Introduction

We would like to thank Antec for supplying the review sample.

Antec is without any doubt one of the key players in the PSU market. According to their claims they occupy the first spot worldwide for units sold in branded retail and they have the lowest return rates in the industry. Strangely enough, although they closely follow the competition's moves, till now they didn't have any platinum units among their products. This changed with the announcement of the new Platinum EarthWatts series, which consists of three mainstream units with capacities ranging from 450W to 650W. The afore-mentioned series is classified between the EarthWatts and High Current Gamer series and according to Antec this is the first wave of new series and updates. So expect higher powered Platinum units real soon from Antec.

The EarthWatts Platinum series is in essence the updated representative of the older EarthWatts PSU family, which focuses mainly on ecological power for everybody. The new units strictly follow the minimalistic philosophy of the original series but with the crucial difference that they provide the highest possible efficiency for a competitive price. So they give the budget oriented user the ability to purchase a Platinum unit, without breaking the bank. The only downside is that they must get along with the minimalistic design which lacks modular cables and exotic features/characteristics.

Today we will test the strongest of Antec's Platinum units, the EarthWatts Platinum 650W or EA-650 Platinum. It will be globaly released to the market in the end of January - early February, along with the other two smaller units of the new series and its MSRP is $129.95 but hopefully in the stores you will find it at lower prices, since MSRPs are is much higher than the retail price. In fact newegg already sells it at $119.99, ten bucks lower than the MSRP.

Specifications

Besides Platinum efficiency the unit can deliver its full power up to 50°C ambient. This is something very good of course and indicates that quality components are used in this PSU, which can withstand extreme heat. All common protections, except OTP (Over Temperature Protection) are present and we also see two more: Surge & Inrush Protection (SIP) and Brown-Out Protection (BOP). Surge protection most of the times is handled by an MOV in the transient filtering stage while inrush protection is provided by a thermistor before the APFC caps, so most of the PSUs sold nowadays have these protections. On the contrary BOP isn't so common and protects against short voltage drops on the AC supply side.
The dimensions of the unit are compact but its weight is normal for its capacity. Finally the warranty is short at three years, since most of the competition provides five or more years while the retail price is very good for a Platinum efficiency unit.


There are four +12V rails with 30A max power each. Unfortunately the max combined power at +12V is kept rather low at 576W, whereas most of the high efficiency units can deliver almost their full power at +12V alone, something that greatly enhances usability since modern systems draw power mainly from this rail. The minor rails are weaker than what we normally see in other PSUs but 105W combined are just fine at these rails for a modern system. Finally the 5VSB rail can deliver up to 3A, a normal power level for the category of the unit.

Cables & Connectors, Power Distribution

For starters we think that two PCIe connectors are too few for the unit's capacity, thus crippling its usability. At least four should be present. Also the SATA connectors ideally should be two more reaching eight in total while the peripheral connectors are enough. Regarding cable length we would like to see a 600mm long 24pin ATX and 60mm additional length to the two PCIe cables. Thankfully the distance among connectors is the right one. Finally all cables are hardwired to the PSU and fully sleeved back into the housing with all wires having the recommended size which of course is 18AWG.


Power distribution is optimal since the EPS and PCIe connectors are powered from different rails. The peripheral and SATA connectors have their own rail and the same applies to the 24pin ATX connector, too.

Packaging

The packaging is pretty small and features a simple graphics design, clearly indicating that this unit belongs to the mainstream class, even though it's Platinum certified. On the front we find the "Platinum" word highlighted in big platinum colored fonts and on the bottom there are some numbers (and one symbol) describing the capacity, efficiency and the energy savings that this PSU achieves. On the rear side of the box we find a brief features description while the power specifications table is located on one of the two sides. Overall pretty simple packaging which reminds of lower cost and performance units.