Introduction

Antec, Inc. is the global leader in high-performance computer components and accessories, founded in 1986. Antec has maintained its position as a worldwide leader and international provider of quiet, efficient and innovative products. Antec has also achieved great success in the distribution channel, meeting the standards required by its customers.

Official product link:

http://www.antec.com/product.php?id=706881&fid=5022137

Packaging and accessories

The Power Supply comes in a cardboard box with a black background and yellow accents.
The front side of the packaging presents the product using a general image of it, the name, model and a few features of the Power Supply. On the upper part, we find the name of the PSU line, the 80 Plus Gold certification and the name of the manufacturer.

 

The sides of the box present a few features of the product.

 

The back side of the box presents the features of the product, on the upper part we find printed several icons of certifications (80 Plus Gold, Nvidia SLI, Haswell Ready, ErP Lot 6 compliance).

 

Accessories

The product comes with the following accessories:
– 1x Manual
– 1x Warranty
– 1x AC Power Cord
– 2x Rubber noise dampening frames (Red)
– 2x Rubber noise dampening frames (Black)
– 1x Pouch for modular cables
– 4x Metal screws

 

Specifications

Name: Antec Edge 550W
Model: EDG550
Max. DC Output: 550W
Efficiency: 80 PLUS® GOLD
Modular: Full Modular
Intel Haswell Ready: Yes
Operating temperature: 0°C – 50°C
Fan: 135 mm LED FDB Silence
Protections:
– Over Voltage Protection
– Under Voltage Protection
– Over Power Protection
– Over Temperature Protection
– Over Current Protection
– No Load Operation
– Surge & Inrush Protection
– Short Circuit Protection
Connectors and cables:
– 1 x 24(20+4)-pin (550mm)
– 1 x 8(4+4)-pin ATX12V/EPS12V (650mm)
– 2 x 8(6+2)-pin PCI-E (560mm+150mm)
– 3 x Molex (500mm+100mm+100mm+100mm)
– 8 x SATA (500mm+100mm+100mm+100mm)
– 1x Floppy (+100mm)
Power Distribution:
12V1: ATX, 8-pin socket, Peripheral
12V2: 16-pin socket
Dimensions: 150 mm (W) x 86 mm (H) x 170 mm (D)
Weight: 1.9 kg
Compliance: ATX12V v2.4, EPS 2.92
Warranty: 5 years

Features:

– 80 PLUS® GOLD certified – Up to 92% efficient, to reduce your electricity bill.
– AQ5 – Antec Quality 5 year warranty and lifetime global 24/7 support.
– 16-pin Socket – Industry-leading 16-pin sockets double the modular connectivity by
– supporting 2 different 8-pin cables per socket and allow for future connector changes.
– 135 mm LED FDB Silence – Whisper-quiet high-quality LED fluid-dynamic bearing fan
– with long lifetime.
– Thermal Manager – An advanced low voltage fan control for optimal heat & noise
– Management.
– High Current Rails – 2 +12V rails with high load capabilities ensure maximum CPU & GPU compatibility.
– CircuitShield™ – Full suite of industrial grade protections: Over Current Protection
(OCP), Over Voltage Protection (OVP), No Load Operation (NLO), Short Circuit
Protection (SCP), Over Power Protection (OPP), Over Temperature Protection (OTP) &
Surge & Inrush Protection (SIP).
– Japanese Heavy-Duty Caps – High-performance Japanese capacitors ensure tightest DC
stability and regulation.
– Flat Stealth Wires – Flat and darkened wires for minimal visibility in chassis (except
MBU cable).

 

Visual inspection

The Edge 550W model has a minimalistic design, the PSU measures 170mm in length.

 

The front grill which covers the 135mm fan maintains the overall look of the Power Supply, the grill being matte black.

 

On the back side the PSU uses a honeycomb-style grill, here we find both the the on/off switch and AC slot and the Edge series logo.

 

On both sides the PSU uses the same honeycomb-style grill as the back side, also on the top side we find the manufacturer’s logo.

 

The front side is occupied by the 8 connectors for the modular cables, on the right side we find the ON/OFF switch for the fan’s LEDs.

 

On the top of the Power Supply we have the label with the specifications of the PSU.

 

The cables of the Power Supply are flat ribbon style, the only sleeved cable is the 24Pin ATX.

 

The fan used is provided by Hong Hua, model HA13525H12F-Z specifications: 12 V, 0.5 A, 2000 RPM max, 135 mm. Also the fan is connected to the PCB using a 2-pin Molex connector.

 

The fan features white LEDs which can be turned ON or OFF using the switch located on the front side of the unit, the LEDs are connected to the PSU using a 2pin connector.

 

The electronic in the case of the Edge series is manufactured by Seasonic, the platform of the Edge line being based on the platform of the G Series line from Seasonic. The components are being passively cooled by four gold heatsinks.

 

Behind the AC receptacle we find a small PCB with 6 Y capacitors and two X capacitors, still here we find two filtering inductors.

 

In the APFC section we find installed a Hitachi made capacitor with the following spec: 330μF/420V, next to it we have a filtering coil.

 

The Power Supply uses a PWM controller manufactured by Infineon, model ICE2QR4765.

 

The capacitors used in the Edge 550W are manufactured by Nippon Chemi-Con, the electrolytic capacitors are manufactured by Rubycon while the polymer capacitors are Enesol.

 

Testing

The following system was used to test the Power Supply:
– Processor: Intel i5 4690K @ 3.9 GHz
– Motherboard: MSI Z97 Gaming 9 ACK
– RAM: 8GB Crucial Ballistix Tactical
– GPU: MSI GeForce GTX 660 OC Gaming
– SSD: Samsung 840 EVO 120GB
– HDD: Samsung SpinPoint F3 500GB
– CPU Cooler: SilverStone Tundra TD02 with NoiseBlocker eLoop B12-PS
– Display: AOC i2769VM
– Case: Phanteks Enthoo Luxe White
– OS: Windows 7 64-bit Service Pack 1

 

The above system has a power consumption of approximately 400W when in full load, in order to test the efficiency of the Power Supply, the power draw of the system was measured at the wall socket. Also the voltages were measured on the +12v +5v and +3.3v using a multi-meter.
To load the system to its maximum the stability test of the AIDA64 Extreme (5.50.3600) was used with Intel Burn Test V2.
The Power Supply was tested with the system both idle and at maximum load.

For rail voltage tolerance levels, ATX (Power Supply Design Guide) specify that a 5% variable fluctuation is acceptable. 

 

The efficiency of the Edge 550W model is good, the total power draw with the system in full load being 450W, thus the Power Supply efficiency is 88.9% at 72% Load from its total capacity. The PSU passes the 80 Plus Gold certification.

The noise level was measured at three different distances from the fans (10cm, 20cm, 30cm.) the noise was measured with a margin of error of ± 5 db.

 

Final thoughts

The first thing that stands out at this Power Supply is the build quality both externally and internally. The Power Supply uses quality components, a fact brought into light by its efficiency.
Adding an ON/OFF switch for the fan’s LEDs is a welcomed feature which adds more personalizing options for the Power Supply. The accessory bundle is right, Antec including two pairs of rubber noise dampening frames (Red & Black), the ribbon style modular cables ease the wire management process.
In conclusion, the Edge 550W model is a worth noting Power Supply due to its 80 Plus Gold efficiency, modularity and the low noise level of the fan.

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