Antec Earth Watts: Green Computing Hits the Big Time

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Devonavar
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Antec Earth Watts: Green Computing Hits the Big Time

Post by Devonavar » Sat Oct 28, 2006 6:12 pm


Elixer
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Post by Elixer » Tue Oct 31, 2006 2:12 am

Other manufactorers keep trying but it seems no one can yet make power supplies more quiet and effecient than Seasonic.

jaganath
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Post by jaganath » Tue Oct 31, 2006 3:14 am

Inside the Earth Watts is a surprisingly sparse PCB cooled by surprisingly small heatsinks. Knowing that this PSU is made by Seasonic, whose PSUs usually have fairly hefty heatsinks, this was especially surprising.
The "toothed" HS in this PSU is similar in size and design to the ones in the S12-330, so not such a big surprise.

BrianF
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Post by BrianF » Tue Oct 31, 2006 5:33 am

The Earth Watts had no issues starting or staying on with no load applied.
Does this relate directly to the now famous issue the NEO HE's had/have with regards to min loads?

Aris
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Post by Aris » Tue Oct 31, 2006 8:23 am

a bit dissapointing. effeciency didnt even meet 80+ specifications. Fan choice isnt great either, and modular cables would have been nice.

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Post by NeilBlanchard » Tue Oct 31, 2006 8:32 am

Greetings,

I'm wondering if some of the noise is due to the close proximity of the heatsink, coil, and that other component, to the intake of the fan? This causes a "cavitation" noise -- the effect is quite pronounced.

Devonavar
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Post by Devonavar » Tue Oct 31, 2006 8:44 am

@BrianF: Yes, that's why we started testing with no load. I'm not sure the test is foolproof, since some Neo HEs still seem to be having problems, but at least it looks at a potential source of problems.

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Post by MikeC » Tue Oct 31, 2006 8:47 am

BrianF wrote:
The Earth Watts had no issues starting or staying on with no load applied.
Does this relate directly to the now famous issue the NEO HE's had/have with regards to min loads?
Not sure what you mean exactly. The low/no load test is something we've been reporting on for quite a while, to help address the issue of high efficiency PSUs sometimes not wanting to power up w/o minimum load. Some samples of the NeoHE seem to suffer from this, but so do lots of hjigh efficiency PSUs from other brands.

drees
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Post by drees » Tue Oct 31, 2006 11:47 am

Elixer wrote:Other manufactorers keep trying but it seems no one can yet make power supplies more quiet and effecient than Seasonic.
No surprise, since the article indicates that Seasonic actually makes the PSU for Antec.

BrianF
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Post by BrianF » Tue Oct 31, 2006 12:46 pm

Devonavar wrote:@BrianF: Yes, that's why we started testing with no load. I'm not sure the test is foolproof, since some Neo HEs still seem to be having problems, but at least it looks at a potential source of problems.
So do the early NEOs "fail" this test? Understood that the test is not foolproof but if the early NEOs fail I'd say you were on the right track.

Does anybody know what availiability is like on these Earth Watts? I'm a retailer in Canada and none of the distributors even have a SKU for these as of this morning.
Last edited by BrianF on Tue Oct 31, 2006 2:32 pm, edited 1 time in total.

Devonavar
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Post by Devonavar » Tue Oct 31, 2006 2:09 pm

Yes, the early Neo HE's fail the test. A4's pass, but there are still reports of startup problems coming in.

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Post by ultraboy » Tue Oct 31, 2006 9:21 pm

Devon, thanks for the nice review. I have my doubt on the 'Green' claim as well.

With its single exhaust fan at the back and very open intake - this can be a good candidate for people with PSU ducted to front bezel (like me :) ).

limee
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Post by limee » Thu Nov 02, 2006 12:08 pm

BTW, nice inclusion of the ripple tests! Question though, isn't 4.6 mV crazy low for the 12V line? Because I recall seeing another seasonic psu being around 30 mV.

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Post by MikeC » Thu Nov 02, 2006 12:29 pm

limee wrote:BTW, nice inclusion of the ripple tests! Question though, isn't 4.6 mV crazy low for the 12V line? Because I recall seeing another seasonic psu being around 30 mV.
yes, it's very low. Typically, 120mv is cited and seems to be good enough.

GHz
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Post by GHz » Sun Nov 12, 2006 10:34 am

This looks like an excellent low-price, high-efficiency power supply. Question is, where can you actually buy it? I've searched my favorite e-tailers and price engines and I can't find it. Any ideas?

BrianF
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Post by BrianF » Fri Nov 24, 2006 12:30 pm

I've seen it listed at NewEgg but I still dont see it at any of the distributors in Canada (I'm a retailer)

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Post by Sooty » Thu Feb 01, 2007 12:21 pm

From SPCR’s recommended section: “It's basically an 80 Plus certified, non-detachable cable version of the NeoHE with a slightly louder fan. Still pretty quiet, even to a fairly high power load.â€

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Post by Devonavar » Thu Feb 01, 2007 12:32 pm

Yes, they're both Seasonic designs. The Earthwatts is based on a newer design; if you compare it to the newer S12 models, you'll see that it's fairly close.

There are a number of give-away signs that you can use to identify Seasonic-made PSUs:

- Code on the main transformer begins with VRL
- The main AC capacitor (the big one) has a colourful sticker on top (usually yellow or green)
- Heatsinks with "teeth" (only applies to newer models)

Sooty
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Post by Sooty » Thu Feb 01, 2007 1:02 pm

Thanks Devon. So it’s closer to the S12. Good news :)

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Post by Techno Pride » Sun Apr 29, 2007 6:18 am

i'm surprised at the lack of interest in this psu. Is it because the thing looks like a SmartPower?

Smartpower = budget psu = crap??

kaange
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Post by kaange » Thu May 10, 2007 10:49 pm

I'd say it more the similarity to the Neo is the issure. There have been quite a few reports of Neo failures on forums I frequent.

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Post by jhhoffma » Tue Feb 05, 2008 7:59 pm

What are anyone's thoughts about which fan to use for a fanswap?

The included ADDA AD0812HS-A70GL is spec'd at 3000RPM/38.6CFM/34.4dBA. I'm thinking a Nexus 80mm would not be a good candidate for drop in replacement due to the ~4V at start. What would be a better replacement?

I'm running an 8800GT and a E6550 @ stock speeds/voltage. I'll be replacing the stock HSF as soon as I can grab a bracket to adapt my CNPS7000B to LGA775 mounts. That will take care of that noise, but the EA430 is still too loud with a duct when running Crysis. I'm thinking that a slightly slower running fan will be adequate to cool it, but I don't know which fans are capable of running at a low voltage without having a VERY high top end.

I suppose I could always run the fan off a fan header but that's just one more fan to keep track of.

Any thoughts?
Last edited by jhhoffma on Wed Feb 06, 2008 9:55 pm, edited 1 time in total.

ilh
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Post by ilh » Wed Feb 06, 2008 10:52 am

Out of 12 of these , at least 3 of the Earthwatts 500W PSUs (came with Sonata III) buzz at light load. The buzzing stops when the load is increased. Bummer.

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