Final Thoughts
When I look at a new power supply I really have a few questions; “Is the power clean?” “Is it going to destroy my wallet, both in the initial purchase and over the long term?” and finally, “Are there sufficient cables, and are the cables long enough?” If these boxes are all checked with the appropriate response, then (and only then) will I look at the other features the unit offers. So let’s answer those questions.
Is the power clean? Yes, it is. No more than 1.4% deviation under load, and with a strong stable single 12V rail, you can feel safe in knowing that your components are going to get clean power, and therefore are not going to depreciate (well, not through fault of the PSU, anyway.)
Is it affordable? With no unit price available at the moment, I will have to go off of market estimates. Other units with this specification and 80PLUS Platinum certification are running between $120 to $170. The Platinum rating will help keep operating costs down, and will therefore cost less in the long run than a comparable, lower-rated unit.
Are there sufficient cables? Yes, more than enough for most computers that would even top out the 700W rating. Are they LONG enough? No, not really. The absolutely essential cables that are not modular are fine, in fact, they’re long enough to reach to the CPU header, behind the motherboard tray, in a full tower chassis. Clearly High Power thought about cable lengths when creating THIS part of the power supply – so why not the modular cables? The PCI-E cables are shockingly short, which makes routing to a graphics card in the top slot of a motherboard extremely difficult unless you want the entirety of the cable visible.
Eagle Eye is a new feature to the Power Supply market, and when I first got this my first thought was “Well that’s awesome!” The ability to check your power supply’s load on the fly is a good idea, and it’s executed well. The thing is, once your rig is built and you put it to full load once, you can see that the power supply isn’t overloading.. then you know that. Your components aren’t suddenly going to need more power (aside from overclocking, of course.) So why would you need to check again? It’s one of those things that’s a cool idea, but after the initial use, it fails to be useful anymore, and becomes just another light. Still, for people who are constantly upgrading their components, it could definitely have a long-term use.
Lets talk noise. Is the power supply loud? I couldn’t hear it at all. Does it look good? It sure does. The modular cables LOOK really cool, I quite like the throwback ribbon style. It’s built well, too; 100% Japanese-built capacitors provide a stable environment.
I couldn’t find a price for the High Power Astro PT 700W at present, as it’s not for sale just yet, but I can assume it will be in the range of $120-180 – probably at the higher end of the spectrum due to the good quality components and single 12V rail.
Overall the High Power Astro PT 700W is a good power supply, it’s efficient, quiet, and looks good. It fits the bill and checks almost all boxes, except one rather large drawback: the cables just aren’t long enough for anyone with a large chassis who cares how the inside of their case looks. With this in mind, ThinkComputers would like to award the High Power Astro PT 700W with an 8 out of 10 score.
Pros:
– Efficient
– 80PLUS Platinum rated
– Quiet
– Single 12V rail
– 100% Japanese Caps
– Eagle Eye is unique idea
Cons:
– Modular cables are way too short