Introduction

One often overlooked component when building the ultimate gaming computer is the power supply. Reasoning for this is because the core components, CPU, RAM and Graphics Card are usually decided first leaving little or no budget for the PSU. In the past, a low-end power unit was normally fine; however with the newer and more power-hungry components which entail many of our systems, a beefier and more stable PSU is a must-have in achieving the ultimate stable gaming machine.

Features

• NVIDIA™ SLI™-ready certified
• Universal Input, automatically adjusts for 100V to 240V power grids
• Designed to meet the 80PLUS® Certification
• Active Power Factor Correction (PFC) helps reduce electrical waste
• Supports EPS12V v2.91 and ATX12V systems
• Four 12V output circuits provide supreme system stability
• Accurate power rating allows TruePower Quattro to deliver its full rated power (24 hours a day rated at 50ºC)
• Up to 85% efficient
• 80mm low noise cooling fan
• Heavy duty protection circuitry prevents damage resulting from short circuits (SCP), over voltages (OVP), under voltages (UVP), and over current (OCP)
• 2 x 8-pin PCI-E connectors and 2 x 6-pin connectors for PCI-Express graphics cards
• MTBF: 100,000 hours
• Safety approvals: UL, CUL, FCC, TÜV, CE, C-tick, CCC, CB
• Gold plated connectors for superior conductivity
• AQ5 -Antec Quality five-year parts and labour warranty

Specifications

Output Voltage	Load Range		Surge	Reg.	Ripple & Noise
	Min	Max
+5V	0.2A	30.0A	N/A	±3％	N/A
+12V1	0.1A	25.0A	N/A	±3％	N/A
+12V2	0.5A	25.0A	N/A	±3％	N/A
+12V3	0 A	25.0A	N/A	±3％	N/A
+12V4	0 A	25.0A	N/A	±3％	N/A
-12V	0 A	0.5A	N/A	±5％	N/A
+5VSB	0 A	3.0A	N/A	±5％	N/A
+3.3V	0.1A	25.0A	N/A	±3％	N/A
Total Power: 850W continuous output @ 50C
+5V and +3.3V combined max. output: 180W
+12V outputs combined max. output: 768W(64A)

The Package

The TruePower Quattro arrives in a bright yellow cardboard box. As you can probably suspect, this is very eye-catching – perfect for shop shelves. Mainly the front of the box boasts about its 850 watts of power, other than that, there really isn’t much information.

However turning to the rear and sides, it’s much more informative. The back gives all the features in three different languages: English, French and German. The different power connectors entailed with this unit are listed at the rear near the bottom also. The sides give a briefing towards the product – again in the three languages – and more details on the technology behind this PSU.

Included with the TPQ 850W (bar the power cables) is:

• Kettle-type power lead
• Four black PSU mounting screws
• An installation guide

Antec TruePower Quattro TPQ 850W

The most striking part of this unit is its unique paint job. Its background is a black matt finish whilst its foreground entails glossy orange racing stripes. This results in this product being hugely aesthetically pleasing to any potential buyer or owner.

In terms or size, the Antec is the usual ATX PSU dimensions of roughly: 18cm (L), 15cm (W) and 9cm (D).

At the under-side of the TruePower it’s unlike most power supplies. There is no 120mm fan. Instead, there is a small grill. Beneath this grill – so I’m told by Antec – is a large black heat-sink which dominates the bulk of the internals. This provides adequate cooling for the unit as well as remaining silent during usage.

On the right side of the Quattro, the power specifications are clearly listed. These are in table format for quick analysis.

The left side is slightly dull with an embossed Antec logo, a small grill and a few useless stickers.

An 80mm fan with black grill is evident at the front of the TPQ 850W. Above and below these are the racing stripes which band all their way round the unit. Being the norm, a kettle lead socket and power switch is situated in the usual placement.

The front of the Antec is perforated and similarly carries on the racing stripes. Four non-modular cables are evident while five modular sockets are situated to the left of the cables. Two of the sockets are red whilst three are black, with the red sockets being assigned for PCI-E only.

Cables

As far as non-modular cables go there are:

• 1x           20/24 pin ATX connector
• 1x           4 pin ATX 12v P4 CPU connector
• 1x           8 pin EPS12V connector
• 2x           6+2 pin PCI-E connectors

And modular wise, there are:

• 2x                   6 pin PCI-E connectors
• 3x                   SATA cables totalling 8 SATA connectors
• 3x                   Molex cables totalling 9 Molex and 2 Floppy connectors

All these cables are braided in black braided cabling and use black connectors – bar the two 6 pin PCI-E connectors which have red connectors. Instead of using the conventional heat shrink to bind the braiding to the cabling, Antec have devised a black plastic tube which seals the braiding much more securely.

Testing

To test power supplies, it’s pretty simple. Firstly we hook it up to our current test rig and measure the voltages for the 3.3v, 5v and 12v rails at idle and load. For idle testing we leave the system running no applications and at stock clocks. The idle voltages are then recorded an hour thereafter. For load testing, it’s a very similar process but we load the system as much as we can by overclocking it and running demanding benchmarks such as 3dmark 06 and two processes of CPU-Burn in. Again the results are recorded an hour later.

Test Rig

Intel Core 2 Duo E8400

Processor
Motherboard	Asus P5K Premium
RAM	Crucial Ballistix Tracer DDR2-6400 4GB (2×2GB)
HDD	Western Digital SE16 500GB SATA
Graphics Card	Vivikoo 9600GT 512MB

Results

	Idle	Load
12V	12.31	12.31
5V	5.14	5.13
3.3V	3.37	3.36

These results evidently show the TPQ 850W to have very tight rails. As well as this, it’s idle and load voltages don’t differ greatly thus having great stability.

Noise

In regards to noise, alike most Antec power supplies, the TruePower Quattro too is very quiet. Even though it has an 80mm fan, this actually spins at a very low RPM thus it can hardly be heard.

Cost

The Antec TruePower Quattro retails for £113. This is the average price for a PSU of this wattage. Given its performance and aesthetics, I feel this unit is a fantastic buy.

Conclusion

With the racing stripes and tight rails, the TruePower Quattro 850 isn’t only a stunner but also an impressive performer. For someone who wants a quiet gaming PC, the silence of this unit would be greatly appreciated by many as well as the amount of power provided.

The cost too is quite reasonable. Not only are you purchasing the PSU itself, but as an added bonus, Antec have kindly included 3 years warrantee should anything go wrong.

This sums the Antec TruePower Quattro 850 to be an excellent addition for any gaming system.