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Next to the fan, there is a 3 position fan switch. This allows you to set the temperature at which the power supply's fan will activate. Since the 3 position fan switch is located on the front side of the power supply, next to the main power cable, it would be a good idea to determine which mode would be best for you. Otherwise, to change the mode, you will have to open your case back up to change the mode. Switch Settings:
Load Testing: To conduct our load test I ran 3D Mark 2005, ripped a DVD, and topped it off with some Counter-Strike 2. I tried to put a load on the cpu, ram, hard drive and optical drive. All of these devices should put a good load on the power supply. Let's look at the test system. Test System:
To help insure accurate readings, I used a multimeter to check the voltages except for the 3 volt rail which I checked in the bios. Idle voltages were a respectable 12.08, 4.99 and 3.18. I was only able to test the 3 volt using the bios at idle. These are all within the tolerance range. Now let’s see what these numbers do under a little stress.
When a big load was put on the Phantom 500, the power supply took it all in stride. The 12 volt rail dropped only a fraction to 12.07 while the 5 volt rail only dropped to a respectable 4.98 volts. During all of the stress test, the voltages stayed strong and consistent and that's exactly what you're looking for in a power supply. In the "High Performance mode" the fan did kick on during the test and I must say , I was impressed . The fan was extremely quiet and the outside of the power supply stayed cool . Conclusion: Antec has another star in their power supply line up . I was impressed from the time I opened the box and throughout the review . It's a good looking power supply that has plenty of power and is very quiet . It has a lot of features and it is very stable . Pros:
Cons:
A special PCA thank you goes out to the good people at Antec who made this review possible. This PSU has won our highest award.
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