Antec High Current Gamer M 750 W (HCG-750M) review

Conclusion and evaluation

The Antec High Current Gamer M 750 W (HCG-750M) passed the combined and crossload testing in accordance with the ATX specification, so according to my evaluation methodology, it is deserving of an evaluation. I must admit I am quite surprised by this unit. Though it is just some mid-step between ordinary group-designs and synchronously rectified designs as it has internally only +12V output, but diode rectified, it performs better than many other Seasonic units. Even though they are, in theory, superior. So the voltage regulation was very nice for such mainstream unit and in absolute values quite competitive with even Seasonic S12G or G series units.

Similar achievement is the ripple suppression which – besides the −12 V rail – was very low. It started at just couple millivolts and even under full load, it was just around 20 mV on all the positive rails. This is even better result than from all the G/S12G and their clones I have seen so far. Plus the HCG-750M only uses quality, in this case mostly Japanese capacitors, which means you should not worry about their lifespan. As the unit has somewhat lower efficiency (maximum I reached was almost 86 %) for the power rating, at full output it already has to get rid of a lot of heat. In such case the unit is noisy even with 135mm FDB fan, plus it still keeps higher internal temperature. But with quality capacitors, there should not really be too much of a problem with the heat, just the noise.

What’s more, the unit has working OTP. It also has semi-modular cabling most of which is golden-plated! That is unheard of for mainstream unit. And on top of that, you have 5 years of warranty. But because of the noise, I suggest keeping continuous power draw under 550 W to keep the unit at least somewhat quiet. Besides the OTP, the unit also has working OCP, which is still not so common for mainstream power supplies. However, the OPP was not working properly, and the UVP was one of the worst I have ever seen. The unit was still kicking even when the voltage on +12 V rail fell to 9 V. I think something is broken here…all the more reason to keep the (continuous) power output limited by user himself. The unit can provide full power continuously, I am not implying otherwise, but because of the noise, you don’t want to do that anyway.

The value of the Antec High Current Gamer M 750 W (HCG-750M) as a mainstream unit is as follows:

• component/technology quality: 49 p. (− for OPP, −  for UVP, + for working OTP, + for working OCP, + for gold-plated connectors, + for all cables sleeved, + for quality capacitors)
• built quality: 5 p. (− for messy soldering)
• voltage regulation: 16 p. (+ for combined loading, + for crossloading)
• ripple: 14.5 p. (+ for combined loading, + for crossloading)
• efficiency: 12 p. (− for lower efficiency)
• hold-up time: 8 p. (− for shorter power good signal hold-up time)
• others: 12 p. (+ for modular cabling, + for longer warranty)

The score is very high and it is just a second unit ever to reach score over 100, though it was just a matter of time with all the advanced units with modular cabling and long warranty finding a way into mainstream segment. It is just pity that not all of the protections are working properly and the unit is not really silent. Otherwise it would be great buy for the money. So I can only give silver award this time.

So in mainstream, the unit gets value of 116.5. Assuming the cost is 2500 CZK, then the price per value ratio would be 100×116.5/2500 = 4.66. So after three mainstream units (which passed), we can see that the Antec HCG-750M is first in value (which makes sense as it has quality capacitors and gold-plated connectors, unlike both the previous units). But considering the price per value ratio, it is on par with the G550M as the GM series has lately dropped in price significantly, at least here in Czech republic.

Pros	+ semi-modular cabling + working OTP and OCP + nice voltage regulation + good ripple suppression + long warranty + reasonable efficiency + OK build quality, high-quality components + all cables sleeved, all connectors gold-plated
Cons	− OPP not working − UVP not working − noisy at full power output − runs warm at full power output
Be aware of…	/?\ availability getting limited (in central Europe)

Thanks

I thank the Antec company for providing the Antec HCG-750M unit.

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