Zaključak

Napajanje Antec Quattro 850 pokazalo se kao prilično dobar izbor za vlasnike računala opremljenih s više high-end grafičkih kartica. Napajanje nudi vrlo stabilne napone i popriličnu zalihu snage čak i kada govorimo u kontekstu high-end konfiguracija. Dobar primjer za to je grafikon potrošnje prikazan u ovom testu gdje se jasno da vidi da konfiguracija četverojezgrenim procesorom, četiri gigabajta memorije i dvije snažne grafičke kartice (Radeon HD 2900 XT) u gornjem režimu rada troši "tek" 560 vata dok je prema Antecovim specifikacijama Quattro dizajniran tako da sistemu može isporučivati 850 vata kontinuirano pri temperaturi od 50 celzijevih stupnjeva. Obzirom na robustan dizajn ne čudi da je napajanje u radu vrlo tiho prema raspolaže sa samo jednim 80-milimetarskim ventilatorom.

Sukladno tredovima, na Quattro su implementirani modularni kabeli, ali moglo bi se reći da je ovaj feature mogao biti bolje riješen jer napajanju nalazimo i dosta fiksnih kabela koje će u nekim slučajevima korisnici morati povezivati i skrivati radi estetike i poboljšanja protoka zraka. Druga manjkavost ovog napajanja odnosi se na vrijednosti napona. Premda su naponi vrlo stabilni i minimalno opadaju kod opterećenja, istovremeno su relativno visoki u odnosu na idealne vrijednosti od 12, 5 i 3,3 volta. Premda su izmjerene vrijednosti i dalje obuhvaćene ATX specifikacijom (toleracija od +/- 5%), držimo da je kalibracija railova mogla biti bolje izvedena.

Antec na Quattro nudi 5 godina tvorničkog jamstva, a u hrvatskim trgovinama (vjerojatno ne svim) je ovo jamstvo moguće u potpunosti iskoristiti. Cijena napajanja kreće se oko 1.400 kn što je otprilike jednako cijeni većine ostalih brand-name napajanja sličnih specifikacija.

Conclusion

Through the course of our tests, Antec’s Quattro 850 presented itself as a great solution for owners of high-performance gaming machines with multiple high-end graphics cards. This attractive black-yellow PSU offers stable voltages and respectable amount of power even in the context of high-end configurations. Good example of this is graphicon of power draw included in our article which shows that PC equipped with quad core CPU, four gigabytes of memory and two powerful graphics cards (Radeon HD 2900 XT) under full load draws "only" 560W from the wall power outlet, while Antec’s PSU is designed to provide 850W continuously at temperatures as high as 50 degrees celsius. Considering Quattro’s robust design, it doesn’t suprise us that this PSU is also pretty quiet, despite the fact that cooling is provided by only one 80mm fan.

In line with recent trends, Quattro is fitted with modular cables. Unfortunately, some cables are still pemanently attached to the PSU so certain users will be forced to bind them and hide them to gain better airflow and better looking computer interior. Second problematic characteristic of Quattro 850 are relatively high voltages of 12V and 5V rail. Altough all rails are very stable and flex very little as power draw is increased, measured voltages are higher than we would like them to be. On the other hand, these values are still well within limits of deviation of 5% which is defined in ATX specification.

Antec offers 5 years factory warranty on high-end power supplies and that naturally includes Quattro series. Same warranty period is also offered by some if not all croatian shops which sell Antec’s products. Price of this powerful PSU in Croatia is about 1.400 kn (about 195 € including VAT), pretty similar to price of other brand name PSUs with similar specifications.