POWER SAVER! I compared power usage using kill-a-watt with an older common name 60% efficient 500W & this 450W antec with exact same hardware. (ASRock H67M-ITX, i5 2500, 2x4G & 1 2TB Seagate Green) Old PSU @ Idle=48W, 100%=123W. This Antec @ Idle=29W, 100% 89W. Tell me that won't save some electricity! Plus my UPS run-time will be extended.
Almost silent. I was suprised how quiet it is even with fan going.
Cables are nicely wrapped in braided mesh.
Painted with nice matt black paint.
Came with handy velcro cable ties.

Cons: Not modular but I knew that. Would love to have been able to remove cables not needed in my LIAN LI PC-Q08 mini ITX case. It fits by tucking all the extra's where possible but would have been much cleaner install if I could have just unplugged the extras.
A bit on expensive side w/o sale/discount but this is no cheaply made PSU for sure. (And if you compare with other 80 PLUS PLATINUM supplies this wasn't really bad especially if you consider power savings in long run. Bet it'd pay for itself in a year for a computer left on 24x7)
Cable are quite long but many would see that as a pro. Just in my case they are easily 2x as long as they need to be.

Other Thoughts: Very high quality you can see & feel. It is quite heavy but that is good in a PSU. I've always loved Antec for the quality & the same is true here, just wish they were cheaper. (newegg sale helped ease the pain)
I'm sure many would see all the cables as a plus but in my case it was WAY overkill. If not modular I wish they offered a model with less & shorter cables. (Was tempted to cut off the extras & shrink wrap the ends. Still might. lol)