Antec CP-1000 Power Supply Review

Another power supply has been added to the notorious Antec CPX family. Today we take a look at the 1000W version of continuous power by Antec.

Product on Review: Antec CP-1000 Power Supply
Manufacturer and Sponsor: Antec
MSRP: Not mentioned on site
Street Price: £114.99 At time of review

We saw the CP Series of power supply units from Antec first introduced last summer, and whilst they aren’t the most compatible of units due to the constraint of needing an Antec CPX ready case – the CP 850 unit James reviewed was found to offer great price-to-performance. Today I am equipped with the new 1000W version which you may have seen at CES 2010.

This is what Antec have to say about the CP-1000 (taken from: Antec Website:

The CP-1000 features a unique design with an advanced cooling system, exclusively compatible with some of Antec’s most cutting-edge Gaming and Performance One enclosures, including the Twelve Hundred, P183 and P193. By breaking the mold of standardized power supply size restrictions, the CP-1000 design is able to provide an excellent price-to-performance ratio. A silent rear 120mm PWM fan and dual PCB layout also ensure optimal cooling performance and reliability.

Features and Specifications

• Unique power supply construction compatible with the following Antec cases:
– Twelve Hundred
– P183
– P193
• NVIDIA™ SLI™ – Ready certified
• Advanced hybrid cable management improves airflow and reduces clutter
• Meets 80 PLUS® certification standards
• Electrical compliance with ATX12V version 2.3 and EPS version 2.91
• Dual PCB layout optimizes cooling efficiency and allows for heavy duty components
• Quiet 120mm PWM cooling fan
• 4 +12V output circuits
• Industrial grade protection: OVP (Over Voltage Protection), SCP (Short Circuit Protection), and OCP (Over Current Protection)
• Universal Input with Active PFC
• Two 8-pin(6+2) PCI-E connectors and two 6-pin PCI-E connectors
• SATA connectors for Serial ATA drive
• MTBF: 100,000 hours
• Safety approval: UL, FCC, TÜV, CE, C-tick, CCC, CB
• Unit Dimension
– 119mm (H) x 175mm (W) x 200mm (D)
– 4.7″ (H) x 6.9″ (W) x 7.9″ (D)
• Package Dimension
– 160mm (H) x 230mm (W) x 330mm (D)
– 6.3″ (H) x 9.1″ (W) x 13″ (D)
• Weight
– Net : 7 lbs / 3.2 kg
– Gross : 9.5 lbs / 4.3 kg

The CP-1000 features a silent rear 120mm Pulse Width Modulation fan and a dual PCB layout. This ensures that the optimum of cooling is realized. One of the draw backs though as you will soon be aware of is how specialized this PSU is. For the moment, it will only reside in one of three cases. The Antec Twelve Hundred, the P183 or the P193. It’s simply far too big and is designed to fit perfect in each of these enclosures. Another thing noticeable with this unit is the big warranty period. You get 5 years warranty, which says a lot for Antec. They are confident in their products, and so they should be. With their track record they provide some of the best power supply units on the market.

CP-1000

Our Antec CP-1000 comes packaging in a large box, similar to the CP-850 it has branding to match as well as full specifications including the voltage and rail qualifications. Just moving the box around you notice the weight of this unit immediately. It’s quite heavy compared to other units I’ve dealt with in my time.

Inside the box aside from the unit itself we have power cords, another six modular cables, mounting screws and instructions/spec sheet. The additional modular cables consist of:

• 24-pin (20+4) main connector
• 4-pin ATX12v
• 8-pin EPS12v
• 2x 8-pin (6+2) PCI-E
• 3x Molex + 1x Floppy
• 3x SATA

The retail box that the CP-1000 arrives in

An image showing the three cases this unit will only fit in

The contents all laid out

Taking a closer look at the ratings on the CP-1000 we see that this power supply is intended to have a combined and continuous output of 1KW (1000W). The unit comes with four +12V output rails that deliver up to 70A combined load which totals 840W. These days with ‘global warming’ affecting every aspect of our lives, Antec have taken initiative and opted with giving the CP-1000 active PFC as well as AC line input. This means that the AC voltage is regulating automatically.

The ratings label on the side of the power unit

Similar to the CP-850 the CP-1000 has a section of +12V sockets. 3×6-pin and 2×8-pin. This allows you to separate off devices that require a little more power off a single rail. The cables to the side that have been hard wired into the unit come in a large quantity, there isn’t really any need for so many. This makes organising cable management that little bit more difficult.

The panel of connection slots that we can take advantage of with the additional cables

On our CP-1000 there is a 120mm mounted fan. This is in fact a PWM fan. The fan is mounted on the outside to cater for the additional components inside the unit. Looking at the perforated mesh panel of the CP-1000 gives us a valid reason as to why this unit needs such a specialized case and the CPX format. Loaded inside are a jungle of components.

This is the PWM 120mm fan found on the unit. It runs quiet and allows for accurate speed control.

Inside the unit itself, through the mesh it has a dual PCB layout for better cooling

Performance

The power supply is the fundamental element of any system, its the backbone, allowing all of the components to work to their full potential. Testing the performance of such a unit can be done in many ways. Different review sites will hook the PSU to an ATE load tester or such like. With such a hugely priced piece of kit being absent a power & energy monitor and PSU tester will have to suffice. This will still give the general enthusiast, gamer and hardware fanatic the necessary information without blowing their brains out.

System Spec
Processor: Intel Core i7 920 (3.9GHz)
RAM: Mushkin PC3-10666 6GB
Motherboard: ASUS P6T Deluxe
Graphics: ATI Radeon HD5870 2GB
HDD: 3X SATA-II

Stability and Efficiency
So our testing will involve the effective monitoring of each rail at both idle and load states. The load state in particular will require the execution of 3DMark Vantage. Observing the rails and comparing against their rated voltage will show how efficient our power unit is. Comparing the load voltages to the idle voltages will give us a good insight into how stable each rail is during a thorough stress test.

Temperatures
The temperature of the unit will also be monitored at idle and at load. This will show us how hot the unit gets whilst under pressure and at certain wattage what temperatures we can expect from the CP-1000.

As previously mentioned. The below testing was obtained after monitoring the idle voltages of each rail and conversely observing those rails whilst the unit is being stressed thoroughly in 3DMark Vantage. The results that were found were as follows:

Even with the system under severe stress the system demands just 300W. What’s really nice to see as with the CP-850 the rails remained very strong, especially those all important 12V rails. The differential between idle and load voltages pale into insignificance, hardly moving a bit. This is an impressive stance, showing that the unit can sustain stress and remain solid all the way through… for hours I might add.

The system spec used in the testing may have only had 1 GPU but if you shove another HD5870 inside, which will pull an additional 200W or thereabouts there is still adequate room for additional devices. This system was overclocked too. There’s no doubt in my mind that those 12V rails are more than suitable for the most power hungry of systems including those with multiple GPU’s. They can deliver up to 70A of combined load afterall. The disappointing thing to note though, is the CP-850 offers 64A on the 12V output rails combined. There isn’t a great deal of difference there.

The temperatures coming from the exhaust at idle to load was between 30ºC and 35ºC. This is remarkably cool for a PSU of such calibre. When the unit was drawing power the noise of the fan was unnoticeable. You would expect to be able to hear the difference in fan speed as the PWM kicks in but this was not the case at all. Using hardware to draw out more power would of course cause more temperature and a faster spinning fan but as you can tell from the above, this is only in small increments.

Conclusion

The Antec CP series has a great potential. Sure enough they do dwell in a niche market with only being able to be utilized in one of three cases available from Antec but the CP-1000 in particular is a strong contender in the high echelons of the 1000W PSU\’s.

The CP-1000 operates silently, is significantly cool and has some rather strong rails which are stable throughout the toughest of applications. Not to mention, this unit comes in at a very affordable price. At just over £100 it sits there as one of the best value units on the market. Have a look, most units that meet similar ratings exceed £120 and some even above £150. So not only does it perform well its also a great value product if it were not for the constraint of the form factor fitting in only three of Antec\’s cases I think this unit would be a very popular choice indeed.

I\’ve been thoroughly impressed with the Antec CP-1000 and I therefore award it Silver.

Pros
+ A strong unit
+ Cool temperatures whilst under large stresses
+ Whisper quiet PWM fan
+ Most affordable unit in its league

Cons
– Too many cables hotwired into unit
– Can only fit in three of Antec\’s cases