Installation & Testing
As we said in the intro CP-Series power supplies only fit in 3 Antec cases currently, the Twelve Hundred, P183, and P193. Luckily we just reviewed the P183 so we have it here to use for this review. With the P183 case you have to remove an ATX bracket on the case so the CP-850 will fit. Once you have it removed you can go ahead and install the power supply by just sliding it in and securing it with screws.
Our system for benchmarking is comprised of a ASUS P6T Deluxe motherboard with a Intel Core i7 965 @ 3.2 GHz, 12 GB DDR3 memory, ATI Radeon 4870 x2, two 256gb ssds, two 1TB SATA drives, and a Blu-ray drive all inside the Antec P183 case, which has 2 120mm fans.
Initial spot checks at idle showed 3.30V, 5.04V and 12.04V on the 3.3V, 5V, and 12V rails respectively. We used OCCT Perestroika to do load testing. Here are the output graphs comparing the voltages of the CP-850 with the Antec Truepower 1000W. The CP-850 graphs are on the left and the Truepower 1000W’s are on the right.
The 3.3V did undervolt, but it was within the +/- 5% we like to see. It was definitely much more stable that the Truepower 1000W results.
The 5V rail under load was also very stable and rippled within our +/- 5% that we like to see.
The 12V rail was also very stable, with only a few ripples. Once again if you compare the graphs the CP-850 is definitely more stable that the Truepower 1000W.
I'm a fan of this new form factor. Too bad no other companies have followed suit with cases and PSUs opted for it.
I even wrote Antec an enquiry asking about their policies regarding this form factor, but got no reply. 🙁
hmmm…I have a dual core setup with two hard drives and one 9800GTX+ vid card (nothing else) – this PSU just seems to wind out all of the time and sounds unbearable. I have to get rid of it and get a decent PSU. I haven't had much luck with Antec's so called silent and silent'ish products.
Seems like you've got a bad specimen or don't feed it any fresh air.
All reviews I've read indicate this is one of the quietest PSUs around.
I recently built a i7 computer. I used the antec p183 case as well as the cp-850 psu. Not only has it performed without issues, running the cables was easy like they designed the psu and case to work seemlessly. This is by far the most powerful computer i have ever used and it is eerily quiet. I can't hear the hard drive at full spin or anything else.
I am a huge fan of antec and their products. I would definitely recommend this company.
i7920,ga-ex58-ud4p,gtx-260,6gigCorsair,1tb.caviar black,Cp-850, antecP183
Our system had a 4870 X2, 4 HDD's etc and the power supply was pretty quiet. Have you talked to Antec about the problem?