Viewing page 1 of 5 pages.
1 2 3 4 5 NextOctober 11, 2005 by Devon
Cooke
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Product
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Antec Neo HE 430
430W ATX12V 2.2 Power Supply |
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Manufacturer
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Antec |
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Market Price
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MRSP: US$110 |
POSTSCRIPT 2 ADDED on last page DEC 21, 2005: Incompatibilities!
The Antec Neo HE is the successor to the Antec NeoPower, one of the first PC
power supplies with detachable cables. While the Neo HE retains the detachable
cables, so many other aspects have changed that it can be considered a completely
new model. Antec has highlighted efficiency as a key selling point for the new
model; "HE" stands for high efficiency. This is in contrast to the
original NeoPower, which had rather poor efficiency in our testing.
The Neo HE 430 sample tested here came installed as part of an Antec P150 case. This
sample is identical to the retail package version, as far as we know. The P150
case review by Ralf Hutter and Mike Chin was posted very recently.
PHYSICAL BASICS
The Neo HE 430 has a gunmetal gray finish and black trim that give it a utilitarian
appearance. There is a decided lack of bling that makes it quite attractive
to me personally.
A small vent on the side provides ventilation for a few heat-critical components.
The original NeoPower was the first Antec power supply to utilize a 120mm
fan. The Neo HE goes against the current trend and reverts to a single 80mm
fan with a "straight-through" airflow path. As a result, the Neo HE
may play less of a role in evacuating heat from the PC system. Since this style of power
supply exhausts less heat from the system, less airflow through
the power supply is needed to keep it cool, meaning a slower, quieter fan can
be used. This style of power supply is also a good candidate for an intake duct,
which can keep the PSU running cooler, thus making the internal fan less likely
to increase in speed.
A conventional 80mm fan design. The wire fan grill is quite unrestrictive,
and can be easily removed if necessary.
The rear panel of the power supply is typical of the straight-through design.
A standard wire fan grill is used. The absence of a voltage selection switch
confirms that the Neo HE is a universal input voltage model.
The intake is very unrestrictive.
The intake at the front of the power supply is extremely open, more so than
any other 80mm fan PSU we've seen. The cable ports are clustered in the lower
right corner, and take up perhaps a sixth of the total area.
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