Introduction and Features
The Quattro 1,000W PSU offers a full 1kW of stable DC power with excellent regulation, good efficiency, and comes with a 5-year warranty. Unfortunately, above average AC ripple on some of the DC outputs dampened our enthusiasm.
Antec is a well recognized name in the PC industry offering a full line of cases, power supplies and other accessories to the avid PC enthusiast. Their new TruePower Quattro power supplies include two models with output capacities of 850W or 1,000W. The top of the line Quattro 1,000W PSU that we are reviewing today is designed to deliver stable and reliable power to meet the most demanding system specs. The TruePower Quattro 850W features yellow racing stripes while the 1,000W Quattro has white racing stripes for added style.The TruePower Quattro is 80 PLUS certified, which means the PSU consumes about 33% less energy than many other power supplies with the same output capacity. The TruePower Quattro uses four +12V rails to increase system stability and comes with four PCI-E connectors for powering the latest generation of video cards.
Antec has had mixed success in the past with their power supply offerings. Some of their recent units manufactured by FSP and Seasonic have been very good while some previous units earned a less stellar reputation. For the TruePower Quattro series, Antec chose Enhance as the OEM. It will be interesting to see how the new Quattro 1,000W power supply tests out.
Antec TruePower Quattro 1,000W PSU Key Features:
• 1,000 watts continuous power output (up to 50°C)
• Supports EPS12V v2.91 and ATX12V standards
• Four +12V outputs (up to 70A combined)
• Low noise 80mm variable speed cooling fan
• High-Efficiency (up to 85%) with 80 PLUS certification
• Active PFC with Universal AC line input
• Combination fixed and modular cables, fully sleeved
• Four PCI-E connectors (two 6-pin and two 8-pin)
• White on black racing stripe paint job for extra style
• 5-Year AQ5 warranty
The TruePower Quattro 1kW power supply arrived securely packed inside a retail box that highlights the power supplies features and specifications. In addition to the power supply the box also contains a power cord, mounting screws, modular cables, and a brief User’s Manual.
Establishing an accurate load is critical to testing and evaluating a PC power supply. PCPerspective’s power supply test bench can place a precise 2,000 watt DC load on the PSU under test. Each power supply is tested under controlled, real-world conditions up to its maximum rated load (at 40ºC), using both 115 VAC and 240 VAC line voltage. Our current suite of tests includes:
• DC Load Regulation
• DC Line Regulation
• DC Cross-load (unbalanced load)
• AC Ripple and Noise
• Power Factor
• Efficiency
• Differential Temperature
• Noise
The TruePower Quattro 1kW power supply was evaluated on both features and performance. A full range of equipment was used to test the power supply under controlled load conditions.
• (2) CSI3710A Programmable DC load (+3.3V and +5V ouputs)
• (4) CSI3711A Programmable DC load (+12V1, +12V2, +12V3, and +12V4)
• FLUKE 87-III True RMS digital multimeter (Accuracy ±0.05%)
• Extech 380803 Power Analyzer (Accuracy ±0.5% of full scale)
• Hitachi V-650F 60 MHz dual trace oscilloscope (Accuracy ±3%)
• Powerstat Variable Autotransformer, 1.4 KVA, 0-140 VAC
• FLUKE 52-II digital thermometer (Accuracy ±0.3ºC/0.5ºF)
• Extech Model 407738 digital sound level meter (Accuracy ±1.5 dB)
• Custom Lian Li PC60 enclosure to simulate real-world operating conditions