Antec TruePower Trio TP3-650

Verdict: An SLI- and CrossFire-certified PSU on the cheap.

Of the two current ranges of Antec PSUs, only the lower-wattage Neo HE series has modular cables, while the TruePower Trios soldier on with captive (and unbraided) cables.

However, the money Antec has saved by opting for captive cables means that a 650W TruePower Trio tips the scales at a mere £68. However, has Antec had to cut other corners to make a PSU that it claims can deliver nearly 10W per £1? All starts well for the TP3-650, as its three separate 19A 12V rails mean it should be able to power high-end systems with ease. The rails are laid out in a curious manner, with 12V1 powering both the ATX12V and EPS12V connectors, 12V2 the ATX, Molex and S-ATA ports, and 12V3 the two PCI-E ports. It isn't ideal having both CPU connectors on the same rail, or both PCI-E connectors sharing another rail, but the TP3-650 had no problems powering the dual Xeon E5110 system with a GeForce 8800 GTS that we built for this month's feature. Nvidia even certifies the TP3-650 as being capable of supporting two 8800 GTS cards in SLI, while ATi gives it the nod for two X1950XTXs in CrossFire.

The interior of the TP3-650 is cooled by a 120mm intake fan and large vent on the rear panel. Even at full load, the TP3-650 is reasonably quiet. We ran our full set of voltage stability tests on the TP3-650, and it passed all 45 tests with ease. It's also very efficient, averaging between 84 and 81 per cent, depending on the load, meaning that it required 804W from the mains to produce the full 650W.

CONCLUSION

While the TP3-650 lacks the modular cables of the Neo HE 500, it's much more powerful and is certified to run most dual graphics cards setups. Unless you plan to run two 8800 GTXs in SLI, we can't think of any reason not to buy the TP3-650.

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