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Antec Phantom 350W Fanless PSU |
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Written by Mikhail Ivanenkov
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Monday, 18 June 2007 |
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Page 1 of 4
Thanks to Antec for the product sample.
It's no secret that very few companies still hold monopolies in the computer business. Sure there's Intel, AMD, NVIDA, and ATi, but for the most part you can find quite a few manufacturers of everything else, from motherboards to cases, coolers, drives, and even power supplies. Antec is a seasoned veteran when it comes to quality components. They've been around longer than the majority of PSU manufacturers and have a solid track record with regards to performance, quality, stability, and many other factors. Their most recent power supply is the Phantom, the first fanless design from the company.
Fanless power supplies are just one of many emerging products geared towards the latest trend: quiet computing. Thanks to an ever-saturating market, relatively high-end components are readily available, cheap. This means that generally, overclocking (and the corresponding noisy components, i.e. case fans) is no longer an incredible leap worthy of a loud system. Moderate overclocks can almost always be achieved with stock cooling. Computers are also finding their way into kitchens, cars, and entertainment centers, but regardless of where a PC is kept, quieter = better. Let's take a look at what Antec says about their latest:
Special Features:
- 350 Watts ATX12V2.0
- Fanless design ensures absolutely silent operation
- Ultra-high-efficiency circuitry (at least 85% efficiency at full load) saves energy and reduces heat
- Extruded aluminum casing is directly attached to internal heatsinks, for maximum heat dispersion
- Dedicated output circuits for each voltage eliminate combined-output limitations
- Advanced voltage-feedback circuitry provides maximum system stability by ensuring accurate power delivery
- Dual +12V output circuits provide server-quality power
- 2 SATA connectors to power Serial ATA drives
- Server-grade protection features ensure maximum reliability. Includes over-temperature, over-voltage, over-current, over-power, short-circuit and under-voltage protection
- Gold-plated connectors for superior conductivity
- ATX12V v2.0 compliant compatible with current and newest generation of motherboards
- AQ3 Antec's unbeatable 3-year parts and labor warranty
Most of the above listed features are standard with the majority of quality power supplies, but the 85% efficiency is by far the highest rated value of any currently available PSU. Much like the fanless design, this is big news. Mechanically, efficiency is the ratio of useful energy delivered by a machine to the energy supplied for its operation. In power supplies, the rest is given off as heat. The industry standard is currently close to 70% with quality units ranging between 75%-80%. 70% vs. 85% may not seem like much, but consider this mathematically ideal situation: using a 300 watt load (more than adequate even for high-end systems), an 85% efficient PSU will give off 45 watts as heat; a 70% efficient PSU will give off 90 watts as heat - that's twice as much! So, even 15% of extra efficiency translates into half the heat output.
On to the unit itself, it's essentially a giant passive heatsink. Both the top and bottom of the PSU are covered by half-inch thick ribbed plates. There are plenty of connectors to go around with ample length and a 24-pin to 20-pin power adapter is included for older systems. The rest of the package contains an AC cord and some screws for installation. Another interesting note is the 350 watt rating. This may seem mediocre when compared to 500, 600, even close to 700 watt models, but in reality even high-end systems rarely need more than 300 reliable watts. Yes, even those 64-bit processors and $500 video cards don't need even close to 500 watts. As we'll see, the test system I put together isn't top-of-the-line, but it is performance oriented yet it still doesn't account for over 200 watts of energy when loaded.
The entire power supply shell is constructed of black anodized aluminum. Both the top and bottom heatsinks can be removed via a pair of screws on each side. There's a square patterned vent spanning the entire backside to allow for as much convectional cooling as possible. The strip near the bottom is a piece of translucent plastic with a pair of blue LEDs on either side; these provide both the outside and inside of the PSU with a subtle illumination during use.
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Last Updated ( Monday, 18 June 2007 )
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