Packaging

The packaging exudes an air of luxury and you easily can figure out that inside it a high-end PSU is hiding, even if you don't know anything about PSUs. The most interesting badges are in the top-front left corner and describe the seven year warranty and the Platinum efficiency. Near the bottom we meet some more visual descriptions for the 1000W capacity, the peak 94% efficiency, the fully modular cabling design and the high energy saving that this unit can offer. On the rear side there are is a feature description in several languages including Spanish, French, Dutch, Russian and Italian, besides English. On one of the two sides we find the power specifications table and the input power range that the unit supports. On the other side there is the available cables/connectors description and a table showing the money this unit can save you, thanks to its high efficiency. According to Antec in the best case scenario where you operate your PC 24/7 at full load (1kW), you can reduce your electricity bill up to 25%.
Finally on the bottom side there are three more visual descriptions referring to the ErP Lot 6 2013 compliance, the 16pin sockets of the modular panel and the stealth wires. Apparently besides stealth fighter jets there are also stealth wires which pass under the user's radar!
According to Antec when all wires of a cable are black/darkened then they are invisible. These marketing guys sometimes are simply unbelievable.

Contents

Packing foam protects the unit inside the packaging and on top of that it is stored in a cloth bag. The large amount of modular cables is also stored in a pouch, something very convenient because most likely you won't use all of them so it is nice to have a storing bag to keep them. The rest of the bundle includes a piece of paper which offers a product overview, some Velcro straps, a set of fixing bolts and of course the AC power cord. As usual Antec doesn't offer a user's manual in order to reduce the amount of paper wasted for this stuff, on their products. Normally you can download all manuals of Antec products online but this is not the case for the HCP-1000, at least at the time of the review. Apparently they didn't have it ready yet.

Exterior

The PSU features a dark, almost glossy, high quality finish. In general the PSU has a serious look which is appealing, at least to us. The front side of the PSU is totally perforated by honeycomb style holes, to freely let the hot air exit the unit. On this side there is also a stylish Antec label and of course the AC receptacle along with a small On/Off switch. The power specifications label is located on the bottom of the unit so it won't bother those that will use the PSU in a windowed case. On the rear side there is the modular panel which features multi-pin sockets. According to Antec the specific sockets offers compatibility with future standards and connectors.